Successful entrepreneurs, business owners and CEOs use two critical documents-strategic and business plans- to start, run and stage their businesses for success.
What are the differences between these two critical documents? A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed achievable and the plan for reaching them. Business plans are essentially for starting new businesses. A business plan defines the purpose of the business, assesses business opportunities, provides structure to ideas, helps plan human and operational needs of a business and is critical if you are seeking funding.
A strategic plan defines the strategy or direction for a business and provides the basis for making decisions on allocating its scarce resources to pursue its chosen strategy over a given period of time. It answers the following questions: What do we do, for whom do we do it and how do we excel or outperform our competition?
A company’s strategic plan is its overall game plan that management uses to position the business for success in its chosen target market, compete effectively, maximize customer satisfaction and deliver superior value to all its stakeholders over a period of time(usually one to five years).
Whereas a business plan is used to start a new business or new projects, a strategic plan is for established businesses desirous of growth. A strategic plan helps build your competitive advantage, communicates your chosen strategy to your associates or employees, prioritizes your financial needs and provides focus and direction to move from plan to action.
In summary, a business plan starts and runs your business while a strategic plan stages your business for success.
A strategic plan is the product of a strategic planning process. The chief objective of a strategic planning process is to ensure that the chosen course and direction of a business is well thought out, sound and appropriate. The process provides reassurance that the limited resources of the business are sharply focused in support of that chosen direction and encompasses both strategy formulation and implementation.
All businesses implicitly or explicitly are involved in strategic planning: Those who fail to plan actually plan to fail!
The strategic plan is a chief driver of business growth with profound impact on the business, its people and customers.
BUSINESS: Strategic planning transforms businesses into purpose driven organizations focusing the energies of all its members on the realization of the chosen goals of the strategic plan while simultaneously and continuously maximizing the interest s of all its stakeholders. What is more? Businesses that are driven by strategic planning outperform those that are not, not because of what propels them but in spite of any and all obstacles that impede them. Such Winning businesses have the following to show for their strategic planning:
• Better results
• Organizational leadership spends more time on identified high impact, high growth activities
• Higher ability to Identify true opportunities versus false starts
• Adapt quickly
• Are proactive instead of reactive
• Achieve your vision for success
The net effect will be a growing business, able and willing to meet the needs of its customer.
EMPLOYEES: Employees in strategically run organizations are co-creators of the future of that business and are therefore highly involved, more empowered through ownership and consequently passionate employees. Such employees are therefore more motivated and productive.
CUSTOMERS: Customers of strategically run businesses are more likely to get value for their dollar. They get services/products that serve their current needs from businesses with highly motivated and passionate employees and business systems and structures aligned to current reality. The net effect will be increased demand of the business services by customers leading to mutual satisfaction for all: Business, employees and Customers.
So do you have a strategic plan for your business? If not, create one. Businesses of all sizes and stages-early, growing, plateau or decline- do require a strategic plan. A new business requires it to grow and maximize its value creation process. A business in plateau requires it to unlock new opportunities for growth. A business in decline requires it to reconstruct its path to growth. Even a successful business requires a strategic plan to manage its success and plan for the next phase of growth.
Businesses at all times face an uncertain future. Winning Entrepreneurs, Business owners and CEOs know that for the success of their business to be sustainable, they have to prepare for the future. One way to prepare for the future is to wait for it to happen. However, Management guru, Tom Peters says that the best way to prepare for the future is to create it. The strategic plan helps you create the future.
The Author, Dr. Kennedy Ononaeke, a business growth strategist is the Managing Consultant /CEO of Winning Edge Consulting Limited, a healthcare consulting and training firm. For a free complimentary consultation on how to create a winning strategic plan call him on 2348035875796 or email: kennedyononaeke@winningedge.com.ng.
What are the differences between these two critical documents? A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed achievable and the plan for reaching them. Business plans are essentially for starting new businesses. A business plan defines the purpose of the business, assesses business opportunities, provides structure to ideas, helps plan human and operational needs of a business and is critical if you are seeking funding.
A strategic plan defines the strategy or direction for a business and provides the basis for making decisions on allocating its scarce resources to pursue its chosen strategy over a given period of time. It answers the following questions: What do we do, for whom do we do it and how do we excel or outperform our competition?
A company’s strategic plan is its overall game plan that management uses to position the business for success in its chosen target market, compete effectively, maximize customer satisfaction and deliver superior value to all its stakeholders over a period of time(usually one to five years).
Whereas a business plan is used to start a new business or new projects, a strategic plan is for established businesses desirous of growth. A strategic plan helps build your competitive advantage, communicates your chosen strategy to your associates or employees, prioritizes your financial needs and provides focus and direction to move from plan to action.
In summary, a business plan starts and runs your business while a strategic plan stages your business for success.
A strategic plan is the product of a strategic planning process. The chief objective of a strategic planning process is to ensure that the chosen course and direction of a business is well thought out, sound and appropriate. The process provides reassurance that the limited resources of the business are sharply focused in support of that chosen direction and encompasses both strategy formulation and implementation.
All businesses implicitly or explicitly are involved in strategic planning: Those who fail to plan actually plan to fail!
The strategic plan is a chief driver of business growth with profound impact on the business, its people and customers.
BUSINESS: Strategic planning transforms businesses into purpose driven organizations focusing the energies of all its members on the realization of the chosen goals of the strategic plan while simultaneously and continuously maximizing the interest s of all its stakeholders. What is more? Businesses that are driven by strategic planning outperform those that are not, not because of what propels them but in spite of any and all obstacles that impede them. Such Winning businesses have the following to show for their strategic planning:
• Better results
• Organizational leadership spends more time on identified high impact, high growth activities
• Higher ability to Identify true opportunities versus false starts
• Adapt quickly
• Are proactive instead of reactive
• Achieve your vision for success
The net effect will be a growing business, able and willing to meet the needs of its customer.
EMPLOYEES: Employees in strategically run organizations are co-creators of the future of that business and are therefore highly involved, more empowered through ownership and consequently passionate employees. Such employees are therefore more motivated and productive.
CUSTOMERS: Customers of strategically run businesses are more likely to get value for their dollar. They get services/products that serve their current needs from businesses with highly motivated and passionate employees and business systems and structures aligned to current reality. The net effect will be increased demand of the business services by customers leading to mutual satisfaction for all: Business, employees and Customers.
So do you have a strategic plan for your business? If not, create one. Businesses of all sizes and stages-early, growing, plateau or decline- do require a strategic plan. A new business requires it to grow and maximize its value creation process. A business in plateau requires it to unlock new opportunities for growth. A business in decline requires it to reconstruct its path to growth. Even a successful business requires a strategic plan to manage its success and plan for the next phase of growth.
Businesses at all times face an uncertain future. Winning Entrepreneurs, Business owners and CEOs know that for the success of their business to be sustainable, they have to prepare for the future. One way to prepare for the future is to wait for it to happen. However, Management guru, Tom Peters says that the best way to prepare for the future is to create it. The strategic plan helps you create the future.
The Author, Dr. Kennedy Ononaeke, a business growth strategist is the Managing Consultant /CEO of Winning Edge Consulting Limited, a healthcare consulting and training firm. For a free complimentary consultation on how to create a winning strategic plan call him on 2348035875796 or email: kennedyononaeke@winningedge.com.ng.
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