listed just above the main body of the OPSP .
The big challenge is balancing the competing demands among all six !
A Better Balance
In the end , the financial goals of your company are to collect cash from customers fast enough to pay employees and reward the shareholders — and to abide by the Second Law of Business Dynamics : Buy low , sell high !
Preparing For A Strategic Planning Session
You can download a detailed bonus chapter on how to prepare for and run a strategic planning off-site , including a sample of a completed OPSP , from ScalingUp . com .
Employee And Customer Feedback
The first preparatory activity is to ask all employees and some customers : What should we start doing , stop doing , and keep doing ? The weekly routine of collecting and reviewing ongoing feedback from customers and employees will also feed into the decisions made during the planning process .
SWT And SWOT
Almost by definition , the SWOT process drives leaders to look inward at both their company and industry challenges , creating what we call “ inside / industry myopia .” In contrast , for senior leaders , we propose replacing the SWOT with the SWT : an updated approach that identifies inherent Strengths and Weaknesses while exploring broader external Trends beyond their own industry or geography .
Let ’ s look at the components of the SWT .
Trends
Leaders should look at major trends . Choose 4 – 6 trends most likely to shake up your industry and business and list them on the bottom of the OPSP .
Inherent Strengths And Weaknesses
Like an individual , an organization has innate strengths and weaknesses . This handful of inherent strengths ( core competencies ) and weaknesses needs to be determined and listed on the bottom of the OPSP . Given their relative permanence , they anchor the “ preserve the core ” side of the OPSP on the left .
Mining All Levels
In summary , the key to feeding the strategic planning process properly is to use different techniques to mine ideas from all levels of your organization .
Again , go to ScalingUp . com to download a more comprehensive , step-by-step guide for preparing and running a strategic planning process , along with a sample OPSP . n
" Begin today . Declare out loud to the universe that you are willing to let go of struggle and eager to learn through joy .”
– SARAH BAN BREATHNACH