Adjusting Strategic Plans
When following your company’s strategic plan, it is vital to remember that, as well thought out as it might be, there will always be opportunities and reasons to adjust it. The need for change and adaptability is inherent in the style of management that is strategic planning. Perhaps the market changes or your company experiences significant staff turnover. Whatever the cause, you must be ready to adjust your strategic plan accordingly.
Forbes cites a lack of change as one of the major reasons strategic plans fail. “Unwillingness or inability to change” dooms your strategic plan from the outset. “Your company and your strategic plan must be nimble and able to adapt as market conditions change.”
Look at your strategic plan as a “living document” which is constantly evolving and retains its relevance through its adaptability. Make sure that the goals or milestones outlined in your strategic planning are regularly reviewed, allowing for “mid-course policy or operational changes that will better achieve [your company’s] goals/objectives/strategies.”
In fact, Forbes asserts that creating your strategic plan and not allowing it to develop is as detrimental as not planning at all. “If a plan is to be an effective management tool, it must be used and reviewed continually.”
The fact that your company engaged in strategic planning to begin with indicates your awareness of the need for adaptability in today’s economic climate. “Strategic planning assumes that an organization must be responsive to a dynamic, changing environment.”
The success of your strategic plan depends on your ability to recognize and address elements of your workplace culture, organizational structure, and policy implementation which need to be changed. As your plan develops and time passes, take stock of the situation and compare it to the original strategic planning vision. Making the necessary amendments to your strategic plan will only strengthen it and pave the way for future success.
SOURCES:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2011/11/30/10-reasons-why-strategic-plans-fail/