Strategic Planning Facilitation in NZ 

Did you know that;

• Strategy execution is the #1 concern of CEOs worldwide.

• 73% of companies that outperform their peers have a formal process for communicating strategy to employees

• Only 12% of companies successfully execute their strategy.
  

Our Strategic Planning process at Corporate Management Advice overcomes these barriers to achieving strategic outcomes and has successfully implemented strategic plans for industry bodies, government agencies large and small corporations.

Craig McIvor is an expert in Strategic Planning and has been creating strategic plans for companies for over 15 years. A number of articles have been published that describe his philosophy in developing forward-thinking strategies that are constructed to take advantage of the likely future environment that the company will be facing. Read more

A professional facilitator, like Craig McIvor, can help you overcome issues such as Groupthink, organisational bias and delusional optimism and get the best out of the process for your organisation. He will ensure that the plan is developed without wasting precious management time and more importantly, he will ensure the plan does get implemented.

The program has three components that combine to give powerful results.

Stage 1 - Pre-session Brainstorming (harnessing collective wisdom)

The quality of the final strategic plan is in direct proportion of the time and effort that is put into its development. We collect information from stakeholders both within and outside the company. In many ways this provides us with a template for the resources of the company, its current environment, a SWOT and the likely future environment that it will face. We collate the information and provide it back to the participants who will be attending the Strategic Planning Day. This allows stakeholders to brainstorm on their own and then to brainstorm after seeing all of the other responses.

Stage 2 - Strategic Planning Session

All parties will have assimilated the collated information from Stage 1. In many cases, this allows consensus on issues that would otherwise have been debated on the day.  This saves time and the aggravation that is often associated with the planning process. The Strategic Planning day/s builds on the collective wisdom of the group to create real action items that can be prioritised and actioned. The facilitator can work with up to 16 participants in this stage of the process.

Stage 3 - Implementing the Plan

After the Strategic Planning Session the resultant Strategic Plan is documented and distributed. The action items are put into an Implementation plan and responsibilities are assigned to each of the  items that have been identified. The facilitator may act as a Project manager to ensure that the strategy is implemented as agreed. Monthly, quarterly or bi-annual follow-up sessions can be used to make sure the Plan is on track.

What you get from the process

The facilitator will use diagnostic methods to obtain feedback from an agreed set of internal and external stakeholders. This may involve custom questionnaires or interviews. From this information the facilitator will collate an overview of all responses to the issues that were addressed such as those listed below;

Current Environment Statement - This provides an analysis of the environment in which the company is currently operating. It provides insights into its competitors, the regulatory environment, key trends in the industry and customer preferences.

Future Environment Statement - This provides a view from the company's perspective as to what the future market will look like. This is a vital component of developing a Strategic Plan as any strategic plan created today needs to relevant to the future environment.

SWOT Analysis - This provides an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the organisation and uses this information to determine strategies that can reduce threats and weaknesses, and take advantage of strengths to maximise known opportunities.

Strategic Plan - This document has high level statements about Vision, Purpose and Mission. It will also include three or four key areas of action that the company has agreed that they need to focus on to be successful in the future environment.

Marketing Communications Strategy - this documents the means by which the plan is disseminated and communicated to internal and external stakeholders to get the best results. A strategic plan is an important tool in communicating an organisations purpose and vision.

Strategic Action Plan - This document provides a more detailed analysis of the actual action items and responsibilities of staff to achieve the three or four areas of action that are resident in the Strategic Plan.

How to get Started

Call Corporate Management Advice on (09) 366 3413 or contact Craig McIvor directly on 021 355 365 and we will arrange to meet with you to discuss your strategic planning needs.