THEORY 62

THE SEVEN STAGES OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

HOW TO USE IT

• Use the seven-stage approach as a valuable overview of the stages that you need to go through if you are to produce a comprehensive and well-thought-out plan.
• Different writers define the terms’ aims, goals and objectives differently and others use the terms interchangeably. Always make certain that in any conversation or meeting you have everyone shares a common set of definitions.
• Identify which planning approach your organisation favours – top down or bottom up. Based on this identify the role management expects you to play (see Theory 63).
• Top-down approaches involve senior managers and a few ‘planning experts’ locking themselves away for a week and developing a plan with little reference to anyone else. In this case the role of middle manager is to accept what has been produced and implement it without question. If this is your organisation’s approach your job is to sell the plan to staff, even if you don’t personally support the plan.
• Bottom-up approaches involve collecting data from staff at every level and senior managers and planners using this to draw up the strategic plan. The role of the middle manager is to collect, analyse and summarise the most useful data before reporting it to the planning team. There will be more work for you in terms of feeding into the plan but implementation will be easier as staff will feel that their views were listened to.
• Whatever your role, use one or two trusted staff to help you provide information/implement the plan.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• Do I prefer top-down or bottom-up approaches to planning?
• Are there any differences between the organisation’s preferred approach and mine? If so, how am I going to resolve them?