How strategic planning helps organisations navigate change By Stephanie Oley

Strategic business planning means knowing which levers to adjust for a business to thrive, the frameworks that will provide clarity, and the people who will be accountable.

Get these levers right, and businesses can achieve remarkable success with their effective and well-executed strategies. Recent examples include Nvidia's shift from gaming-focused chipmaker to AI hardware leader, or the data analytics-led inventory systems now in place at international retailers Amazon and US Target, and Woolworths here in Australia.

By contrast, poor judgement can lead to costly mistakes even for business giants. Shortly after the pandemic, some Silicon Valley tech firms increased hiring exponentially, responding to a global boom in demand for digital services. But within two years, many had to slash their headcounts as the market returned to baseline.

We spoke with CCE facilitator Trena Blair, an experienced business leadership presenter with decades of experience in Australia and abroad, to find out the biggest learnings for attendees of CCE's Strategic Planning and Management course.

Insight 1: Take a holistic, agile approach

Strategy is a complex and often lengthy assignment, says Blair, who has seen too many strategy leaders expect theirs to be whipped together in a week.

'Anecdotally, I hear that around 85% of all strategic business plans are failing. By contrast, the successful 15% of businesses are achieving three-quarters of their objectives,' she says.

A critical driver of success is when the strategic planning starts with thought-provoking conversations about the organisation as a whole, including its initiatives, budgets and planning methods. This should involve a range of team members. Yet a recent Harvard Business Review survey found that 50% of all executives could not name their organisation's top five strategic objectives.

Alignment among staff, customers, business partners and even suppliers is critical to success. For example, if you are a manufacturer or retailer with plans for revenue growth of 40% within two years, your suppliers must be involved. Otherwise, you run a critical risk of them not being able to deliver on that need.

The strategy must be reviewed throughout its duration. Global business risks that have emerged recently include wars, pandemics, trade rifts and technological upheavals. Appoint a team to manage these and other identified risks, responding promptly as new needs arise.

Insight 2: Define business needs accurately

Another tendency that Blair observes among strategy units is to knee-jerk in response to trends, without first defining the actual need.

For example, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform productivity across areas including business analytics, content marketing and customer insights. However, Blair is seeing too many organisations take a scattergun approach to their AI integration.

'There's been much experimentation with AI, but many firms are generating noise without seeing value,' she observes. 'Instead, they should plan from the perspective of where AI fits within the organisation, and how it strengthens their proposition back to the market.'

As an example, Blair was asked several years ago by a government client to deliver a tech industry showcase in the US. A team member suggested she incorporate AI into the event's schedule management. This led to an ethical dilemma for Blair: would the AI make some admin roles redundant?

'I've always gained invaluable support from Executive or Personal Assistants (EAs and PAs), and I felt conflicted about the idea of removing them from the project.

'So I asked a few trusted EAs which tasks they resented the most. Calendar management and rescheduling emerged as a clear theme. So I planned for AI to support in these areas, while ensuring the EAs retained tasks where they added genuine value, such as slide presentations and other creative areas,' Blair says.

Insight 3: Ensure ownership of tasks

Finally, ownership of tasks is essential to ensuring the strategy is delivered in full. Blair observes that many clients – including participants at her CCE workshops – acknowledge they need to improve this aspect of their strategies.

Her training often involves splitting participants into cross-functional teams, rather than allowing them to work in familiar silos. This reflects the way the business strategy should ultimately be deployed.

Everyone wants to do good work. A blended approach allows professionals to learn collaboratively, cross-functionally, and to walk away with real tools applied in a hands-on setting.

- Trena Blair

Where to next?

CCE's Strategic Planning and Management course covers the key components of business strategy planning, from knowing the difference between good and bad strategy, to the planning processes and tools involved. These include the time-honoured SWOT analysis (internal strengths and weaknesses plotted against external opportunities and threats), the Ansoff matrix for identifying growth strategies, and Porter's five forces.

Strategic planning is critical to business growth, and it's vital to have hands-on practice in areas that can catch practitioners off-guard.