Just over three months to the start of the new financial year ...

Who should drive strategic planning?

There is some argument about this in organisations with a board of directors, where some believe, as I do, the directors have the responsibility to drive the strategic planning and vision of the organisation. They are ably assisted by the senior management in this process as it is the management who usually have the access to the relevant data required to execute the planning.

Others believe the management should do the strategic planning and just have the board ratify or approve the plan. That to me is not the correct process and is usually the situation for companies with either a sole director or organisation not set up with a committee or board of directors.

‘Directors direct and managers manage’ is the mantra from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and depending on the size of the organisation, directors will be more or less involved in the preparatory process done before a strategic planning session. But the planning should then be directed by the board with the valuable input of senior management. 

In small clubs I have worked with, there is a board of say seven (7)directors and the Secretary Manager, whereas in larger clubs, it is usually a board of seven (7) directors, the Chief Executive Officer and the senior executive team. This may include Chief Operations Manager, Chief Financial Manager, Marketing Manager, Food and Beverage Manager, Human Resources Manager and perhaps a Facilities Manager (with golf, bowling or football clubs), depending on the size of the club.

Preparation facilitates good planning

Before we gather for a day or two of planning, there is homework to be done by both directors and management. In order for everyone to be on the same page in the ‘Where are we now’ phase, we do the internal and external reviews which include:

Internal - a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), Financial review (usually previous Financial Year and year to date results), and Membership data.

External - a competitive review of businesses that offer competing products and services, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data for your local suburb or region and trends that may impact your business.

Then everyone needs to think about and list to bring for discussion, the ‘Where do we want to go’ phase which will include both operational and strategic objectives of how we envision the club/business in the future. This should include short, medium and long-term objectives – the plan will usually run a three (3) to five (5) year purview, but long term is really out about 25 years. In club land, it can really be a long game you have to play, with the groundwork being laid today for a future outcome in 10 to 20 years.

A colleague Simon Walshaw (Grace Curve Consulting) coined a phrase – “We want our clubs to be here for our grandchildren’s grandchildren” and I love that approach, as many clubs have been around for 50, 75 and 100 years, so the plan should aim to continue that legacy.

The Facilitation

When the team get together for the day or two of planning, I work to provide guided discovery for the organisation, working on discussing what can and can’t be achieved depending on the three (3) key resources the organisation has available – Human, Financial and Physical resources.

The benefit I offer includes over 45 years of industry experience in hospitality, as well as experience from retail, vocational education and training and environment industries. Working across many industries provides me with insight to assist in looking into opportunities, systems and procedures that can enhance the delivery of the strategic plan.

We workshop the standard areas of Vision (Purpose), Mission and Values and discuss all the homework to get the full picture of where the organisation is at, what it is capable of achieving in the short, medium and longer term, and then working through a process to identify the key objectives, prioritising them and then putting timeframes on them.

By understanding the organisation’s capabilities, with respect to their human, financial and physical resources, we can set a prioritised plan, with SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Framed) that are then populated into the actual plan.

The Outcome

When the session is finished, there are two optional outcomes –

   1. You take away the information created, with a template plan to draft the plan yourselves (usually delegated to the management

      team), or

   2. You engage me to write the initial draft plan, which then is sent to you to fil in any missing details and assist in finalising.

Once the draft is created, the board and management team involved in the process work to fine tune the plan, until the Board is satisfied with it and then endorses it as the plan for the next three to five years. I insist on a 6 week turnaround of the plan completion, so that the organisation can implement the plan as soon as the new financial year kicks in.

Of course, the strategic plan, once approved by the board, is actually then handed to the management team for them to draft their business plan for the next 12 months (financial year). Their plan and budgets are them approved by the board and the organisation continues to trade, with a view to achieving the first year’s plan objectives, with the commensurate improvement in results.

I am pleased to be able to report that virtually all my past clients have reaped benefit from the process and often excitedly report to me, within 12 to 18 months after the planning facilitation, that they have already achieved the objectives set for up to two (2) years into the plan.

Once you have a plan – a road map to success – it is fascinating how it often brings forward the results calculated for further into the future. A key point to note here is that the timeframes set for objectives are not set in concrete. If you need to push a deadline back or bring one forward, to suit the current or changed circumstances, then that is OK to do. Hence my advocating quarterly reviews, which allow you to tweak and adjust the plan as required.

For more information on strategic planning for your business, contact Ron Browne 0414 633 423 or ron@etrapreneurservices.com.au