Strategic Planning and Business Planning
Plot your course
"We have come back to Action Planning over the last 10 years and also utilised their expertise internationally on a range of projects. I would have no hesitation in recommending them for appropriate work."
NEVILLE KYRKE-SMITH, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED
Do all of your team know where you’re going?
Whether an organisation is preparing for launch or is in need of fresh impetus, our strategy development skills will help to establish a robust, future focused and sustainable plan for the organisation as a whole – including and integrating the strategies for marketing and fundraising.
Our consultants are adept at applying their experience to suit the differing cultures and needs of each organisation. Selecting appropriately from a range of proven skills, techniques and analytical tools, they will provide objective support to help clients not only develop an effective strategy but, crucially, also ensure buy-in from everyone within the organisation, from staff to trustees.
Our analytical approach to planning includes:
- Getting to know you and your team, so we can work collaboratively and effectively in your organisation’s context
- Research and analysis to help you understand your external environment and stakeholders and identify the key drivers influencing your plans
- Working with your team to identify strategic objectives, key work streams and targets
- Facilitating a visioning day to unite your senior team around core aspirations and identify the major objectives
- Identifying and addressing implications for leadership, marketing, finance and support functions
- Creating a monitoring and evaluation framework to track the plans
Strategic plan? Business plan? What’s the difference?
There is often confusion over whether a document should be called a Strategic Plan or a Business Plan. In our experience, something called a ‘Strategic Plan’ tends to be more visionary and contain more words, whilst something called a ‘Business Plan’ tends to be more about the nuts and bolts of the operation, and contain more numbers. Actually, no matter what it is called, a Plan needs both parts. A ‘Business Plan’ without vision is boring and probably not aspirational. A ‘Strategic Plan’ that doesn’t address the nuts and bolts of delivery is probably never going to happen!
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”
Winston Churchill