Strategic Thinking & Planning

The Big Idea

A strategic plan is only as good as the thinking that goes into it. Strategic thinking happens in a number of different ways, formal and informal.

We don't engage a company in strategic planning unless there is a strong foundation in place. Often when there is a foundation in place our clients call us because they're concerned about their ability to execute it. In this case, we proceed with a well-defined set of tools—primarily centered around Hoshin Planning—to put their plans into action.

However, when the plan is lacking, we need to step back and consider the thinking. Even thinking is a process.

Our Principles

BMGI’s recommended approach for your company is based on a number of factors:The nature of your business. For example, an electrical utility may take years to build a single power plant and must make plans spanning a decade or more. In contrast, an internet services provider's strategy may be ineffective six months into the future.

• The composition of your strategy team. Is there a handful of strategists at the top of the organization, or is strategy a participative exercise with dozens involved?
  Does the company have one primary focus, or is it diversified across a number of businesses, each in need of its own unique strategy?
  Does the company currently have a well-defined strategic planning process, or does it lack one entirely?
  What is your board of director’s role in strategy?

Our Practices

• BMGI’s Strategic Thinking and Planning Programs include some or all of the services outlined below. Your specific needs depend on many factors.

Strategic Process Assessment. Our assessment starts with the basic question: "How effective is your current strategy process?" The answer to this question is derived from several sources:

• How does your performance compare to that of your industry peers?
• How satisfied is your board of directors?
• How satisfied is your executive team?
• How well is strategy understood by the organization?
• A qualitative assessment of your strategy process and documentation.

Strategic Process Design. Whether you’re ready to move into execution or would like help with the fuzzy front end, BMGI will design a program to meet your unique needs. Program design includes:

• How you analyze your business and provide strategists with the information they need to "connect the dots;"
• Recommendations and coaching on how executives study their own business and how they interact with others;
• Input on how to collect and synthesize information;
• The establishment of metrics and dashboards;
• A means of developing and prioritizing strategic imperatives;
• A system to translate strategy into action;
• A plan for enterprise-wide communication, when necessary.

At the core of BMGI’s strategic planning process is Hoshin Planning, often referred to by its lose English translation, "Policy Deployment."

We generally use a variation of the balanced scorecard to establish the set of metrics used to drive and monitor strategy. While we recognize many companies have tacit experience with the balanced scorecard and find it ineffective, we think when executed correctly, the balanced scorecard is the right approach.