'Tis the Season for a Strategic Assessment: Plan for It!

Credit: getty by erhui1979

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible”

                                                                                           - Tony Robbins

A new year, time for new thinking and new approaches. While this coming January may feel different than others, it still is that time to pause and reflect and define the goals for the coming year.

Strategic Assessment

If you don’t have a formal process for annual strategic planning, consider a strategic assessment.

When assisting clients with strategic plans for sales and marketing, I start with a strategic assessment. The assessment includes considerations for current capabilities, sales process, marketing, current staff skill set, vertical markets, and potential new business initiatives. Using a proven methodology, I conduct a workshop to identify current strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and threats (SWOT) for growth.

I ask clients to take a hard look in the mirror at their strengths, weaknesses, and the results of their efforts. Getting to the reasons for each category, takes time and commitment to reflect and consider causes. The second part of a SWOT is considering the external factors for opportunities and threats. Outside research and customer survey data provide input to understand the impact of trends, competitive factors, and changes in economic conditions. All of these may impact the current state, as well as success with future strategic plans.

I recommend a cross-functional approach for the assessment process. In addition to the executive, sales and client service teams, a robust SWOT analysis includes input from production, IT, and technical teams. With strategic planning and analysis, clients define a path forward.

The methodology includes assessing:

• Data across departments defining the current state
• Capabilities and opportunities
• Business issues and challenges
• Marketing programs and results
• Sales initiatives and results
• Future state goals and objectives

Look Back to See Forward

The assessment includes a fresh look at past activities, strategies, and results to provide both vision and context. 2020 and 2021 created many new circumstances for businesses. Likewise, 2022 will require innovative approaches to reach goals. Growth will likely come from different sources than yesterday.

Results Don’t Lie

The real value of a strategic assessment is clarity on what was planned, completed, and accomplished. With this perspective, business leaders and managers can have a candid conversation about internal and external challenges that may impede attaining the desired future vision. With clarity and alignment, a written strategic plan provides focus and direction for all managers.

Reflect

As they should, senior leaders define goals and expect managers to implement projects, programs, and delegate tasks. But often projects and programs take unforeseen turns and decisions made on the fly generate unexpected results, both good and bad.

The assessment is the pause button to ask questions.

• What did we do?
• What can we learn?
• How can we be better?
• Are there gaps?
• Do we need new or additional resources?

These questions require straightforward answers to drive effective strategies for growth. Creating alignment among all leaders and managers is a critical step to address how your team or organization impacts results. Everyone must be in agreement on goals and strategies for the coming year.

Strategic assessments enable new beginnings with clarity and energy to focus on the actions and approaches that will drive future results.

Pause, assess, reflect - then define new goals and actions.

Wishing you strategic success in 2022.

Looking for sales and marketing strategies to drive better results? You can reach Lois at highrockstrategies.com/ or Lritarossi@highrockstrategies.com

Input for this piece was provided by Mark M. Fallon, president and CEO, The Berkshire Company:

Mark M. Fallon is president and CEO of The Berkshire Company, a consulting firm specializing in mail and document processing strategies. The company develops customized solutions integrating proven management concepts with emerging technologies to achieve total process management. He offers a vision of the document that integrates technology, data quality, process integrity, and electronic delivery. His successes are based upon using leadership to implement innovative solutions in the document process. You can contact Mark at mmf@berkshire-company.com.