The Significance of Strategic Planning
It was early morning and still fairly dark. I was in the driveway about to leave home in my car, when I noticed a strange elderly man sitting on the sidewalk outside my front gate. An old bicycle was parked next to him. I had never seen the man in the neighborhood before and was somewhat apprehensive as I began to unlock the gate.
Days before, I heard about a woman who was almost erroneously shot by an elderly gunman because she fit the description of the person he was contracted to kill. He too was riding a bicycle.
With the man sitting on the sidewalk close to my gate so early in the morning, many fearful thoughts entered my mind. Should I return inside the house and wait until he leaves? Should I call the police? Did I offend anyone in traffic yesterday? Was it about the man at the supermarket who threatened to kill me because I refused to allow him before me in the line at the cashier?
For a while, I hesitated, then bravely or foolishly, I pushed the gate open and began driving the car outside – slowly I drove — watching the man all the time in the rearview mirror to see if he was going to make any moves.
Then, something happened – instead of producing a gun as I dreaded, the man calmly lifted his right hand, waved, smiled, and warmly greeted me.
Surprised, I paused for a while and then offered the man a nervous greeting in return. Perhaps, sensing my uneasiness, he apologetically explained why he was sitting outside the gate so early in the morning. He was there waiting for the nearby bakery to open so that he could buy one of the big loaves of bread.
Strategic Thinking
“When I buy the big bread at the bakery it can serve me for a long time. If I go to the supermarket, I would only be able to afford small bread at a high price. I cannot afford to be buying bread two or three times a week, so when I buy the big one at the bakery it will serve me much longer,” the man explained.
I shuffled in the seat as I positioned the car to drive away from the gate, feeling embarrassed about my initial thoughts upon first noticing the stranger. The man was not there to shoot me. He had a different plan – a strategic plan. He knew his situation. His objectives were specific and measurable. He knew where he wanted to be. He knew how to get there, and he knew how to measure and assess his progress.
Goals and Objectives
Sure, the man may not have said it in as many words, but in his brief statement he identified a set of actions and decisions to achieve his goals and objectives, determining in particular, the best way to allocate his limited resources.
In any given situation, if you don’t have a proper strategy, then you will end up being all over the place – scattered thoughts, lack of focus, and unpredictable outcomes. The man with the old bicycle was very clear about what he wanted to achieve, and positioned himself to do so.
What is Strategy?
A strategy guides how we conduct business and assists us in making reasoned, cohesive decisions. It can be described as the pattern of actions that we employ in order to achieve our business objectives, rather than to be merely drifting along.
Roadmap
In the absence of a strategic plan, we will have no clear roadmap to follow, no unified action to achieve our business goals, and no properly thought out course to pursue. While freewheeling improvisation may work for some, it won’t necessarily work for everyone, all the time.
Implementation of a proper strategic plan provides a clear direction for the individual or organization to follow. For the organization, this is important in ensuring that everyone is on the same page, working towards a single vision. Properly executed, a strategy can differentiate an individual or business from others, providing some level of competitive advantage in the marketplace.
As the man waiting for bread succinctly demonstrated, a strategic plan helps to optimize the use of available resources, including time and money. It ensures that resources are allocated to areas that will deliver the greatest impact – in this case, buying a bigger loaf of bread that will save money and serve for a longer time.
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