Strategic Business Planning

What is strategic business planning?

Aprocess involving the examination, creation, enhancement and/or planning of an organization'soverall direction, philosophy, and purpose, as well as its currentstatusin termsof its strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (see SWOT Business Analysis, below), long-termobjectives, and short-termtacticsto reach them.

Benefits of PPS's Strategic Planning

Strategic planning serves a variety of purposes in organizations, including:

Clearly defines the purpose of the organization and to establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame within the organization's capacity for implementation.

Communicates those goals and objectives to the organization's constituents.

Develops a sense of ownership of the plan.

Ensures the most effective use is made of the organization's resources by focusing the resources on the key priorities.

Provides a base from which progress can be measured and establish a mechanism for informed change when needed.

Listens to everyone's opinions in order to build consensus about where the organization is going.

Provides clearer focus for the organization, thereby producing more efficiency and effectiveness.

Bridges staff/employees and the board of directors (in the case of corporations).

Builds strong teams in the board and in the staff/employees (in the case of corporations).

Provides the glue that keeps the board members together (in the case of corporations).

Produces great satisfaction and meaning among planners, especially around a common vision.

Increases productivity from increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Solves major problems in the organization.