Introduction to Strategic Planning

One of the distinctive characteristics of an emerging company is the significant level of “innovation” associated with its business model, with innovation being thought of as the process of successfully acquiring and implementing new ideas within a business company. Successful innovation increases the likelihood that a company will achieve the extraordinary growth and stakeholder value necessary for emerging status; however, not surprisingly, most new business ideas are never achieved. While the reason may be a lack of commitment or resources, another major obstacle to successful innovation is lack of planning. A substantial amount of literature exists on the importance of strategic planning, and it generally is accepted that implementing and maintaining formal planning processes at the appropriate time during the development of the company is an essential element in creating and maintaining competitive advantage. Strategic planning is a process of carefully and thoughtfully aligning the strengths of a company’s business to the opportunities that are available to the company in its chosen business environment. While strategic planning is both a science and an art, it is generally believed that in order for the planning process to be effective on a consistent basis the managers of the company must collect, screen and analyze information about the company’s business environment, identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the company and develop a clear mission for the company and a set of achievable goals and objectives that then become the basis for tactical and operational plans. Strategic planning is an important and essential process for every company regardless of the size of its business and the time and other resources that the company has available to invest in the developing, documenting, implementing and monitoring a strategic plan. The business environment and relevant technologies are constantly changing, and new risks and uncertainties will surface on a regular basis. This chapter provides an introduction to the strategic planning process