Is there any preparation required before starting the Simplified Strategic Planning process?
Nothing is required prior to starting the process – our experience reveals two particular problems associated with too much preparation. First, while there are numerous reasons why a company may not have previously engaged in strategic planning, the most common one tends to be simply failing to get started. This is due to the constant onslaught of urgent issues that tend to seize the necessary time commitment for planning. Assigning extensive preparation tends to compound the problem with the resultant delay in holding the first planning session. A second reason to defer the majority of the preliminary work is that there is an unlimited amount of study that could be done on any company’s situation. The first session is a preparatory session. A significant part of the first formal team meeting in the Simplified Strategic Planning process is devoted to identifying which specific areas of the company’s situation are relevant from a strategic standpoint and what type of information should
