7 VITAL STEPS TO EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING IN LEADERSHIP

  Wikipedia defines strategic planning as an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy.
  Now that we have established a definition for strategic planning, it is important to keep in mind that plans don't just happen, they are made to happen. How to make them happen is what we'll be focusing on today. First step to effective strategic planning is;

• Goal Setting: Properly set goals helps to streamline your plans and makes it easy for you to measure progress. If you don't know your destination, anywhere may look like it. Goals helps to cut down on excesses and maximize the use of resources. In helping Jeremiah to set clear goals, God asked "...Jeremiah, what seest thou...." (Jer. 1:11). If you don't have a target, you won't know when you hit it. Leadership strategy demands that clearly defined goals be set, as this is what validates every other step in strategy formation and actualization. In setting the right goals, you must ask yourself; what do I foresee? What results do I anticipate? What outcome do I expect? Brian Tracy says;"setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible to the visible." Goals are crucial to personal, corporate and organizational success. You can't attain great heights until you set great goals. Use the SMART formula by setting Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timed goals.
• Research and Analysis: This is the next step towards effective strategic planning. It is an important part of the process because goals and ideas feed on knowledge and facts. The more the information you have access to, the better your chances of accomplishing your set goals. Strategy hinges on relevant facts. The incidence in the bible where Jesus wept over a city because they did not know the time of their visitation clearly portrays the far reaching consequences of information deficiency.(Luke 19:41-44). Insight determines the superiority of strategic plans. Zora Neale Hurston defines research as " Formalized curiosity ," she also says that " it is poking and prying with a purpose." Strategic plans cannot be optimized for delivery until relevant researches are conducted. An honest analysis of findings made helps you to establish your current position and generate suggestions on steps to take in order to reach your desired destination. Leaders must accept the responsibility of researching relevant information and analyzing their findings as they attempt to craft profitable, scalable and attainable plans.
• Meditation and Brainstorming: Research deals majorly with information sourcing, but what is done with the information gathered is what we'll be considering in this section. The quality of information you gather is not as important as the use to which you put it. Meditation helps to integrate facts into contextual solutions. It is on this platform that information begins to bond until they form tangible and applicable plans. Isaac enjoyed strange order of results in his days. It was recorded that in the midst of famine, Isaac sowed and reaped in the same year an hundredfold harvest. How? One may ask; He simply engaged the force of Irrigation. Probing into his experience, it was discovered that Isaac came across that plan by employing the virtue of meditation. (Gen. 26:1/12-22, Gen. 24:63). Meditation helps to squeeze out the juice from the fruit of information. Most discoveries recorded in history came out of sessions of brainstorming undertaken by committed inventors. If you must craft a plan unique to yourself as a person or as an organization, then you must subscribe to the demand of meditation. Begin to probe into relevant questions that will facilitate the accomplishment of your set goals. Strategic planning is no piece of cake, it requires hardwork - 90% of which involves brain work. Dr. P. Goldin said " the goal of meditation is not to get rid of thoughts or emotions, the goal is to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and learn how to move through them without getting stuck. "
• Guidance and Consultation: This step is crucial to effective strategic planning. Consulting the appropriate quarters for guidance and advice could sometimes be the distinguishing factor between good plans and great plans. Relevant counsel enhances the quality of strategic plans. Solomon a man who enjoyed unusual accomplishments revealed one of the secrets behind his accomplishments. He said " Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety." He also said " Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war."(Pro. 20:18). The office of the president without the input of ministers, special advisers, personal assistants, consultants and so on would not amount to much. It is the input of these experts that makes the office of the president the most powerful office in a democratic nation. Leaders must be open to inputs from experts on specific subjects relating to their goals. Plans that have been brought under the microscopic oversight of experts have been shown to have high probability for accomplishment.
• Projections and Objectives: At this stage, plans begin to take shape because definite step that will result in the achievement of goals will be clearly outlined. This in turn is integrated to what is commonly known as "Objectives". Boundaries are set at this point and the scope of the vision or goal is clearly endorsed. For instance, Jesus came to this world with a clearly set goal in mind and that goal was simply to reconcile man to God.(In. 3:16). He engaged in strategic planning to see this goal accomplished, this was evident in his mode of operations and instructions. Firstly, when he sent out the disciples to go preach, he strictly commanded that they should not go to any to any City outside Israel.(Matt. 10:1/5-6). Secondly, after his resurrection, he unveiled the scope of his organizations' operations. He said to unto the disciples "... You shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." He had a global assignment but he instructed his staff to maximize the company's local operations before they expand to become a global brand. Obviously, the plan worked just fine, as we can see the resultant effect in our world today. A leader must learn to set objectives based on positive projections. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? What are those factors that you can subscribe to in order to reach your desired destination? Build your objectives around factor such as these and you'll be a step closer to that premium strategic plan.
• Implementation: Strategic planning is not a once and for all exercise, it must be constantly improved upon else it will loose its relevance. Implementation of strategic plans is not an end in itself, it is a window to a world of improvements. Every plan looks good at the end when objectives have been set and the whole team is optimistic and excited about the new project. Wait until the plan has been implemented, then you'll begin to get inspiring ideas on how you can improve. Planning us not complete without implementation. Napoleon Hill said " plan you work and work your plan." Until you work your plan you cannot claim to have concluded on your plan. It is implementation that gives color to plans  and brings out its beauty.
• Evaluation and Appraisal: Now that the plan has been implemented, it is time to rise up to to the responsibility of evaluation and appraisal. To evaluate in this context simply means to judge and assess the quality of your plans. The quality often times is measured by results, great plans generate great results. Until evaluation is done, you may not discover ways to improve and optimize plans. Paul, a man of great depth, admonished his audience with these words; "...examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith..." The quality of every plan is exposed by accurate evaluation just as the quality of every student is exposed by an examination. This here is the secret to effective strategic planning.

In conclusion, effective planning is a product of goal setting, research, meditation, consultation , projections, implementations and evaluation.I hope this article was helpful, please leave your comments below.