Jerwin B.

Temporada
The pitfalls of strategic planning
By: Ranulfo P. Payos - @inquirerdotnet 12:07 AM October 16, 2016

The executive briefing covered the crafting of our vision, mission and core values, SWOT analysis
with action plans to enhance our strengths, overcome our weaknesses, take advantage of our
opportunities, and address our threats.
We were also taught how to align our strategies, goals and action plans with the company’s vision
and mission and factor these in our Performance Management System.
Like the practice of Management by Objectives (MBO) in the early 70s, strategic planning caught
like wildfire in all organizations, profit or non-profit. It even spread throughout the government
bureaucracy. I know of government departments and bureaus going out to the best watering places
outside of Metro Manila, far from the madding crowd, to engage in strategic planning.
Like a mantra, vision, mission, and values are writ large on the walls and other conspicuous places of some
LGUs and government agencies. But given the mediocre performance in the government bureaucracy, it is
obvious that their strategic Plans remain just plans – long in planning, short in execution. Like the famous
refrain of Mona Lisa song, plans in the government, “just lie there, and they die there.” The new administration
of President Duterte – though a lot of cynics doubt it may yet change this lethargy in government.
There are two major processes in strategic planning: Formulation and Implementation. Formulation
of strategy involves analyzing the environment in which the organization operates, then making a
series of strategic decisions about how the organization will compete. Formulation ends with a
series of goals or objectives and measures for the organization to pursue.
Implementation involves execution of the goals or objectives and action plans within the agreed
time line. It deals with the mobilization of all resources to achieve results. This is where the
strategic Plans bog down. The inertia loses steam either due to lack of political will or ningas cogon
affliction.
Political will is the strong commitment of management to achieve the goals, objectives and action
plans as agreed. I find this kind of commitment and zeal to execute lacking among many
companies. This is one major reason why strategic plans fail.
Another culprit in implementation of strategic planning is the “bibingka” attitude among us
Filipinos. “Let’s do it because others are doing it.” strategic planning becomes a flash in the pan,
the flavor of the month. It starts with a bang and ends in a whimper. We simply don’t finish what
we started.I just wonder how many of you could claim 80% achievement of your strategic Plans. I
suggest you look back in your business organization or even in the non-profit professional
organizations where you belong. How far have you achieve results in your plans? I’ll be darn
surprised if your organization has achieved 80% positive results of your plans.
Implementation seems to be the hardest part in strategic planning. There is one more cause in
failure of strategic planning: Lethargic top leadership. It is axiomatic that for strategic Plan to be
successful, it must be actively led by top management itself; anything less than this, it’s bound to
fail. Strategy is about the future. It is looking at a time frame that we call strategic Horizon. To get
there, one has to go through the hassles of developing a vision, mission, setting goals and
objectives, crafting a strategy, executing and evaluating performance.

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