Planning for the future of your company is no easy task. You may have a tremendous vision when it comes to where you would like to see your company go in 5 years, but there always seem to be hurdles - or even walls - to truly accomplishing your strategic plan.
The common critiques of a strategic plan might look like the following:
Poor execution. This is a common one to place blame on for CEOs and upper management. Things didn't go according to plan? Blame the team for lack of execution. Maybe you even blame yourself and others in leadership for lack of adequate execution.
Lack of time. How many times have you heard a business owner say "I don't have the time to plan for the future, because I have too much work right now"? It is quite easy to get caught up in the present and past work, and simply kick the can down the road on the future - hoping you will have "free time" in the future to eventually utilize.
Lack of vision. Sometimes the blame goes toward the vision of the CEO or upper management. It is hard to imagine that someone would be willing to admit to not having a vision for their company's future, but it is certainly a common reason that may be floated around the water cooler by the CEO's subordinates or Board of Directors.
While all of the above reasons are important to keep an eye out for, there are some less obvious reasons strategic planning for a company falls apart.
Here are 3 not-so-obvious reasons your strategic plan is not working:
Resistance to change. Those who seek change tend to be less resistant to it - hence why you are planning for the future. But resistance from key stakeholders (ex. senior leadership, employees, external partners, etc) can impede strategic planning efforts, preventing the adoption of innovative strategies or necessary organizational changes. In fact, you might consider some self-reflection at times, and ask if it is you who is resistant to change! Why might yourself and others be resistant to change? See reason #2.
Unaddressed losses to result from the change. Resistance to change is because of a fear of loss. People do not fear change if the change offered is positive. If you won 1 million dollars, you would have very little to fear and quite a bit to celebrate! Instead, keep an eye out for unaddressed losses as a result from the changes you are proposing. Stakeholders might fear their constituencies (aka teams/departments, etc.) will lose their bonuses for the year. Some in management might fear they'll lose clout in the company. The Board of Directors might fear a loss of revenue. You might fear you will lose your job. Whatever that fear of loss is, it is possible that it is standing in the way of planning or executing your strategic plan for the company.
Failure to adapt to change. Once the planning stages are over, it is time to execute on your strategic plan. But what happens when things do not go "according to plan"? Market conditions change. New technology arises. The economy slows down. Some companies fail to properly adapt to change when the time to do so arrives. That is why some strategic plans fail - they are not built to be adaptable.
Any or all of the above reasons may be slowing down the progress of your strategic plan. However, increasing your awareness of these issues within your organization will help you better plan for the change you wish to bring in your company's future.