Reasons why strategic planning fails

Reasons why strategic planning fails

Strategic planning seldom fail, it is the implementation of the plans that fail. Implementing strategic plan may sound as easy as putting plan and strategy into action. In reality, it is not at all easy.  Business repeatedly fails to truly motivate their members to work with enthusiasm, all together, towards a  strategic plan.

They are multitude of reasons as to why strategic plan fail to be implemented. Crucial among them are:

1 – Failure to Motivate leaders  

Strategic plan does not work by itself; it has to be carried through assigned leaders of various levels. These leaders must be motivated through proper company incentives scheme. There should be programs for leaders to motivate each other on a horizontal line level and at the same time motivate authoritatively down on a vertical basis.  

2 – Strategy into action

Failure to link strategic to group and individual to act as a team towards plan is another major hindrance to success. The ultimate goal is to be able to effectively translate strategic intent all the way through to results in a clear and powerful team efforts.

      Business is not able to live up to the challenge in creatively and systematically unfold the strategy, bring it to life through action plans across and align employees behind the Strategic plan.  

3 – Performance or actual practicing of the Strategy plan.  

Too often great plans stay as ‘plans’. Typically, the energy and enthusiasm generated during the planning process quickly ebbs away, swamped by the weight of day to day business issues.

      To make the strategy ‘live’ ever, business needs to engage to make performance, which means?

• Communicating the strategic intent, thrusts and action plans.
• Using rigorous communication process to rally everyone behind the plan.
• Setting individual targets that is in unison to the strategic plan.
• Consistently measuring progress, assessing and giving feedback about performance

     Performance or actual practicing of strategic plan is to get all members aligned together to reach the goal and deliver individual results.

      There is some other nitty-gritty that causes failure such as side-tracked, majoring the minor, or simply losing interest. But the most important factor that makes strategic plan fails is the inability to work towards the 3 steps of motivation, action and performance in getting people to be aware of the plan, learn and stick to it and work in one united effort to see the plan through.