Where Strategic Planning goes off the rails...

I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but after consulting Claude and others, and reflecting on lived experience I reckon you could safely say that around 75% of strategic plans fail to deliver. That is an extraordinarily high number given that a strategic plan is meant to be the primary mechanism for achieving and driving change and business transformation. That after all is why businesses invest time and money into developing one – right?

So where does it all go so wrong? The goals in the plan might be overly ambitious however, if the plan is being actively managed a business is still able to course correct in the face of reality. Similarly, the plan might be tactically weak or misaligned at the outset, but again this is problem that can be addressed along the way as the strategic plan is being implemented and rolled out. In fact I’d say that having and following an imperfect plan is better than having no plan at all.

So given all that - what is the death knell for a strategic plan? One common cause is I believe the moment you hear the phrase “High-level directional statement”. This usually results in a document in which there are no named strategy sponsors, vague time frames and/or no budget allocations. This means that accountability is lost, achievement becomes optional... and that strategic planning subsequently grinds to a halt. Such a document is far more about protecting reputations, or having something to present to the Board, than it is about making meaningful change.

The purpose of a strategic plan is to support the PROCESS of strategic planning. It is impossible to to move a business forward without clear goals, credible strategies, executive accountability, time frames and budget. Take any one of those away or obfuscate them to any degree at all and you compromise the ability to do strategic planning... which, when you think about it, is the whole point of the exercise at the end of the day.