Strategic Planning
WHY STRATEGY NEEDS PURPOSE MORE THAN MISSION AND VISION - STREAMLINING THE STRATEGY PLANNING PROCESS
ABSTRACT
Moving from Vision and Mission to Purpose led strategy provides a more meaningful Strategy aligned with all stakeholders. A rolling three-year quarterly plan also leads to a more realistic, practical, and evolving plan that caters for a changing environment.
Prem Chand – Principal, MD, ananda advisory
STREAMLINING THE STRATEGY PROCESS
Organisations need to move from a Vision and Mission based planning process to a Purpose led plan that aligns better with stakeholders. Furthermore, a three year quarterly rolling plan allows for a more dynamic and evolving plan from the static Annual annual plan that most organisations tend to spend countless hours preparing.
Businesses spend significant amount of time on Strategy Planning. It is an important part of any successful business as it sets the roadmap for success and enables a business to correctly prioritise its resources aligned with its purpose.
Traditional strategy planning often centres on crafting the perfect mission and vision statements. These statements can be inspiring, but they can also be vague and time-consuming to develop.
A more effective approach is to focus on an organization’s core identity: its purpose and values.
Purpose defines why the organization exists, its reason for being beyond just making a profit. Values are the fundamental principles that guide behaviour and decision-making.
The Limitations of Mission and Vision
While mission and vision statements provide a directional compass, they can be:
- Too Broad: Generic statements about “being the best” or “changing the world” lack specificity and are difficult to translate into actionable plans.
- Static: The business landscape is constantly evolving. Inflexible mission and vision statements may not adapt to changing realities.
- Disengaged: Employees may find them lofty and unrelatable, leading to a disconnect between the statements and daily work.
- Stronger employee and stakeholder engagement: A clear purpose connects employees to the organization’s bigger picture, fostering a sense of ownership and
- Clearer Strategic Direction: Purpose and values act as a filter for decision-making, ensuring strategies.
- Greater Adaptability: A well-defined purpose can guide strategic adjustments as circumstances change, while values ensure these changes stay true to the organization’s core identity.
So how do you refocus your strategic planning on purpose
and values?
Start with Purpose: Engage in discussions with stakeholders
to define the organization’s core reason for being. What
positive impact do you want to create in the world?
Develop Values: Identify a set of core values that reflect your
organization’s character and how you operate. These values
should be clear, concise, and consistently applied.
Actionable Strategies: Evaluate all strategic initiatives
through the lens of purpose and values. Do they contribute
to your desired impact? Are they aligned with your core
principles?
Moving from Annual Planning to a Rolling 3-Year Plan with
Quarterly Reviews
Annual planning can be a time-consuming process that often
results in a static document that quickly becomes outdated
in today’s fast-paced business environment.
A more agile approach is to develop a rolling 3-year plan
with a focus on quarterly reviews. This method offers
several advantages:
- Increased Focus on the Present: By breaking down the strategic plan into 12 quarterly chunks, organizations can prioritize immediate goals and actions without getting bogged down in distant future considerations.
- Enhanced Adaptability: Quarterly reviews allow for course correction as needed. Emerging trends, market changes, and unforeseen circumstances can be addressed more effectively with a flexible planning approach.
- Improved Employee Engagement: Regular reviews throughout the year keep employees informed, engaged, and focused on achieving the most relevant strategic objectives.