There is no one-size-fits-all strategic planning recipe.

Your approach will be influenced by your industry, the market, and the specific needs of your company's leaders.

However, it is possible to operationalize, that is, to make systematic, each of the stages of the strategic planning process.

This will have the effect of influencing the effectiveness and impact of this process on the performance of your business.

Step 1: Where are we?

An SME will often seek to respond to market needs, hence the importance of understanding its business environment.

The effectiveness of the strategic planning approach will depend on the availability of external analytical elements, including market data, customer/non-customer surveys and competitive analysis.

In addition, there is the objective analysis of internal data. For example, a review of financial profitability is inevitable, as is a general or targeted SWOT analysis by product, department, project, etc.

Other tools, such as dashboard analysis, employee satisfaction surveys, skills assessment and periodic monitoring of financial profitability are equally relevant.

In order to fuel reflection on your current and desired positioning, while improving the vision and evolution of your business strategy, it is essential to empower your teams to carry out internal and external monitoring on a periodic basis.

Step 2: Where do we want to be in X years?

Once you know the state of the situation, you will need to consider the direction your business is taking. These will be influenced, among other things, by your vision, your values and your business challenges.

The vision, often defined and conveyed by the leader, describes the desired future state for the company. Answering certain questions on a regular basis will allow you to know if it is evolving:

• Where do you want to be in 3-5 years?

• What is the target growth rate?

• How will your value proposition evolve?

• What positioning do you want to achieve in the market?

Values are shared beliefs; they represent the foundations of the company's culture and priorities. When they are clearly stated, they help attract employees, customers and external collaborators who adhere to them, and develop long-term synergy in business relationships.

Challenges are the elements that can have a significant impact on achieving the vision, and therefore on the growth of the company. They must be prioritized and addressed. Recruitment and retention of labor, investments in research and development or dependence on a limited number of customers are challenges for many Quebec SMEs.

These elements will allow you to identify the strategic directions of your company, which constitute the very foundations of the strategic plan. These new priorities (a maximum of five) will certainly lead to operational changes. Thus, the preparation of an action plan, the next step in the process, is unequivocally the key to success.

Step 3: How to get there?

It is best to focus on a limited number of objectives (operational changes) to concentrate the efforts of your resources and increase the chances of achieving the desired results.

Once management, employees, customers and partners (if necessary) have been informed of the operational changes planned to achieve the business strategy, implementing performance measurement tools is crucial in order to demonstrate real gains and target areas for improvement. For each objective of the strategic plan, you will need to establish key indicators and identify a target that determines the level of performance sought.

An operational plan, complementary to the strategic plan, defines in a micro way how to maximize the achievement of targets, taking care to specify, for example, the resources and financial requirements required to achieve the expected results. The way in which these elements will be communicated to employees is essential since it will have an impact on their level of mobilization. In this sense, it is recommended to support and/or train managers on the key messages to convey. They should also use a communication tool that reflects your image.

In summary

Strategic planning helps guide your business strategy at the right time, making it well worth the effort. Integrating the activities of the strategic planning process into your regular operational schedule ensures the effectiveness of the process and the success of your business strategy.

The path to achieving your vision certainly requires change management skills. Much of the success of your business strategy depends on how you communicate your plan—with clarity, tact, and transparency.

Once the benefits are known and understood, you will have employees, customers and partners who are not only informed, but also mobilized to the success of your strategic plan!

Examples of process operationalization:

• Survey customers on the value they place on your products/services systematically, either with each delivery, or periodically;

• Create Outlook tasks for those responsible for monitoring competition and market trends;

• Create and continuously maintain strategic thinking teams. For example, quarterly meetings;

• Consult your employees to establish the most important SWOTs once or twice a year;

• Establish and monitor a dashboard;

• Clearly display the target vision and strategic objectives.