This morning has been filled with the stories and helpful advice of Dr. Pete Johnson at the 2008 TNLA Management Workshop regarding the ins and outs of strategic business planning. Pete contends (and I agree) that many companies today roll their eyes when the mere words strategic plan are mentioned. However, there are some very important reasons as to why companies should engage in this process. Besides those mentioned in the previous post (regarding the economic state of our economy), here are a few more to consider:
- It serves as a roadmap for your business – provides a basic sense of direction and helps maintain focus on business objectives.
- It is necessary to obtain capital from investors and/or bankers – to determine true economic potential relative to risks involved.
- It helps evaluate business structure alternatives – reality check to protect you from proceeding with an idea that doesn’t make good “business sense.”
- It provides a benchmark to evaluate results of previous strategies.