Strategic Thinking for Planning and Execution

Many, if not most, planning errors in projects and ventures of all types and sizes are not usually problems of misinterpretation or misunderstanding of complexity but rather simple errors of omission, unchecked assumptions and careless research due to adopting an unsystematic or ad hoc approach to this important task. A second equally large problem is the difficulty planners seem to encounter in successfully integrating existing and new strategy into their planning thinking. This often results in plans which are disconnected from the directions, priorities and values of the host enterprise. This booklet attempts to addresses both problems by providing a systematic approach (based on 30 questions) to defining strategy for immediate use within the planning process. The booklet provides a nine-step express process (with templates) with each step defined in detail and highlighted using a worked example from personal life which any reader can relate to. The objective is to enable an individual or team to come up with a solid "project scoping" which can be used to effectively and strategically direct whatever happens next, such as execution (small projects) or detailed planning (larger projects). All in an hour or two rather than a month or two! Finally, I have tried to err on the side of brevity and to avoid the temptation to be overly prescriptive as this frequently results in bureaucracy and over-dependency on "the method" at the expense of common sense, ownership and the quality of thinking.