How To Keep Your Strategic Plan Flexible

A common misconception among those in charge of an organization’s strategic planning is that a strategy is set in stone once executed.

Many mistakenly believe that there is little scope for adjustment after a strategy is implemented. This couldn’t be further from the truth – every strategic plan should represent an agile, dynamic process that changes with the shifting needs of the organization.

Flexibility is therefore key to strategic success, so what steps can you take to ensure your strategy doesn’t get stuck in a rut?

Frequently monitor both internal and external factors

Once your strategy has been executed, you should make sure it stays on track with a regular monitoring system.

This involves keeping tabs on both your organization’s internal operations to ensure it is performing as planned, and also the goings-on in the external market and industry. Doing so will help ensure your business is on course to meet objectives and any external changes are accounted for.

Business strategy software such as StrategyBlocks divides your overall strategy into smaller blocks so you can analyse and monitor it more easily.

Involve the right people

You cannot hope for your strategic plan to be flexible if only a small set of people are involved in it.

Make sure your planning involves all the necessary people from across your organization who have the skills and knowledge to make any required changes and move it forward at pace.

Planning shouldn’t be restricted to only a few departments either – use strategic management software to bring the entire organization together and make a joint effort in developing the strategy.

Make contingency plans

Even if you feel your strategy is flawless, you should always expect the unexpected.

Organizations are rarely able to control every internal process all the time, let alone the wider happenings in the external business environment. Make sure you have several back-up plans to fall back onto should your initial strategy hit a roadblock.