Strategic Planning Process Paper

Strategic Planning

John F. Kennedy once said “efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” With that being said, there are tools to help leaders succeed with purpose and direction. This paper will provide an overview of the necessary steps in order to reach that success. Discussing the strategic planning process also known as strategic change cycle. Identifying the ten-step process and the most important aspects for each step that should be understood as someone that would implement a strategic plan for an organization. Furthermore, explaining the most interesting aspects and key terms of each step from our text. Moreover, a brief narrative of what I have learned about each of these steps.

Step 1: Initiate and agree

Formal mandates are tasks that the organization is required to do by law. Informal mandates are typically embodied in norms that are no less binding. What is very interesting about this step is learning that many employees do not read the organizations mandates for their place of employment. Understanding the various requirements, restrictions, expectations, pressures, and constraints it faces is an absolute and employee must read the relevant legislation, policies, ordinances, charters, articles, and contracts that outline the organization’s formal mandates. They must also understand the informal mandates the organization faces. While working through this step there are three clear products that should emerge: a list of informal mandates or implied tasks, a list of formal mandates or specified tasks, a determination of the actions not ruled out by mandates or constraints and restraints.

I learned that companies think that they are hindered in doing some changes, however that is not the case in almost every planning process. Also, this step is not as complicated as some of the other step in the process, but is needed to have success. The last note on this step is to ensure a thorough legal review is accomplished to confirm that the current mission is identified and that all mandates are accounted for and interpreted

The stakeholder analysis is used to answer who the customer is, their needs, and how to support them. This review coupled with a clear understanding of the organization's mandates provide the data to confirm, modify, or develop a new mission statement. The next action in this step is to discuss and agree on what core values the organization will operate under. Core values are those common values and beliefs that the organization lives by and are reflected in our daily decisions and actions. An interesting not in this step is that the values that are practiced within an organization are not the same as those that are