STRATEGIC PLANNING IN YOUR ORGANIZATION- September 2019

Before starting on your EMBA journey, you were asked to reflect on strategic planning in your
organizations. To provide you with feedback and another opportunity to reflect on strategic planning, I
have summarized the feedback I received from you and your EMBA participating executives on the
following pages.

A total of 37 executives completed the questionnaire representing 33 different organizations.

A summary of your comments follow:

Total number of 33 companies completed questionnaire

companies
Industries Air Conditioning, Architecture, Banking, Construction, Consulting,
Engineering & Contracting, Events Management, Graphic Design,
Healthcare, Higher Education, Hybrid Energy, Investment and
holdings, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Power Solutions, Real
Estate, Renewable Energy, Retail, Sports, Supply Chain and Logistic,
Telecommunications, Toys, Wealth Management
Number of employees From 1 to 150,000 employees
Median = 1,200 employees
Use of consultants for 10 Executives said they used a consultant for SP.
strategic planning 23 did not answer

Years of Planning From 0.3 year to 15 years of planning

The average company planned 4.5 years ahead
Smaller companies (<$237M) plan ahead for an average of 3 years
Larger organizations (>$237M) plan ahead for an average of 5 years
Annual Sales 0$ to 11.4 Billion$
Median = 237 Million$
Description of the Planning 17 of the (mostly smaller) companies have a formal planning process
Process 10 of the (mostly larger) companies have an informal planning
process
10 executive did not answer the question

Please review the strengths and weaknesses of the strategic planning process, the plan document and the
implementation of the plan and share with us your final assessment of the usefulness of strategic
planning. Please just complete the last bullet point (your conclusion, highlighted below) for each of the 4
subjects (process, plan, implementation and overall usefulness).

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1. Planning process - the process your organization used to develop your strategic plan:

• Commonly Cited Strengths of the Planning Process:

o Participative and collaborative - involved and listened to several layers of management, with
different perspectives, encouraging dissenting viewed, outsider feedback is sought. Many
felt involved and good buy-in was achieved. Cross functional meetings enabled cross
functional learning and aligned strategies
o Visible top management support (time, resources) and guidance
o Situational analysis, thoughtfully assessed. Strategy built on deep knowledge of firm and its
environment
o Honest evaluation of own strengths and weaknesses and market realities
o Data-based (regarding market dynamics, competitor SWOTs, customer wants and needs and
evaluation of our resources, capabilities and competencies and our products/services).
o Collected and distributed data before planning sessions so the sessions were fact-driven.
Also identified missing data that needs to be collected in future.
o The process couples analysis with creativity and experience
o Consideration of trends, changes in trends and realistic forecasts
o Used consultant (guided the process), aligned across business units
o Clear/streamlined process and timeline
o Covers all aspects of the business (HR, culture, marketing, financial, supply chain, IT) and
tried to ensure alignment
o Long-term focused, forward looking. Forced everyone to think long term and examine
various scenarios
o Set realistic but stretch objectives and timelines
o Discussed potential hurdles/obstacles
o Widespread and frequent communication of the plan/strategy
o Examined multiple options/scenarios
o Planning process and discussions prepares managers to make appropriate strategic choices
in real time
o Plans are regularly reviewed and updated based on changing conditions

• Commonly Cited Weaknesses of the Planning Process:

o Top manager(s) make all the decisions. Too few people actively involved
o Very political
o Planning process highly influenced by the ideas or interests of a particularly strong-willed
senior executive rather than in the interest of the whole organization
o Centralized decision-making leads to the adoption of plans that were not developed or
agreed upon by the concerned department. No buy-in, no sense of accountability…
o Micromanaged process
o Rigidity in planning process introduces inelasticity and discourages individual initiative, new
ideas or experimentation
o Unrealistic expectations given quantity and quality of resources we have available or can
realistically hope to acquire. Wishful thinking.
o Planning process produced plans that were reacting to the current situation, rather than
proactively setting a new course
o Lack of diverse perspectives (“group-think”)
o Lack of required skills/knowledge in certain committees
o The staff took over the process with little room for operations managers to be heard
o The process dominated. Emphasis on analysis, not enough true strategic insights
o Short-term focused
o Single point forecasting. No “what-if” scenarios considered
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 o Difficult and time consuming to collect required information for fact-based strategy
development
o Planning process failed to develop true strategic choices
o Lack of coordination and alignment
o Planning neglected the organizational and cultural requirements of strategy
o Not enough time spent on planning.
o Planning process handed over to staff members who do not really understand the nuts and
bolts of the business.
o Delays in producing the plan due to top managers’ busy schedules. A lot of starting and
stopping.
o Time consuming and expensive (consultants) process
o Too many people involved and not enough discipline to ensure timely deliverables
o No clear process. Weak group process and limited emotional commitment and buy-in
o Lack of communication (especially listening) between departments; or between old timers
and younger generation.
o Wishful thinking; not based on facts or reality
o Lack market/competitor/customer data/knowledge
o No clear tracking and assessment (during implementation)
o Used consultant (no ownership, highly influenced by CEOs ideas)
o Not creative
o Simple projections rather than bottom-up thinking
o Very conservative thinking and projections. Remained within comfort zone of top managers
o Influenced by recent evets/crises
o Unwilling to make necessary tradeoffs eg between short-term profits and long term
quality/training/R&D
o Focus is on coming year and solving current problems. Second and third year plans are not
detailed or realistic.
o Planning focusses only on sales projections (sometimes unrealistic, other times simply
projections of recent results).
o No contingency planning
o No analysis of different options or scenarios
o Time consuming and costly to revise the plan. The cost of planning may exceed the bottom-
line benefit
o Not enough effort in thinking trough what and how to measure our progress vs KPIs
o Had difficulties using the “balanced score card”

• Your Conclusion: Based on the above and on your experience, how would you rate your
organization’s experience with the planning process on a scale of 1=very weak; 3= moderately
good; 5=excellent. Please circle/highlight one of the numbers (or, don’t know) below:

1 2 3 4 5 Don’t know

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2. Plan – The quality of the strategic thinking and strategy, the quality of the plan document

• Commonly Cited Strengths of the Plan Document:

o Well written- coherent and logically consistent, comprehensive, streamlined/concise
o Provides clear Vision, Mission and Values (guard rails). Challenging but doable. Enables
prioritization and creates alignment
o Provides clear and honest assessment of our internal strengths (competencies), weaknesses
and external threats, opportunities and risks. Good document to inform current managers
and new hires as well as our partners (suppliers, distributors, financiers, marketing agency..)
o Defines clearly where we want to compete (products, geographic markets, market
segments…); and how we plan to compete (cost or differentiation-quality, service,
responsiveness, ..). Also, justifies the choices and why they were selected rather than
alternatives considered
o Objectives and accountabilities are clear
o Provides a clear road map for all strategic initiatives with associated KPIs
o Provides clear authority matrix aligned with key initiatives and the relates budget and
resources
o Provides a clear change management plan ie how to change from where we are to what we
want to become
o Communicated widely and frequently
o Each function gets to prepare and present its part of the plan
o Realistic and achievable
o SMART objectives with some “stretch”
o Communicates positioning and direction
o Highlights choices and trade-offs
o Clear KPIs and built in evaluation process
o Provides a change management (migration) plan to reduce resistance to change.
o Clear priorities that facilitate proper allocation of resources
o Aligns functions, engenders coordination
o Facilitates monitoring and control
o Identifies risks
o Linked to the financial plan/budget

• Commonly Cited Weaknesses of the Plan Document:

o Not well written
o Badly communicated
o Not very strategic. Just more of the same.
o Unrealistic, too ambitious, wishful thinking, objectives not realistic or achievable
o Too short term oriented. Only looking one year ahead. More of a budget or forecast than a
strategic plan.
o Not matching resources to requirements
o Does not confront the “brutal” reality honestly
o Unclear priorities
o Un-imaginative
o Difficulty dealing with the constantly changing economic/political and market conditions
o Does not formally cover contingencies in case some targets are not achieved
o Too detailed
o Not detailed (granular) enough
o Simply focusses on sales projections. Very limited financial analysis and projections
o “In a family business, the plan is what the owner wants, today.”
o No “what if “ scenarios
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 o Limited budget to implement the plan– time and resources
o No clearly defined action plans or KPIs for each department

• Your Conclusion: Based on the above and your own experience, how would you rate your
organization’s experience with the plan on a scale of 1=very weak; 3= moderately good;
5=excellent. Please circle/highlight one of the numbers (or, don’t know) below:

1 2 3 4 5 Don’t know

3. Implementation of the Plan – How well is the plan being implemented?

• Commonly Cited Strengths of Plan Implementation:

o Committed stakeholders – Board buy-in
o Resources are well allocated. Strategies are properly resourced
o Progress on the plan are frequently, well and widely communicated
o Alignment of functions and departments. Teams are aligned behind a common goal.
o Synergy between departments and team members
o Strong links between company goals and personal employee goals
o Team responsibilities clearly established
o Allows managers to become more pro-active rather than reactive. Managers are fully
empowered to make decisions within clear guidelines
o Quarterly follow-up on all strategic initiatives
o Ownership of objectives and action plans are well defined with champions identified
o Great communication and buy-in
o Clearly identified risks
o Implementation is fast and flexible in the face of new developments. We are constantly
going back to the drawing board to adjust plans as needed.
o Performance is monitored regularly and evaluated against plan. Root causes are analyzed in
case of deviation and an action plan is set in motion. There are clear links to individual
scorecards and performance appraisal. An excellent control tool
o Sense of ownership of the plan (especially by upper and middle management) due to
involvement, frequent communication and measurement on KPIs. Also plan was translated
into departments’ and individuals’ objectives and plans
o Knowledge, readiness and competency to support successful implementation
o Successful implementation and good results in a very challenging environment
o Plan helped focus the organization on a limited number of profitable products/clients
o Plan helped employees better understand manager’s decisions (or even at times question
his/her decision)
o If new initiatives are initiated, new resources are allocated or old initiatives are put on hold
o We did not eliminate surprises but we were quicker to respond to the unforeseen
o Pilot projects are set up to test new ideas and learn from our mistakes before significant
resources are committed

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• Common Cited Weaknesses of Plan Implementation:
o Strategic Plan is not being applied (fully)
o Strategies are not operationalized
o Objectives are not realistic and achievable
o Not enough resources to implement strategies and action plans successfully
o Inefficient use of resources: waste in some departments and excess resources/slack in
others
o Milestones are not well scheduled; metrics for success not well defined
o Lack of follow-up on implementation; results not communicated clearly and broadly
o Resistance to change; weak staff motivation to achieve objectives
o No clear linkage between strategic priorities, action plans, and resource allocation
o Shifting of priorities
o Short term issues take priority. Focus is more on tactical rather than strategic perspective
and priorities
o People often get bogged down in details and forget the big picture
o Lack of expertise to implement the plan in certain areas
o Lack of timely realignment of resources as the evolving situation dictates
o Lack of understanding, buy-in or commitment
o Lack of empowerment
o Ineffective processes and procedures
o Support functions are not aligned and supportive
o Bureaucracy delays achievement of strategic objectives
o Low level of follow-up or accountability
o Lack of alignment and coordination between departments
o Strategies are not kept relevant to changing circumstances
o Delays in achieving cost reductions
o Delays in leveraging synergies with acquired entity
o Unexpected events derail the firm from achieving targets

• Your Conclusion: Based on the above and your own experience, how would you rate your
organization’s experience with the implementation of your strategic plan on a scale of 1=very
weak; 3= moderately good; 5=excellent. Please circle/highlight one of the numbers (or, don’t
know) below:

1 2 3 4 5 Don’t know

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 4. Overall Usefulness of Strategic Planning at Your Organization

• Commonly Cited Strengths:

o Improves decision making – faster, more aligned
o Enables management to take advantage of unexpected opportunities or defend against
threats. Strategizing “on-the-go”
o Improves strategic thinking across the organization. Planning is a good learning experience:
learn about different department perspectives, about the external environment,
competitors, customer wants and needs, how top management thinks, priorities of our
firm,…
o Improves internal strategic communication and teambuilding
o Improves alignment and cooperation as all understand what choices were made and why
o Enhances empowerment

• Commonly Cited Weaknesses:

o Waste of time
o Strategy did not turn out to be relevant over time
o Costly process (time and resources)
o Unrealistic market and financial projections
o Once the strategy was set, the organization became rigid in the face of needed change
o Once strategy was completed no one referred to it again unless they were trying to win a
(political) battle
o No regular measurement of KPIs
o No regular updates on progress
o Not linked to the budget

• Your Conclusion: Given your experience with, and knowledge of strategic planning, what is your
opinion of the usefulness of strategic planning in your organization on a scale of

1 = waste of time; 3 = moderately useful; 5 = extremely useful.

Please circle/highlight one of the numbers (or, no opinion) below:

1 2 3 4 5 No opinion

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People tend to have different views of strategic planning. Some view the exercise positively and others,
negatively. Which of the two perspectives do you subscribe to?

Positive Views about Strategic Planning:

• “The essence of formal strategic planning is the systematic identification of opportunities and
threats that lie in the future…[to] provide a basis for…making better current decisions…Planning
means designing a desired future and identifying ways of bringing it about.” George Steiner (Father
of modern strategic planning)

• “The emphasis being placed on strategic planning today…reflects the proposition that there are
significant benefits to gain through an explicit process of formulating strategy, to insure that at
least the policies (if not the actions of functional departments) are coordinated and directed at
some common set of goals.” Michael Porter (HBS Professor)

Negative views on Strategic Planning:

• “Planning is the substitution of error for chaos.” Anonymous

• “Most corporate planning is like a ritual rain dance: It has no effect on the weather that follows, but
it makes those who engage in it feel like they are in control.” Russell Ackoff (Wharton Professor)

Which view do you subscribe to? Please check one:

Positive View:_____ Negative View:____