A Bevy of Strategic Planning Resources
In preparation for an upcoming client workshop on Strategic Planning, I put together a list of resources that I thought would be useful to get them going. Then I thought: why not share this with everyone?
- An online resource centre that has a wealth of information on strategic planning and guides: http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm
- A basic online handbook on strategic planning from the brainstorming stage to implementation/evaluation: http://www.sla.org/pdfs/sphand.pdf
- In this HBR article, Michael Porter argues that operational effectiveness, although necessary to superior performance, is not sufficient, because its techniques are easy to imitate. In contrast, the essence of strategy is choosing a unique and valuable position rooted in systems of activities that are much more difficult to match – see this overview: http://hbr.org/product/what-is-strategy/an/96608-PDF-ENG?N=4294841677 4294841679&Ntt=strategic+planning+models&Nao=20&referral=00269&cm_sp=endeca-_-spotlight-_-link
- A short video related to the article above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_FBCvXw&feature=related
- A book that outlines how and why to use Appreciative Inquiry (Diana Whitney, Amanda Trosten-Bloom, David Cooperrider): http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=72H_t6bDOS0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=appreciative+inquiry+strategy&ots=OyGSq76QvK&sig=RGt_R_fdcCSsgEUSWYK4TKochNs#v=onepage&q=appreciative%20inquiry%20strategy&f=false
- How to write a great business plan: http://hbr.org/product/how-to-write-a-great-business-plan/an/2142-PBK-ENG?referral=00764&cm_mmc=email-_-so-_-2142-_-2142_021811_so&utm_source=so_2142&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2142_021811_so
- A few interesting (quick reads) Harvard Business Review blogs on building strategy:
- Strategic Planning: A Ten Step Guide: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRREGTOPTEIA/Resources/mosaica_10_steps.pdf
