Developing a strategic plan for your practice will galvanize your team and provide positive energy for your enterprise. Successful strategic planning is an event in a practice that sends a message to your team that leadership values their opinions enough to include them in the discussion about the future of the practice. The objective of strategic planning should be to establish a clear, concise plan for the practice that identifies the highest priorities on which the practice should focus in the coming year. The goal should be to summarize the entire strategic plan in less than 5 bullet points. When you are able to do this, you will know that your strategic plan is complete.
Tips for Successful Strategic Planning
It is best to schedule to meet away from the practice and to establish coverage of call duties by someone who is not in your planning session. All phones in the meeting room should be shut off, and everyone in attendance should be totally focused upon the planning tasks at hand. Hire an experienced facilitator to lead your planning session. This is important to help facilitate open and candid discussion amongst all participants and to keep the discussion focused and on track. You don't have to invite every employee of the practice. It is probably best to invite section leaders, or those people who lead various key areas of your practice. It is wise to include people who have direct touch with your customers and others who may be more focused on the operations and finances of the practice. It is a good opportunity to foster leadership development in younger members of your practice by inviting some of them to participate. Use flip charts to record ideas and hang them on the wall as you go for continued reference in your discussion. Develop an agenda and follow it. Have someone take extensive notes. Discuss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to your business. This is known as a SWOT analysis. From this discussion, identify and clarify a description of your Company, Customers, and Competitors (3C's). You can then discuss opportunities that are your priorities and how you want to address them.
Use this planning process to identify your highest priorities for the coming year. Your highest priorities should be those areas in which you can have the greatest impact on your practice. Summarize your session in a one-page Executive Summary, and then summarize your entire strategic plan in no more than 5 bullet points. These brief bullets are your focus for the coming year. Keep them close and refer to them frequently to ensure that you are investing your precious resources of time and money in those areas. If you have questions, you can submit them or contact us to discuss effective strategic planning.
