How to Develop a Strategic Plan for Business Process Automation in Four Simple Steps

We have all been in that meeting, either as a presenter or observer, announcing an organization’s goals for next year. Many of us have wondered:

• Who came up with the goal?
• How do they plan to achieve that?
• Do we measure this?
• Hasn’t this been the same plan for the past five years?

The contents of those meetings are usually a result of months of grueling strategic planning. The dreaded phrase, strategic planning, has 110 million results in a Google search and represents one of the most complex aspects of modern business management. It is hard to believe the simplest definition of strategic planning is “an organization’s process of defining its direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this direction.” We all know it never seems quite that simple or straightforward.

Although this may be true, Naviant specializes in strategic planning for business process management. We can prevent major headaches by helping you define strategies, objectives, and plans to meet those goals and realize your vision.

This series of articles on strategic planning will focus on the four concepts of strategic planning and how Naviant can guide you along the way.

The Four Concepts of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning consists of four concepts based on your company’s mission statement that should feed each other in a cycle of constant progress:

• Goal – a broad primary outcome
• Strategy – The approach you take to achieve a goal
• Objective – A measurable step you take to achieve a strategy
• Plan – What you do daily to reach a goal

We view ourselves as a partner to our customers, and our partnership is most effective when we can help your organization fulfill its mission and meet its goals. We know how overwhelming moving from a mission statement to a concrete plan can be. The best way to mitigate the stress is to invite Naviant to the table when designing your strategies; our broad experience with various industries can provide guidance based on how others in your industry have succeeded. Once the strategy is set, objectives and plans can be detailed and executed.

Diana Ross said, “Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then.” The iconic Ms. Ross summarized all the reading I have done on strategic planning over the last few years in one sentence.

I am not asking you to look that far ahead; where do you want to be in 3 years? Start the conversation today and contact Naviant or your Account Executive.

Next Article in Series: Strategic Planning – Step One: Building SMART Goals