If you’re running a business, developing a strategic plan for your organization is absolutely essential. However, implementing that plan is just as important, if not more so, than coming up with one in the first place. If you’ve already worked with your team to develop an effective strategic plan that aligns with your organization’s mission and vision and that’s clear on action items, goals, and strategic priorities, what is the next step?

Is Your Strategic Plan Pointless?

All-too-often, companies find that, no matter how impressive their strategic plan, once the team has returned to the hustle and bustle of everyday operations, the strategic initiatives end up getting put on a back burner. A year later, when it’s time to review the plan’s effectiveness, those who were supposed to have responsibility for implementing the outlined initiatives and tracking their progress start to panic, realizing they haven’t met their goals. This isn’t just stressful for the individuals involved, it’s also bad news for the business. What’s the point of devising a strategic plan for development and growth if nobody’s going to follow through on the action items and priorities?

To avoid the problem from occurring in your business, there’s something you can put in place – set up regular strategy meetings so the organization as a whole can stay on track with its implementation of the strategic plan.

How Often Should Strategic Plan Review Meetings Take Place?

You probably already hold regular meetings in your organization for team members to report on their progress and raise any issues. Whether these are weekly check-ups or quarterly sessions, they are essential to keeping the business on track. It’s equally important to fit time into the schedule for strategic work too. How frequent those meetings should be will depend on the needs of your company. You may prefer a weekly meeting, or a monthly or even quarterly one will suffice.

What Should Happen In The Meeting?

In a strategic plan review meeting, you should have a clearly written agenda that showcases the mission and vision as well as the goals and strategic priorities that have been set out. During the meeting, you should check back against those goals to see how well things are going and what has been accomplished since the last meeting towards achieving those targets. It’s also important to look forward to what will be done before the next meeting takes place.

Improving The Chance Of Having A Successful Strategic Plan

Increasing the chance of having a successful strategic plan is very important for any business, so creating regular meetings during which the focus will be solely on strategic work couldn’t be more essential. Once you get into the habit of planning these meetings on a regular basis, you’ll find that progress is smoother overall. The team will be able to spot at an early stage where any shortfalls lie and where goals are either being met or exceeded.

Getting Professional Advice

If you need some help and advice in developing or implementing a strategic plan for your organization, visit GR-US.com. Our team of professional consultants and business analysts are at your disposal to help you put in place the most effective strategy to grow your business.