Simplifying Strategic Planning

Looks at the benefits of finding ways to simplify the strategic planning process which include saving time in developing a plan and shortening the lead time to implement it, making the plan easier to understand, focusing better on only the most relevant business issues, and assembling a more consistent strategy for the whole company. Recommends that we should use only a few core planning tools in order to avoid redundancies in our use of planning tools and analyses. We only need to prepare an entire plan every 2‐3 years. It should be short and completed within a few months, to save time and to remain current. A plan process should use both tools of analysis and synthesis. Planning tools should present market and organizational dynamics, not static point‐in‐time snapshots. A primary objective of a plan is a signalling device to key managers.