How to crystalize business growth options through Strategic Planning

What is it? Why do strategic planning? When is the right time for strategic planning?

Strategic Planning is a tool to formulate high level business strategy. It sets the table to allow preparation of detailed business plans.

Strategic planning is undertaken to define the precise mission of the organization, prioritize opportunities and help manage growth. It is also a very useful tool in satisfying succession planning needs.

Most strategic planning is undertaken to establish base guidelines for a business plan. It also provides the benefit of helping maximize resource utilization and prioritize growth options.

A strategic plan is a coordinated and systematic way to develop a course and direction for your company. Basically, if you don't have a strategic plan, it's akin to navigating unknown territory without a map. And without a map, you're lost in a highly competitive business environment that will inevitably throw these challenges your way: increasing globalization, unpredictable investment patterns, more demanding clients and the dizzying speed of technology. A rule of thumb is that if there's uncertainty on the horizon, which there always is today, the greater the need for strategic planning.
Since no two businesses are alike, the process you choose to do your strategic planning should fit the nature of your business. You can adapt it to suit your needs. For example, if you're a small firm, a brief strategic plan might be appropriate. If you're a bigger company, a more detailed plan on various aspects of your organization may be more effective.
Don't confuse a strategic plan with a business plan which is a much broader document and includes a strategic plan, a marketing plan, financial plan and operational plan.
Prepare and define the scope of your planning by reviewing your motivation, costs and means.
Review of your company's internal environment and look at external factors such as competition and demographics. Match your strengths and weaknesses in order to capitalize on opportunities.
What's important is that you have a document that outlines where your company is going, so that everybody in your business is working with the same information. Ultimately, strategic planning helps to gauge what an organization is, what it does exactly, and why it does it, with a focus of optimizing your future potential.