Strategic Management & Planning

Strategy has long played an important role in the history of mankind. Moving from the battlefield to the boardroom, strategy still plays a vital role in the world. The rules have changed a little (the shield has been replaced with a briefcase and the sword with a BlackBerry), but strategy still plays an important part in the way the world works. This is especially true when it comes to business. Those without a strategic plan are at the mercy of those companies that do have one in place.

Strategic Management:

Strategic Management simply refers to the science (some would say art) of coming up with, evaluating and using strategic (long range) plans in the workplace. Primarily used to manage how different departments in a business work together, strategic management is the way smart companies who want to grow do business. It’s an art form that a lot attempt, but very few are successful at pulling off. Looking at the business world, though, you can see what companies employ strategic management in all aspects of their business.

Strategic management can be thought of as the upper tier of management where the big picture decisions take place. By looking at all the aspects of a business (all the different departments at work – both separately and interacting together), it’s easier to effectively manage resources to get the biggest bang for your buck. This is the smallest level of the management pyramid, with very few making these decisions, but the use of strategy at this level is vital.

Strategic Planning:

To manage with strategy, you need a strategic plan. In the simplest terms, this refers to the process of looking at all the various aspects and departments of your business, figuring out how they could best work together, coming up with goals, and writing out a plan together to reach those goals. There’s more to it, of course, but this is the basic concept.

It sounds like a simple thing, but even when you’re dealing with a medium sized business of a few dozen or more employees, it can be difficult to get different departments to work together effectively. The ability to see the big picture and visualize the future, though, is an important part of actually being able to get there.  Strategic planning helps with seeing the big picture and making it a reality by breaking it up into easily managed chunks.