Best timing, purpose and benefits of a strategic plan

A strategic plan should be creative, introducing new concepts and future directions. The time when a strategic plan should be made:
1. Strategic planning is an essential step when a company is started.
2. A new strategic plan should be considered before a major venture, or before creating a new important product or service.
3. Each year, before the beginning of the new fiscal year, the strategic plan should be revised and improved, also the action plans should be updated.
4. Once every three years, an entirely new strategic plan should be elaborated, based on new external and internal factors.
The main purposes of a strategic plan are:
1. Clearly define the mission of the organization
2. Establish realistic objectives consistent with that mission
3. Define the time frame for accomplish these objectives
The major benefits of a strategic plan are:
1. Planning of a vision.
2. Communication: the goals and the vision are shared to organization members.
3. Define the key priorities and organize the company resources
4. By passing the SWOT analysis provide the necessary information about the Strengths, Weaknesses, along with Opportunities and Threads.
5. Provide the measures of the progress and the feedback mechanism.
6. Could build a powerful team and a strong relationship between directors and staff.
Personnel involved in elaborating of a Strategic Plan:
1. The chief executive officer CEO is the first person that should be included in the planning group. The CEO should lead and handle the development and implementation of the plan.
2. The board of directors are leading the everyday operations, so them could be too busy for that task. The board should be strongly involved in planning, but a special commission or group should be assigned to elaborate the strategic plan.
3. A consistent part of the stakeholders should be involved in the development of the strategic plan, as their financial decisions are crucial for the success of the strategic plan.

5 steps for a successful strategic plan

For a strategic plan you have to think about 4 key elements:
1. First is the time frame we are referring
2. Second is the general objective of the company
3. Third is the framework of actions that should be done to achieve the objective
4. Third is the set of measurable factors that establish if the objective was achieved.
The necesary steps for a successfull strategic plan are:
Step 1: Start by finding and expressing the company or organization's vision and essential values.
Step 2: Develop the action plans to realize the vision but having as central elements the stated values.
Step 3: Build up the necessary business plans that will focus on the particular products or services.
Step 4: Do a strategic analysis: the economical conditions and company SWOT analysis – company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Step 5: Put a measurements and feedback mechanism in place, in order to take corrective action.
The timing, benefits, tools, personnel involved will be covered in a future episode.

Why research is a strategic advantage?

It is a question that gives many headaches to any important businessman. Then why not just cut it off? Well because in most cases research is the only source of innovation, new ideas, new products and ultimate source of profit.
Today's changes and so the challenges are both very fast but also complex. We saw that a problem in a country like Greece could give reaction in some remote financial centers like the Asian markets. So how can we do a forecast having systemic interactions where strategic planning has to take into account that change is fast and unpredictable?
By developing the research in multiple ways.
1. First the fundamental research – gives new products with new capabilities. This can give astonishing advantage over rivals
2. Second the market research – is important to know what the market want and search, to be able to reconfigure business.
3. Third the financial research – it is crucial to have a good financing plan, do not get excessively into debts when the market is crushing.
Now it is clear why most companies make tremendous efforts to invest in research.

Why the crisis is not over

It is over? Or perhaps not yet?
Where is over and where is not?
Do we live in a dream? Or in a nightmare?
Why some countries does even felt the crisis, as the growing rate was almost the same ? China, Brazil and some other countries are growing despite the crisis. Europe is not growing and United States are struggling.
We are not struggling enough or there is another motivation?
The work is the only answer, its quality and its creativity.