Strategic planning is a process that every business should go through at least annually. Determining goals and actions needed to accomplish those goals are necessary to give your team direction. SWOT analyses are helpful in determining who you are and what you are facing. Strategic objectives, sometimes called "Rocks" are hurdle points on the way to achieving your strategic goals. Surprisingly, many business owners fail to do any type of strategic planning. Most of the ones that do strategic planning however, neglect what I think is the most important part of strategic leadership - Visioneering.
Visioneering is the process of establishing a blue print of a dream. A vision is a sketch of how you see the future of your business. It is made up of inspiration, passion, purpose, and direction. Vision begins in the heart of a business leader and does not necessarily require immediate action. However, the leader's vision must be communicated to the people in an organization. This is probably the most important role of a leader and it is one that is most often neglected. Although visions get refined, they really don't change and they require constant attention to keep your team focused. Visions thrive in environments of unity and die in environments of division. Maintaining a vision requires bold leadership.
Visioneering has to be done prior to establishing a strategic plan and should only include the very top executives. The vision starts with the CEO and must be bought into by the key executives. Cast it down to the organization and then gather your team to start strategic planning. Your team desperately needs a picture of where you want the company to go. A final thought - don't hire anyone who can't buy into your vision and don't work for anyone whose vision you can't buy into.
