Strategic planning is a very important aspect practised by all organizations. It is through this process that the organisations define their strategy and decide upon how to utilize their limited resources in the most optimum way to get the best possible results. The strategic planning determines the direction in which the company is expected to move in the next few years and this is why it is very important to write down the strategic plan properly so that it can be communicated easily to the employees so that they have a clear vision to move. Many people think that it is fine if they make a plan and not put it on paper as this seems to be a cumbersome task. Before one sits to write down the business plan, they need to sift through all the content that they have and develop what is important.

Writing the Plan

There are some things, which need to be kept in mind to write down the business plan in the most effective way. The first and the foremost thing that needs to be kept in mind is that a few people should work on writing the first draft of the plan. The plan should be written by people who is part of the organisation and not by someone from outside as he may not know of everything exactly and might cause a deviation in the most important part of the plan. In the first draft of the plan, one should not worry a lot about having all the last details of the plan. After the first draft is ready it should be presented to the concerned people in the management and board of directors so that they can review it and then finally approve it. When the draft is reviewed they can usually give very valuable inputs to the content of the plan. The plan will essentially have the vision and mission of the company, strategies and goals and these are the parts of the plan where the management can contribute to. The review of the action part of the plan should be done by the employees. The action part of the strategic plan includes the responsibilities, objectives and the timelines set for the completion of the projects.

Formatting the Plan

The plan has to be formatted in such a way that there are two parts of it. One part is that which can be sent to people outside the company and the other one which has more confidential data of the company and can be only sent to the internal people. The more detail oriented and confidential part of the plan can be included in the appendix of the data and the body of the plan which is sent to the stakeholders and trade associations should contain the summary, authorization, organisational structure and the mission, vision and value statements of the company. The appendices can have confidential data like the action planning, description of the strategic planning process used, strategic analysis data, goals for board and chief executive officer, budget planning, operating plan, financial report, monitoring and evaluation of plan and communication of plan. By formatting the plan in such a way it can be ensured that only the relevant part of the plan goes to the concerned people.

Communicating the Plan

While sending out the plan, it should be kept in mind that some of the stakeholders and other people who are usually outside the organisation get a part of the plan and the others get a complete copy. It should be ensured that all the board members and members of the management get a copy of the strategic plan. It should be considered that some part of the plan should be given to each and every member of the organisation. The vision and the mission of the company should be posted on the walls of the company so that they are regularly seen by the employees and reminded of their plans and objectives. A card with all the statements written on them can also be given to the employees. Certain parts of the plan can be published in the marketing materials and the regular newsletter of the company. During orientations, one should train employees on certain parts of the plan. The plan should also be incorporated in certain procedures and manuals and these should also be distributed to major shareholders, vendors and also trade unions, which in turn provide support to the organisation in the process of growth.

To sum up

Making a business plan is not the only important prerequisite. In fact, writing, formatting and communicating the plan is more important as this is the way it reaches the employees who convert the plans into action and achieve the desired goals and objectives of the company.