Strategic Planning

Increased alignment and unity of purpose in the organization need to manifest themselves in more concise, consistent, integrated and effective strategies, processes and messages in the marketplaces being served. Our organizational strategy development initiatives often include:

  • Scanning the current situation

  • Clarifying organizational values

  • Defining organizational mission

  • Aligning systems with mission & values

  • Creating a vision of the future

  • Appreciative inquiry

  • Identifying key customer-desired outcomes

  • Strategic planning

  • Increasing the effectiveness of the sales process & sales people

  • Product & service branding

  • Clarifying unique sales & marketing propositions

  • Aligning organization structure with strategy

  • Surfacing organizational contradictions & barriers

  • Strategic direction finding

  • Goal setting

  • Implementation timelines

Why invest in strategic planning?

  • To bring people together around a common purpose

  • To make it possible for people to be motivated by a sense of achievement

  • To help give meaning and dignity to people’s work

  • To increase marketing vitality through outcome-focused business planning

  • To compete more efficiently and effectively

  • To differentiate products & services from those of competitors through sales process effectiveness

  • To coordinate the work of different people

  • To help everyone make decisions and drive action

  • To challenge the comfortable or inadequate present state

  • To make incongruent behavior more noticeable

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“With your help, we accomplished the following: 1) The development of a Mission Statement and Values Credo; 2) A dramatic improvement in teamwork and team morale 3) An understanding that I want issues put on the table and discussed openly until meaningful options are identified, a decision reached and commitment obtained; 4) The development of a strategic plan for the company for the next 3-5 years; 5) A solution to the problem of how to best restructure the company against the objectives outlined in the Mission Statement. These things could not have been accomplished without your help moderating the group and your insistence on educating us with regard to concepts and methods before we launched into tasks. You gave us the tools and disciplines to move foward…. Thanks again.”

Charles L. Colman, President

The Colman Group, Inc.

Elkhorn, Wisconsin

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How Strategic Planning Works

Among the distinctive competencies of Harley Consulting & Coaching, Inc., is the ability to facilitate the achievement of unity of purpose through the following steps:

1. Clarify Values. Values are the principles, the standards, and the actions that people in an organization represent, which they consider inherently worthwhile and of the utmost importance. They include: how people treat each other; how people, groups and organizations conduct their business; and what is most important to the organization.

2. Scan The Current Situation. Scanning the current situation involves looking beyond the organization to its customers, suppliers and industry trends for information on what is important to them.

3. Define The Mission. Mission is the core purpose for which an organization is created. It should spring from customer-desired outcomes to inoculate the organization from becoming outmoded. Ultimately, it should be stated in a clear, inspiring statement that answers the questions, “Who are we?” and “Why are we here?” It should state the purpose of the organization’s uniqueness.

4. Create The Vision. Visioning is picturing excellence–what the organization wants to create in its best possible future. It is an evocative description of what is probably possible, but is currently beyond our grasp. A vision is not “something out there” that is totally impractical, but a way of setting a compelling scenario. It answers the question “Where are we going?” Creating this image of the future requires the ability to expand one’s sense of possibilities and then focus on what new initiatives can lead to success.

5. Design The Strategic Plan. Strategic planning includes the practical visioning, barrier analysis, strategic direction finding, assumption testing, goal & objective-setting, tactical & implementation timeline-setting–in short, all of the concrete planning that puts all of the above into action.

6. Design Organizational Structure To Align With The Plan. Instead of allowing organizational structure to impede and retard strategy deployment, structure should support and expedite it.

7. Improve & Align Sales & Marketing Processes & Messages. The organization’s distinctive competencies, market positioning, unique selling propositions and sales processes need to be improved, aligned and consistent for market success.

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“Harley Consulting & Coaching was an outstanding organization to work with. The Minnesota Department of Health Diabetes Program developed a 10-year State Plan for Diabetes in 2002 and worked with Bill Harley to develop and facilitate the process. Bill’s strengths included: providing technical expertise in designing a process for developing a state strategic plan, excellent facilitation skills, a remarkable ability to move large groups and small groups to reach consensus, an effective strategy for compiling and summarizing large amounts of data collected from brainstorming sessions, and skill in writing up summary results. Bill Harley has an exceptional ability to work with diverse groups of people with differing viewpoints and help them reach consensus on direction and mission. ”

Martha Roberts, Coordinator, Minnesota Diabetes Program

Minnesota Department of Health

St. Paul, Minnesota

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