Long-term planning is sometimes seen as a waste of time or ineffective. Leading businesses and industries make use of five- to 10-year strategic plans as a key resource for sustaining a company’s vision, market-share growth, brand equity, employee and product/service effectiveness, profitability, and stakeholder satisfaction. They understand that the true value of long-term planning lies within the ability to remain relevant and strategic. They understand that change is inevitable and manageable.

A key factor in long-term strategy success is the ability to maximize and optimize an organization’s workforce and their cognitive abilities, such as the courage and confidence to commit to the strategy; the humility to be credible, open to learning and supportive; the discipline to execute the plan, be reliable and follow through; and the ability to communicate clearly, accurately and in a timely manner. The long-term process is doable through phases of short initiatives that support efficiency and effectiveness throughout the plan’s life cycle.

Planning five or 10 years out allows boards and leadership teams the opportunity to determine a vision for the future, outline measurable goals, optimize collaborative and relational possibilities, and align leadership, operational teams, employee skills and experiences. Strategic planning defines a road map for organizational growth and provides guidance for day-to-day decision making. It allows leadership teams to evaluate progress and creates
an opportunity to learn and improve business processes and systems.

Long-term planning requires a formal strategic process. Here are the things you should consider as you develop your long term strategy and plan periodic reviews and updates:

• • An agreement for the strategic planning process.
  • Key innovations, issues, assumptions, and questions.
  • Company core values, vision, mission, goals and objectives, key performance indicators, and a SWOT analysis.
  • How you define and communicate company culture.
  • Human resource management and a governance framework.
  • Operational tactics.
  • Industry/market and consumer data, as well as marketing analysis and tactics.
  • Financial data and projections.
  • Corporate communications.
  • Action plans, reporting, process checks, controls and mitigations.
  • Updated internal and external policies.
  • An executive summary for senior leader engagement.

Once a strategy has been drafted, challenge the plan with your leadership team, and compare it against six key alignment criteria:

1. 1. 1. Appropriateness: Does the strategy align with the company’s core values, vision and mission?
      2. Feasibility: Is the strategy doable, practical, conceivable and in alignment with the projected future state?
         
      3. Value: Does the strategy create value, growth and opportunity?
         
      4. Cost-Benefit: Will the plan afford profitability and stakeholder satisfaction given the projected costs in time and key resources?
         
      5. Timing: Is now a good time for this strategy? Are there any leads or lags that are not being considered that would alter the strategic timeline?
         
      6. Acceptability: If implemented, would the strategy be accepted and championed by the company’s board, leadership, management, employees and other key stakeholders?

In my experience, companies that have a strong organizational culture and optimize key resources throughout the phases of a long-term strategy can better articulate their business objectives to a targeted audience, increase sales and experience success. These leaders have vision and successfully execute and update their plans. They help their people to learn and grow while maintaining the company’s culture and market competitiveness. In turn, these companies become leaders in their industries and the marketplace, creating value, growth and opportunity for themselves and their employees, stakeholders, and partners, as well as the communities they serve. In other words, they optimize their people to maximize success!

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