Find solution
What is the creative strategy planning?

What, if any, fundamental differences are a part of strategy planning today compared to a strategic plan of 10 years ago?

  • In today’s ultra fast paced market are strategic plans what they used to be that is:   Is the most important strategic issue the same or different? Is how strategic plans developed done in a similar fashion? What is the life expectancy of a strategic plan and how does it compare with ones from years past?

  • Answer:

    I would say intelligence is more advanced now. The last ten years CRM systems have become more prominent in strategic decision making. Also the next few years we will see the rise of Big Data analysis, fostered by the importance of social media. There is more feedback in the system, which makes for a changed strategic thinking. Also I feel the world has changed, putting different (perhaps more) constraints on strategy. I think there is less room for error now, but also the upside may be bigger. There is the crisis, but also global competition is fiercer. Make good strategic decisions and you will advance more than ten years ago. Make bad choices and you are punished more severely. Let's take the car industry as an example. Makes that have focused on the southern European market are in bad weather (Peugeot, Renault, Citroen) whereas makes that have a value proposition that sits well with emerging economies are doing fine (BMW, Volkswagen). Overgeneralizing, I think companies that went the commoditizing route made the wrong choice whereas companies that put their effort in a value adding proposition are prospering. That's true for the care makes I mentioned: BMW and Volkswagen are focused on product leadership but the French makes compete on price first, effectively commoditizing their proposition. Take computers as another example: Dell and HP have been playing the price game (cost-plus pricing) and lost, while Apple is prospering by asking a value-based price. Commoditizing in the market conditions I mentioned (lingering crisis, emerging economies) effectively is a race to the bottom, the way to go clearly is to stand out as a product leader and offer more value than your competitor. Those companies that succeeded in correctly reading the feedback in their system are the ones who are now harvesting. This intelligence will become ever more important and should more than ever play a role in strategic planning.

Bert Cattoor at Quora Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

The process of developing a strategic plan has not changed, and the need for a competitive advantage has not changed, but you have asked some valid questions, and some of these aspects have.  The timeframe of strategic plans has shortened.  Few organizations would plan out past three years in any depth. There is also a growing recognition of the need for continual strategic thinking rather than developing a plan once a year, and not doing any environmental scanning for another year.  I think more organizations are also recognising the need for everyone in the business to have some involvement in the strategic thinking, not just the C-suite. I notice some common issues arising in environmental scans that were not so prevalent a few years ago, and some of these include the likelihood of natural disasters increasing, mobile technology, nano technology and the globalising of business.  I also observe a growing trend for implementation plans to include a recognition of competitors as also being possible collaborators or joint venture partners.

Jenni Murphy-Scanlon

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.