Strategic Planning

In order to be effective, strategic planning must be custom designed to meet the needs of the each client company. Farnsworth Consulting offers a menu approach to strategic planning in which each segment is discussed and purchased separately to give you exactly what you need, and nothing that you don't. Components of strategic planning include:

Internal Information Gathering:

Issues Interviews
1-on-1 interviews with key staff members to identify barriers to moving the company forward and issues which need to be resolved in order for the strategic plan to be successfully implemented.

Employee Satisfaction Survey
Survey instrument developed in conjunction with the client to ask specific questions in which management is interested. Qualitative information is organized around themes for discussion. Quantitative data is aggregated and analyzed.

Financial Analysis
Farnsworth Consulting can assist you in turning monthly, quarterly and annual financial data into easily digestible reports for strategic planning purposes. In addition, specific financial analysis can be provided such as unit/cost analysis, break-even analysis, etc. on a custom basis.

External Information Gathering:

Environmental Scan
Review of the external environment affecting the company's operations - including macro-trends such as the economy, consumer buying behavior, geo-political issues, etc. Information is gathered from existing third-party sources.

Stakeholder Surveys
Surveys of various individuals or companies that hold valuable information for your company - these include: customers, clients, contractors, referring agencies, and suppliers. Topics of focus include customer service, customer needs, etc. These surveys are typically administered via telephone interviews.

Market Analysis
A market analysis report reviews: the competitive landscape, pricing pressures, customer needs, etc. This report indicates future directions/opportunities for the company and also reveals where company might position itself in the market.

Strategic Planning Process
The preferred method for strategic planning is an off-site retreat (10 persons maximum) that combines a review of information gathered with thought provoking exercises and development of future strategic directions. It is critical that the head of the organization is both present and active in the discussion.

SWOT
A Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats analysis is an interactive process between participating staff and the facilitator. Strengths and Weaknesses are identified internal to the organization, while Opportunities and Threats are identified external to the organization. Often a good opening exercise for the strategic planning process.

Brainstorming
An uninhibited brainstorming session can be instrumental in solving organizational problems. The facilitator assists in setting the tone and moving the conversation along - but remains neutral in the discussion. No ideas are censured and all are thrown on the board for consideration.

Reflective Process
Taking the time to reflect on where the company has been and how it has evolved is a very useful and enlightening session. The secrets to a company's future often lie in its history. Understanding this evolution is also critical to bring new staff members up to speed and assure all staff are on the same page moving forward.

Review of Information
A brief review of information that has been gathered (and read by the participants) prior to the retreat should be done - only highlighting the salient points. Thoughts provoked by these reports will then be documented by the facilitator.

Assumptions
To create a single set of assumptions about the internal and external issues affecting the company is a critical step in the strategic planning process. This process assures that all participants have a similar understanding and interpretation of the background materials that were developed and presented.

Progress Report
This typically comes from the head of the organization, if a strategic planning / business planning process was undertaken previously - it is important to understand the status of previous goals and objectives. Successes should be celebrated, inability to achieve goals should be analyzed to understand the barriers to their success.

Mission/Vision
The process of developing succinct and emotive vision and mission statements is critical. It is important to have one statement that all staff can understand, feel and be motivated by. We attempt to move the client through this process quickly - if an existing mission/vision exists we will review it and get further feedback and possibly make changes. If one does not exist, we will work with the head of the organization prior to the meeting to develop draft statements so we are not starting the process from scratch.

Goals/Objectives
There are many ways that the development of goals and objectives can be organized and we will establish the parameters with the head of the organization prior to the meeting. Goals are generally large over-arching themes that have come out of the information presented on the state of the company and the environment. Objectives are more detailed, breaking down the goal further into its parts, and are measurable by available data.

As a next step to Strategic Planning, Farnsworth Consulting recommends an Action Planning Process