Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition
- Length: 384 pages
- Edition: 3
- Language: English
- Publisher: For Dummies
- Publication Date: 2023-02-14
- ISBN-10: 1394157967
- ISBN-13: 9781394157969
- Sales Rank: #1068115 (See Top 100 Books)
Create a roadmap for your company’s future success―the For Dummies way
Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies not only teaches you how to build a solid business strategy, but it gives you the tools to do it. Checklists, worksheets, and real-life examples guide you through answering your most pressing questions. Plus, all-new online resources make creating a lasting strategy easier than ever. Build a company vision statement, assess your strategic position, engage your team, and execute your plan―with easy-to-understand instructions and explanations that anyone can follow. This revised edition shows you how to adapt your strategy, plan for the unknown, and stay resilient through all the changes facing today’s businesses. Advice from For Dummies experts will make any business leader’s strategic dreams a reality.
- Learn the basics of how to create a long-term business strategy
- Create your mission and vision statements and a strategic framework
- Get organized, engage your team, and deploy your strategy through objectives and key results
- Access resources, worksheets, checklists and more―in the book and online
This is the For Dummies guide for business owners and C-suite executives who are building or rethinking their company’s strategy and planning a path for growth. It’s a big job, but you don’t have to do it alone. Dummies has your back.
Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Conventions Used in This Book What You’re Not to Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Part 1: Kicking Off Your Strategic Planning Process Part 2: Sizing Up Your Current Situation Part 3: Defining Your Core Purpose and Envisioned Future Part 4: Mapping Your Organization’s Path to the Future Part 5: Living and Breathing Your Plan Part 6: The Part of Tens Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 Kicking Off Your Strategic Planning Process Chapter 1 What Is Strategic Planning Really? Clearing Up the Confusion about Strategic Planning Defining strategy Understanding the importance of a strategic plan Implementing the strategic management process Identifying the components of a solid strategic plan Answering the most frequently asked strategic planning questions Who uses strategic plans? Does every strategic plan include the same elements? Just exactly what is strategic planning? What’s the difference between strategic planning and long-range planning? Does every organization need a strategic plan? We’re highly successful already, so why should we plan? Can a smaller company afford the time for strategic planning? Why plan in a world that’s highly uncertain? How can we be confident that our planning will be successful? What is strategic thinking? Identifying the Levels of Strategic Management Getting Acquainted with the Strategic Plan’s Key Elements Vision: Bringing things into focus Strategy: Explaining the value you deliver Goals and objectives: Empowering employees Execution and evaluation: Ensuring success Seeing the Signs: Why You Need This Book Chapter 2 Why Strategic Planning Works Strategic Planning Is the Most Used Tool by Executives Not Having a Plan Is Too Risky A Plan Is Required to Be a High Performer What makes great companies great What successful CEOs are spending their time on Everyday Decisions Drive Long-Term Results The day-to-day impact The bottom-line result Agility Is a Competitive Advantage Everyone Wants to Be Part of Something Bigger Tribal Knowledge Is Passed on to the Next Generation You Can Clearly Explain (and Remember) Your Strategy A Strategic Plan Eliminates Wasted Time and Money Chapter 3 Getting Set Up for Successful Planning Previewing the Elements of a Strategic Plan Where are we now? Where are we going? How will we get there? How will we measure our progress? Before You Begin: Assessing Your Planning Readiness Are we ready? Is the climate right? Taking a Look at the Strategic Planning Process and Timeframe Phase 1: Determining your core purpose and envisioned future Phase 2: Assessing your strategic position Phase 3: Developing your strategies and priorities Phase 4: Deploying your strategies to operations Phase 5: Aligning your people and financial resources Phase 6: Executing your plan Selecting Your Planning Team Getting everyone involved The role of the CEO The planning team members Everyone else, regardless of position Non-employees The strategic plan manager Determining who’s involved when Going It Alone or Hiring a Facilitator Running planning sessions yourself Using a facilitator Deciding whether a facilitator is a good idea Finding a good facilitator Smoothing Out Your Process Chapter 4 Identifying Your Strategic Issues Reviewing What Happened Last Year Recognizing what you achieved Understanding why you failed Evaluating Your Products and Services Picking the winners Dumping the losers Putting Your Portfolio Together (In the Market Attractiveness Framework) Evaluating market attractiveness and business strength Factors that affect market attractiveness Factors that affect business strength Creating your own matrix Looking at Your Financial Performance Understanding the financial dynamics of your business Checking your liquidity Gauging your risk levels Monitoring your profitability Measuring your productivity Sorting out three-year trends Trailing your numbers over 12 months Evaluating your numbers Seeing the Underlying Forces of Your Industry Creating Your Short List of Strategic Issues Part 2 Sizing Up Your Current Situation Chapter 5 Assessing Your Business and Its Capabilities Indentifying Your Organization’s Strengths and Weaknesses Evaluating Your Organization’s Capabilities Human capital: Having the right people in the right positions Organizational capital: Getting a feeling for your corporate culture Knowledge capital: Knowing what you already know Examining Your Resources Analyzing Your Processes Operational processes Customer management processes Relationship management processes Innovation processes Other important process areas Technology Communication Productivity Checking Your Profit Margins Identifying cash creators Detecting cash drains Chapter 6 Seeing Your Business through Your Customers’ Eyes Getting to Know Your Most Valuable Customers Identifying the 80/20 customer Figuring out the lifetime value of your customers Determining Why Your Customers Are Your Customers Measuring satisfaction by the numbers Obtaining feedback without using a survey Spending time talking to your customers Focusing on How You Deliver Value to Your Customers Considering different business models Using a business model to create value Framing out your business model Chapter 7 Researching the Market to Find New Customers Gathering Information about New Markets Identifying your information needs Locating information sources Internal company information Secondary data Primary data Creating Your Target Markets Dividing your market into groups Benefits Descriptors Visualizing your target customer Focusing on the Most Attractive Markets Defining an attractive segment Evaluating your target customer groups Standing Out from the Crowd: Your Positioning Statement Writing your positioning statements Perusing examples of positioning statements Reaching Your New Target Markets The Four Ps: Neither a soul band nor a legume The cycle of (product) life Staying Market-Focused Gathering relevant information Sharing what you know Responding to what you’ve discovered Putting It All Together: Organizing Customer Information Chapter 8 Identifying Your Opportunities and Threats Starting Your SWOT Analysis Seeing the Future Finding Opportunities in Your Operating Environment Identifying your economic indicators Watching important social shifts Staying on top of technology trends Monitoring political winds Flexing with demographic movements Tracking Your Industry Looming new competitors Threatening substitute products Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of buyers Duking it out with your competitors Analyzing Your Competition Identifying your competitors Direct competitors Indirect competitors Substitutes or new entrants Gathering competitive intelligence Isolating what you really need to know Seeing the competitive field Evaluating Your Market Summarizing Your Opportunities and Threats Finishing Your SWOT Analysis Part 3 Defining Your Core Purpose and Envisioned Future Chapter 9 Focusing on What You Do Best Appreciating Your Competitive Advantage Taking the 30-second competitive advantage challenge Knowing what competitive advantage isn’t Realizing what competitive advantage is Discovering why having a competitive advantage is so important Uncovering Your Advantages What’s your distinct purpose? How do you make money? Why do customers buy from you? Pinpointing Your Competitive Advantage Perusing a few examples Stating your competitive advantage succinctly Putting your advantage to the test Breaking away from the pack Using Your Advantages Now Implementing your advantages Measuring your advantages Putting your advantages in your plan Chapter 10 Developing Your Mission and Values Building Your Strategic Foundation Assessing Your Mission Elements of an effective mission statement Evaluating your current mission statement Writing a new mission statement Evaluating Your Mission Statement Fine-tuning Your Organizational Values Elements of effective organizational values Creating or updating your organizational values Acting on your organizational values World-Class Values Statements Starting Your Strategic Foundation Chapter 11 Envisioning Your North Star Continuing Your Strategic Foundation Visioning: Focusing in on Your North Star Elements of an effective vision statement Imagining your future — vividly Creating or updating your vision statement and vision description Futurecasting: Looking to the Future Getting into the right frame of mind for futurecasting Leaving your assumptions at the door Working a strategic thinking exercise Finalizing Your Strategic Foundation Part 4 Mapping Your Organization’s Path to the Future Chapter 12 Strategizing for Growth and Sustainability Understanding the Difference between Strategy and Tactics Strategy versus tactics The levels of strategies Business Unit-Level Strategies: Choosing Your Leading Strategic Focus Applying your strengths to a business unit-level strategy Leading with lowest total cost Leading with product/service leadership Leading with customer intimacy Discovering why you don’t want to be stuck in the middle Choosing the right business unit-level strategy for you Market-Level Strategies: Strategizing How to Grow Concentrating on market penetration Delivering with product development Extending scope with market development Expanding geographically Reaching into new market segments Stepping out with diversification Related diversification Unrelated diversification Deciding how to execute your growth strategy Summarizing Your Selected Strategies Chapter 13 Establishing Your Strategic Goals and Roadmap Firming Up Your List of Strategic Alternatives Paring down your SWOT Identifying strategic alternatives Sorting through your other alternatives Evolving Alternatives into Priorities Sorting out internal and external alternatives Creating a short list of external priorities Compiling a short list of internal priorities Gut checking your priorities Balancing Your Strategic Priorities Financial priorities: If we succeed, how will we look to our shareholders? Customer priorities: How do we provide value to our customers? Internal priorities: What processes must we excel in to satisfy our customers? Employee priorities: How must our organization grow and improve? Turning Strategic Priorities into a Roadmap for Your Vision Finalizing your strategies Writing your long-term strategic goals Making your short-term objectives SMART Mapping your strategy Building your roadmap Assembling Your Strategic Plan Evaluating Your Strategic Plan Chapter 14 Putting Your Plan into Action with Objectives and Key Results Using Objectives & Key Results to Deploy Your Strategic Plan What are OKRs? What do OKRs do? Writing Great OKRs Great objectives Great key results How OKRs Cascade Through the Organization Getting Down to the Business of Deploying Tips for deploying one level Tips for deploying multiple levels Stepping into an OKR process Understanding How OKRs and KPIs Work Together OKR/KPI structure An example of how to build KPIs into OKRs Tips to Streamline Large OKR Deployments Chapter 15 Making Your Plan Measurable What Are KPIs? Identifying Meaningful Measures Types of measures Leading versus lagging measures Aiming at Your Targets Building Your Scorecard Ensuring That Your Plan Makes Cents Estimating revenue and expenses Revenue Expenses Assumptions Contributing to the bottom line Projecting your financial future Forecasting with indicators Part 5 Living and Breathing Your Plan Chapter 16 Execute, Execute, Execute: Putting Your Plan to Work So You Have a Plan — Now What? Avoiding the pitfalls Covering all your bases Making sure that you have the support All hands on deck: People Show me the money: Resources If you build it, they will come: Structure Plug it in, turn it on: Systems Make yourself at home: Culture Determining your plan of attack Holding People (Including Yourself) Accountable to the Process Appointing a strategic plan manager Syncing individual action plans with compensation Coaching for achievement Making Your Plan a Living Document Piecing out your plan by audience Using a strategy execution system Mastering the Art of Communicating Strategy Making sure that everyone buys in Rolling out the plan Continuing communication Chapter 17 Keeping Your Plan Alive with Reviews and Refreshes A Standard Management Rhythm Heartbeat of Your Management Process: Quarterly Strategy Reviews Understanding the difference between strategy and operational reviews Holding effective strategy review meetings Using a scorecard to measure progress Keeping a quarterly rhythm Keeping Your Plan Working for You Accepting change — the only constant Adapting your plan as necessary How to refresh your plan Chapter 18 Scenario Planning: Answering the What Ifs Grasping the Concept: What Is Scenario Planning? Tackling Your Short-Term Uncertainties Identifying immediate risks Constructing possible alternative outcomes Confronting Your Longer-Term Futures Thinking about the big what ifs Building alternative futures Connecting scenarios to strategy Considering Example Scenarios Shell energy transformation scenarios to Four plausible futures from Arup Part 6 The Part of Tens Chapter 19 Ten Tips to Keep Your Strategic Plan from Hitting the Shelf Getting Everyone Involved from the Start Deleting the Fluff Appointing a Strategy Leader Creating a One-Page Strategic Plan Hooking Achievement into Incentives Using a KISS Holding a Monthly Strategy Review Meeting Using a Scorecard Leading by Example Celebrating Your Success — Whenever You Feel Like It Chapter 20 Ten Tips to Holding Great Strategic Retreats Use a Facilitator Pull Together Key Research Before the Meeting Invite All Voices Hold Annuals and Quarterlies Focus on the Meeting Outcomes, not the Agenda Connect Everyone to the Strategic Planning Process Build a Retreat for All Thinking Styles Proactively Address the Elephant in the Room Ending on a High Note Pre-think About Life after the Meeting Chapter 21 Ten Ways to Maintain Momentum in Your Planning Process Create Your Picture of Success and Make It a Reality Pick a BHAG Eliminate Your Energy Drains and Recharge Yourself Conquer Your Fears — Concentrate and Be Brave Take Control of Your Finances Create a Brain Trust Find the Time Highlight Small Wins Let the Process Evolve Chunk the Work into 90-Day Increments Index EULA
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