[ Back Home ] The Six Roles of Strategic Planning
1. Setting Organizational Direction
The assumption is that organizations ought to plan for the future
and set out a path on which to travel. Direction answers the questions:
Where do we want to go? What do we want to be in the future? This
function is often manifested in the saying "doing the right thing".
There is a certain intuitive logic than an organization must have
some idea of where it is going or where it wants to be in order to
provide direction for daily decision making.
2. Concentration of Effort
An organization needs a means of prioritizing effort and resources. Different decisions lead to different outcomes, which may or may not support the direction that has been chosen. A set of focus guidelines must come from a strategy. Priorities must be developed; otherwise, planning becomes a long wish list.
3. Understanding the Organization
We need to develop an understanding of the culture and history of
the organization. A strategy is a window into the organization, both
for outsiders and insiders. Organizations are large and complex, even
for insiders. Of course, there is sometimes a problem with the over-simplification
of complex systems, but we need a model of behaviour that can be understood.
Mintzberg talks about the "clarification" of organizations.
Jensen talks about the "crystallization" of the organization.
We cannot transform an organization without understanding it. Simple
tools such as a SWOT analysis help develop insight.
4. Understanding the External Environment
An organization cannot exist without paying attention to the outside
world. The phrase "managing from the outside in" sums up
the process. The impact of competitors and other external forces needs
to be understood; they form the basis of the longer run strategy of
any organization. Strategy has been envisaged as a fit of organizational
resources and the external environment, where programs, products,
and services are matched to the external environment. Strategic planning
is the vehicle for organizational adaptation.
5. Keeper, Seeker, Disseminator of Information and Values
Information and feedback is at the root of developing learning communities within organizations.
6. Springboard for Action
Whether it is reinventing the organization or introducing a new product or service, you need a platform to base the action on and to support it.
Source: K.B. Jensen, Vision, Strategy and Leadership: The Elements of Change
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