Strategic planning is a buzz phrase that you often hear around this time each year. The firm’s or practice group’s strategic plan is being taken off the shelf for review; or maybe a plan is being started from scratch. But what does strategic planning really mean, and what needs to be taken into consideration?
Strategic Planning
Strategic Thinking – Strategic planning starts by thinking about your vision of the future, your mission and core values, the direction you are heading, and how you will get there. It includes conversations, debates, and analysis. Marketplace issues are identified opportunities. Barriers need to be removed to move forward with new ideas and opportunities.
When strategic planning, we cannot lose sight of the details. Without those details and follow through, the plan is useless.
Priority Identification: What are your top priorities that have a meaningful impact on your vision of the future?
Strategic Goals: For each priority area, create a high-level outcome statement that says what you are to accomplish, how it will be approached, and what you are trying to achieve.
Objectives: Aligned to each goal, create an objective that can be measured in both the short- and medium-term.
Action Plan: For each objective determine your tactics, with specific actions, owners, resources and milestone dates. Then the fun begins! It is time to implement, manage, evaluate and adjust your plan as needed.
Review: When meeting to review your plan’s progress, it is important to start your meeting by discussing what you are trying to achieve, the approach you decided to take and if anything has changed. Then review your goals and objectives and discuss your progress. Include in your discussions if your approach needs to change and what that means. As the environment and market around you change, your plan may need to be modified and your goals may change.
LMA Mid-Atlantic Strategic Planning
For an example of strategic planning please visit "What is Our LMA Mid-Atlantic Region Your Honor Awards Strategy?"
By Helena Lawrence, 2017 LMA Mid-Atlantic Region President, Senior Marketing & Business Development Manager, Orrick for the July/August 2017 LMA Mid-Atlantic Region Newsletter