Has your organization performed an offsite SWOT analysis lately?
Strategic planning work is best accomplished at an off-site setting so that executives can rid their minds of daily responsibilities and concentrate on the establishment of new paradigms or goals.
The agenda for our proven strategic planning process consists of many steps:
» Establish objectives for a half-day or full day retreat
» Share key principles from a carefully selected book
» SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)
» Create measurable goals
Case Studies
Case Study #1 Atlanta
Company A has experienced over 17% revenue growth for 5 consecutive years. Net profits are now 11% of annual sales revenue. Company has won several safety & health awards and earned three awards in Atlanta’s Fastest Growing Companies in the past 5 years. The firm has a strong focus on continuous improvement, quality, and customer satisfaction. The executive team is excited about the future and they want to identify the “next mountain to scale.”
This firm has added 60 new employees in the past two years. They have an active R & D department and excellent sales & marketing team who focus on generating 20% of 2007 revenue from products or services that did not exist prior to 12/31/2006. All teammates are actively involved in measuring key work processes for accuracy and timeliness. The firm uses an outside facilitator at each annual strategic planning retreat where they focus on the next 3 – 5 years. Key portions of the written strategic plan are shared with all employees via department meetings that are held monthly.
Case #2 - Chicago
Company B has experienced 5 solid years of 5 – 7% revenue growth. Net profits have grown 2% in the past two years, with net profits now 5% of sales revenue. Previous written strategic plan is now 3 years old and has not been reviewed for over 18 months. The executive team is concerned whether growth can continue. No new products or services are ready for introduction in 2007. The last strategic planning retreat in 2004 was self-directed by the president; no outside facilitator was utilized. The goals created were touchy-feely and difficult to measure. In 2004, the firm tried measuring key work processes for accuracy and timeliness but gave up after six months as no one was held accountable to update or share their measurements.
Case #3 - Denver
Company C was quite successful for the first 15 years of its existence, but is now struggling financially. Demand for products and services has waned by 3% and 11% revenue declines in the past two years. Interestingly, its industry grows 4% annually. Approximately 15% of the organization's employees have been downsized in the past two years through regularly termination intervals. Company barely broke even in 2004 and ran red ink amounting to 5% of revenue in 2005 and 8% in 2006. Two executive team members left in early 2006, including the VP of Sales. Interviews to replace them began in November of 2006. A third executive team member will retire in July 2007. With this employee turmoil, the executive team rarely meets. There is no written strategic plan in place. The firm has never held a strategic planning retreat.
Dynamic Consulting, Inc.
