STARTEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS

- Strategic management is the process of defining and implementing an

organization’s strategy. It involves analyzing current circumstances,
developing a plan to reach important goals, and executing that plan.
- The process is especially important when the organization is going
through big changes or facing aggressive competition.

IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

- it ensures that the actions of everyone in your organization are
aligned with your major goals. It helps departments and business
leaders make better, faster decisions.
 Strategic management keeps departments on the same page.
 It helps your organization find new opportunities and anticipate new
challenges.
 Strategic management allows for more efficient organizational
performance.

5 STEPS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS

1. GOAL SETTING
- strategic management process is all about creating a road map
to help you achieve your vision. So before you go any further,
you need to clarify what your company wants to achieve.
- Many companies kick off the strategic management process by
writing a vision statement. A vision statement communicates
where you want to be in the future. It’s different from your
mission statement — which describes why your company exists
— but both statements should inform your strategic plan.

2. ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING AND ANALYSIS

- Before you can define strategies and tactics, you need to know
where you stand currently. That includes internal factors, like
your location, structure, and talent, as well as external factors
like your competition and market forces.
- The more information you have, the stronger the foundation of
your strategic plan.

TIPS:
 SOLICIT FEEDBACK
- Talk to team leaders to get a better understanding of internal
operations. Employee surveys, interviews, and discussion groups
can be used to learn about the perspectives of everyone in the
company.
  LEARN ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS
- You can survey your existing customers or email list to learn
more about how your customers and prospects feel. For
example, if they’re generally frustrated with your customer
service team’s response time, then improving that can be a
strategic objective. Or maybe you’ll learn about new product
features they want, and you can plan to develop them.

 RESEARCH THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

- Researching your competitors can help you find your weak
spots and learn where you stand out from the crowd.

 CONSIDER YOUR RESOURCES

- When you’re setting your goals, you’ll have to know if you have
the people and resources to accomplish them. Having a clear
idea of your resources from the start will help you set realistic
objectives.

 CONDUCT A SWOT ANALYSIS

- SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats. You can organize your SWOT analysis.

3. STRATEGY FORMULATION
- It’s finally time to write your strategic plan. In addition to your
mission and vision statement, a strategic plan has a few key
components.

KEY COMPONENTS:
 STRATEGY OBJECTIVES
- Strategic objectives are high-level goals that help you
accomplish your mission.

 TACTICS
- For each strategic objective, use tactics that tell you specific
actions to achieve the goal.

 METRICS
- Part of the strategic planning process is determining how
you’re going to measure your progress toward your objectives.
Choose a metric for each goal and make sure you have the
ability to track it.

4. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
 - You’ve determined your organization’s strategy, but the work
has just begun. Now you need to make a plan for implementing
your strategic objectives.

 SECURE ANY RESOURCES YOU NEED

- Make sure you have the resources, budget, and approvals
necessary to execute your plan.

 DELEGATE THE WORK

- Roles should be clearly defined at this point. Who’s in charge of
communicating the plan to teams? Who will report on plan
progress? Which departments will be responsible for which
tactics?

 LAUNCH THE PLAN

- Communicate the details of the plan to the company.

 OFFER TRAINING
- If business decisions are going to be based on your company
strategy, decision-makers need to know what that strategy is. For
people who require a deep understanding of your strategic plan,
like department leaders, offer educational sessions to get them up
to speed.

 MAKE A PLAN TO SHARE YOUR PROGRESS

- The whole company is working toward common goals — make
sure you keep everyone updated on how they’re doing. Regular
communication about how the strategic plan is going will increase
buy-in.

5. STRATEGY EVALUATION
- Part of your implementation plan should be a schedule for
continually reviewing your strategic plan, including its relevance
to your current circumstances, its practicality, and how much
progress you’ve made so far.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS SECRETS FOR SUCCESS

1. START WITH A CORE TEAM THAT OWNS THE PROCESS

- Brainstorming and collaboration are easiest if you start with a
small group of stakeholders. This shouldn’t just be a few
executives. Bring in a diverse group of thinkers from around the
organization.
 - These people will help make and implement the plan. Their
buy-in will also be important in making sure that every
department is enthusiastic about the company’s new direction.

2. MAKE YOUR GOALS OPTIMISTIC BUT REALISTIC

- Setting your strategy for the next several years is exciting —
you get to decide the direction your company is headed and
what you intend to accomplish. It’s okay to be optimistic about
your vision.

3. AGREE ON DUE DATE

- To make sure your plan is carried out, everything should be on
a schedule. That includes your strategic objectives (like “increase
revenue 30% by the end of 2023) as well as elements of the
strategic management process, such as holding the planning
meeting, communicating the plan to your company, and
reporting on your progress.

4. HAVE A PLAN FOR COMMUNICATION

- Part of the strategic planning process is letting everyone in the
company know about the plan — and inspiring them to be
enthusiastic about it.
- Consider having a company-wide strategic plan kickoff event.
When you introduce the plan, you can also let employees know
about any rewards that will be given to teams or individuals
that exceed the plan’s goals.

5. USE TOOLS THAT MAKES COLLABORATION EASY

- The strategic management process involves the entire
organization, so collaboration is key. But group work can be
disorganized and unproductive if you don’t have methods to
stay on track and share ideas.
- The right tools can help you keep planning sessions organized,
share ideas, make collaborative decisions, and convey your ideas
to others.