Planning Strategically for the Future

Anuraag Agarwal | November 01, 2019

In the world of big business and corporates, planning, in particular strategic planning, is a key foundation for the business.

Often a strategic plan in large businesses will span multiple years if not even decades. 

It’s not uncommon for corporates to plan 10-15 years out.

Given the continuing nature and landscape of business – i.e. technology, political, environmental etc, why would anyone want to plan that far out into the future?

The simple answer is that it provides the business with some form of guiding principles to work with and work on.

Now, that does not mean plans can’t change – in most cases, what is relevant today may not be in 10 years’ time – the point being that in that time the business leaders at least have a ‘beacon’ to aim for.

On the flip side, it’s not unusual for small-medium businesses to not have a plan at all or if they do, it may only span out at best 12 months.

The SME world is very tactical in nature – it needs to be – these businesses operate in different business environments compared to that of large business.

However, that does not mean SME’s should not start to think more strategically and long-term.

What is a Strategic Plan?

A strategic plan is a vision of your business’s future and the basic steps required to achieve that future.

Typically, a strategic plan will include; goals and objectives, desired outcomes, KPI’s and metrics for measuring progress, timelines, budgets and responsibilities.

Any business that is growing or wants to grow and hopes to sustain that growth needs a set of strategies to guide them forward - build a solid financial foundation, and prepare for challenges that will definitely lie ahead.

Important questions to ask:

Why don’t SMEs Plan Strategically?

What’s involved in developing a Strategic Plan?

How do you start to develop a Strategic Plan?

Want to read more about above questions, check my full blog on our website.