We often hear the words "Strategic Planning" used, but what do they really mean? We've found that if your SP is tied to your organizational budget, then it is more likely to be successful. Overall, we recommend creating strong links between strategic goals, annual performance goals, and the approved budgets. It looks something like this:

As management guru Henry Mintzberg explains: "Planners shouldn’t create strategies, but they can supply data, help managers think strategically, and program the vision." He also notes: "Strategic planning isn’t strategic thinking. One is analysis, the other is synthesis."

So strategic planning is a first step, leading to strategic thinking. So what is strategic thinking? And how is it different from what we usually do? Well, what we are accustomed to is analytical thinking. There is a contrast between the two:

Strategic thinking is:

Analytical thinking is:

Future oriented
Broad in perspective and scope
More opportunity-oriented
Divergent
More of a process and flow
Directional
Right brain
Analogies and comparisons
More natural for people who have intuitive and perceiving preferences

More present-oriented
More detailed and focused
Directed at problem-solving
More convergent
Task or activity oriented
Decisional
Left brain
Discrete and logical
More natural for people who have sensing and judging preferences

©Stumpf, 1991

LAPA’s approach to strategic planning is innovative, challenging, and effective. It usually takes about 14-24 months for most organizations to adopt a strategic direction and plan. We hope you will choose LAPA to work with you through this process.