Strategic Business Planning

By the end of the Strategic Business Planning course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the importance of a well-thought-out business plan for the success of the organization
• Describe the structure of a business plan and how it caters to market and organizational needs
• Apply the business plan development process to create a well-structured, convincing business plan covering all vital elements
• Develop a business plan that includes a detailed, practical and effective implementation strategy
• Evaluate the progress of the implementation of the business plan and take necessary corrective steps

COURSE CONTENT

Analysing the Corporate and Business Strategy Set Out in the Plan

• What is the “mission statement”
• Are the objectives clear
• What is the corporate strategy of the business
• What time scale; short medium or long term
• How will success be benchmarked
• Who will drive the vision and who will implement it
• What is the business strategy
• How will business goals be achieved
• Are they realistic
• Who will accomplish this
• How will success or failure be measured
• Does it make sense
• Do you have confidence that both objectives can be achieved
• What does progress so far and the track record to date tell you

Industry Analysis – What does The Plan Cover

• The current state of the industry
• The target market
• Reference materials
• Spreadsheets
• pie charts
• bar graphs
• Other relevant data.
• Historical data about the nature of the industry
• Growth potential based on economic factors and conditions.
• A list of the major competitors in the industry
• A brief summary of their operations and similar products or services.
• A summary of the nature of the industry
• Specific information and statistics about growth patterns, fluctuations related to the economy and income projections made about the industry.
• A forecast for the industry.
• Data and industry predictions for the next five, 10 and 20 years.
• Government regulations that affect the industry.
• Is there a Competitive Analysis and Unique Selling Proposition as well as data for the direct and indirect competition
• Is there a realistic list potential stumbling blocks.

An Analysis of Management

• The board and the non–executives
• The Chairman and the CEO
• Senior Management
• For both the above
• Track record
• Reputation
• Skillsets
• Age and Experience
• Qualifications
• Previous roles
• The risk/reward proposition
• Can they make it happen in your view
• Is there a disconnect
• Does all management buy-in to the Plan
• Were key players consulted
• What is your experience of dealing with the team
• What do your existing respected clients say about them
• What is the industry view
• Is the chain of command optimal
• Flat or top-down or bottom-up style
• What is your view of them
• If there are any meaningful doubts, walk away

Target Market in the Plan

• What is the target market
• Is there a group of customers that have a similar need for the product or service
• Will those potential clients buy the product
• Is the business satisfying an existing need or creating a new product
• Demographics analysis
• Geographic analysis
• Psychographic analysis – Why do they buy?
• Behaviouristic: What makes the target clients decide to do business with you
• Can this be achieved
• What is the evidence to date
• What have competitors done

Competition Analysis

• Who are the most important competitors?
• What are their main strengths and weaknesses?
• How can this business be different?
• How can the product or service be more competitive?
• What are competitors’ pricing policies?
• How do these affect the projected sales strategies?
• Are main competitors and their estimated market shares listed and understood?

Human Resources & Operations in the Plan

• What is the existing Management Structure
• What management tools are used
• Who actually runs the business
• How many people are employed and will be employed (Full Time / Part-Time)
• What types of skills and/or experience are already in place.
• What is needed
• What training will the workforce require to be able to meet the future plans?
• What measures will be adopted to ensure employee loyalty?
• Incentives & compensation systems – will they help drive value creation
• How soon will it be necessary to expand the workforce?

Implementing the Plan

• What Balanced scorecard will be used
• Is it tried and tested and fit for purpose
• Change management capabilities
• Key drivers
• Key responsibilities
• KRI’s & KPI’s
• How will success be measured
• What will the early warning signs be
• Who will have strategic control and oversight responsibility
• What MI or data will be made available to enable stakeholders to review progress

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

The training methodology combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations. Participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics. The emphasis is on the practical application of the topics and as a result participant will go back to the workplace with both the ability and the confidence to apply the techniques learned to their duties.