Process for the development of a strategic plan

Any company manager does not like things that are complex, much less that they are not useful. Therefore, the idea of this work is not to compose a textbook, not even an analytical article, but an "executive summary", which is pragmatic enough so that they can work on it, understand it and position it in their mind. This work is not a unique solution, but is the result of different experiences implemented over the years, which can serve other work teams that may find themselves in similar situations and with which we share our ideas.

A necessary introduction

This work is another of the results that so far we have achieved as part of an objective that we formulate "to systematize the main experiences gathered in the consulting activities and courses that we teach, both in Cuba and abroad." This objective stems from CETED's own Mission as a “teaching-educational institution, which satisfies the needs of knowledge, the development of skills and the solution of problems in the sphere of direction and management, with quality and speed, to contribute to the development of organizations, leaders, teachers and students ”.

In order to be able to shape this work, the work method followed starts from a deep bibliographic study on the issues that practical needs have imposed on us, from the selection of those aspects that have already been systematized and their validation in concrete practice, as well as motivations arising from having encounters with different foreign professionals. These aspects are joined by all the particular experiences that in the confrontation with the business world we have had to generate and validate to find solutions to very specific problems.

"Process for the preparation of a strategic plan: executive summary" is one of those specific experiences that we implement in different companies and that served as the basis for putting into practice what in Cuba is known as Management by Objectives with a Strategic and Values-oriented approach.. For this work we elaborated a Strategic Planning model that sought to integrate these 3 tools of business management work and we implemented it in practice, as well as we adjusted it according to the experiences we were obtaining.

This model does not have to be a definitive or unique solution, in fact we have made certain adjustments later, but it was an experience implemented and implemented in years, which had concrete results and which can be used by other work teams that may be find in similar situations and with which we share our results. Its antecedents lie in the work carried out in a number of companies in which we have been working and for which we have developed a whole Business Theory through different models of corporate strategy.

The principles that we use at all times as a basis for carrying out different strategic planning processes in companies have been derived from the very needs that entrepreneurs seek: simplicity and usefulness.

In this sense, we conceive this "executive summary" in two parts: one as a process, with the logic of the process in stages and actions, and another that provides a summary of the main categories or concepts used.

However, I think it is necessary to clarify certain assumptions that are present in this "executive summary":

The process seeks to work with corporate strategies, not with business or functional strategies. Therefore, at no time is there an analysis of the flow of the essential process or value chain, nor an analysis of the industrial sector and the forces that operate in it. Faced with a work of this type, the consultant has to look for the best moment for these analyzes within the process. There are work tools that are not presented in detail, since they must be part of the work dossier of each consultant and are not object of this "executive summary". The work teamwith which it operates is the Board of Directors of the organization, object of work, headed by its main manager. From this team, 2 to 4 members are drawn who can operate as internal consultants. As external consultants there can be 1 to 2 people, who have the necessary experience to seek synergy in the group. The bases followed to identify the objectives are the challenges that the organization has to face and they are reached in two different ways. Steps 15 and 16 are separated to show independent photographs, but their interaction is so close that you can determine the order of the factors, depending on how the consultant uses the work tools. Step 20, the implementation, is conceived in a diagram of double subordination:on the one hand the disaggregation of the objectives down to the worker through commitments and on the other hand groups of operational commands in charge of developing the necessary tactics (action plans) to achieve the final victory (the objectives).

We hope that the reader will see in this work the utility and simplicity that we try to impart to this "process for the elaboration of a strategic plan: executive summary", which we think may be useful for leaders, consultants, professors and students interested in this matter..

PROCESS FOR A STRATEGIC PLAN: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

STEPS	ACTIONS	PURPOSES	TOOLS
STAGE 1.- ENTRY TO THE ORGANIZATION:
one	Identification as a consultant	Present Mission and Tasks of CETED. Specify the role of the Consultant as a facilitator of processes. Specify the role of the client as the person who provides the content that is necessary in the process. Establish a Psychological Contract.	Presentation. Different forms can be used: the normal presentation; presentation in pairs; the presentation with the ball of yarn. Establishment of ethical bases of work: transparency of the process and treatment of hidden agendas. Confession secret as central axis of the process Presentation of reports with previous experiences.
two	Sensitization	Create a vision of why, for what and how a strategy is necessary	Purpose and Mission Exercise Exercise with strategy concepts The Cuban and international experience Analysis of the Paradigma Video
3	Presentation of the strategic process map.	Publicize the steps of the process and define the Internal Consultants	Oral presentation with visual support
4	Preparation of the work team.	Prepare the work team on the ways to act in the development of the process	Group work rules. Group work techniques: interaction method; generation of ideas; forms of consensus; active listening, etc.
STAGE 2.- DEFINITION OF THE SECURITIES SYSTEM:
5	Definition of Identity	Create a document with the history and trajectory of the organization, its behavioral identity.	Oral presentation with visual support. Guide questionnaire of 16 questions. Table work. Analysis in plenary of the final document.
6	Mission definition	Describe the rationale for the particular organization	Oral presentation with visual support. Guide questionnaire with 8 questions. I work in a small group, two or three. I work in plenary.
7	Vision Definition	Declare the dreams of top leaders	Oral presentation with visual support. He asks how do we want those who interest us to see us in year X to see us? Work in plenary
8	Definition of tactical values and their rules of action	Declare the rules of action to be followed to strengthen the hierarchical values in daily processes	Oral presentation with visual support. Work in groups and plenary to determine the set of values with which the organization works. Group and plenary work to determine ethical, practical and developmental values. Group and plenary work to determine the values to rank.
STAGE 3.- DEFINITION OF THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:
9	Strategic reflection	Identify main challenges and provide a model for change	Work in plenary to identify the main trends observed in the micro and macro environment. Use of questionnaire to stimulate analysis and reflection through questions. Table work to summarize the trends, determine their main impacts on the organization and what are the challenges it poses, as well as what is the model of change that the organization must take into account. Work in plenary to validate the results of the table work and approve the final version
10	Definition of FCE	Describe variables that define success in the type of business and find new challenges	Oral presentation with visual support. Work in plenary to find the variables
			that define success in business. Group and plenary work to determine the weight of each variable. Group and plenary work to determine the current level of the org. in each variable and see the difference. Work in groups and plenaries to determine the challenges that the org has to face. to achieve success.
eleven	Definition of ARCs	Identify the areas that require more attention and should improve the results of the organization.	Work in groups and in plenary to group all the challenges due to their homogeneity in action. For its unity of interests, each of which becomes an ARC
12	Definition of strategic objectives	Design the main results to be achieved in the defined planning horizon	Oral presentation with visual support. Work in groups and in plenary to state in terms of objectives those results that the org. you must achieve derived from the challenges you have to face.
STAGE 4.- DEFINITION OF STRATEGIES:
13	Stage construction	Describe the main macrovariables in the economic, technological, demand and political-social environment that can impact the organization in the planning horizon.	Work in plenary to define 3 or 4 macrovariables that can be sources of changes in a realistic scenario and determine if their value is A, M, or B and what is their probability of occurrence.
14	Strategic diagnosis.	Identify the main forces involved in achieving the objectives	Work in plenary to determine the microvariables that can be impacted by the macros defined in step 13. Work in plenary to form and assess the Impact Matrix that is derived from the relationship between macro and micro variables. I work in plenary to determine the forces that facilitate and those that obstruct.
fifteen	Formulate problem and strategic solution	Give a vision of the performance of the variables in the fulfillment of the objectives	Table work and validation in plenary
16	Preparation of the SWOT and main strategies	Define prioritized strategies of the organization	Work in small groups and validation in plenary
17	Objectives vs Strategy relationship	Evaluate the correspondence between the objectives and the strategies and determine which are the strongest.	I work in plenary evaluating in the matrix which strategy impacts which objectives, to determine which are the strongest strategies and which are the objectives that are most impacted.
18	Preparation of the Action Plan	Establish tactics for each strategy	Group work for each command chief to determine the actions to be undertaken.
STAGE 5.- IMPLEMENTATION
19	Preparation for implantation.	Create the bases for the implementation of the entire strategic process: values, objectives and strategies.	Work of the entire management team to communicate the strategic process to all those involved. For communication, various mechanisms can be used with the different parts of the strategy: Videos, meetings with workers, newsletters, cards, institutional folders, billboards and cards in corridors and visible areas, web pages, agendas, etc.
twenty	Implantation	Implement the values, objectives and strategies of the organization.	Work of the entire management team in the direction of committing all those involved with the values and objectives of the organization. For the commitment, the way must be sought for each one to convert the values and objectives of the organization into objectives of their job. In the case of strategies, groups must be created to develop command actions, through an action plan,
twenty-one	Feedback	Measure the progress of the implementation of the strategic process undertaken and make the necessary adjustments, as well as recognize the best performances.	To measure the progress of the process, forms of measurement and control moments must be defined. The results of the measurement may require the implementation of contingency plans in the event of changes in some of the variables with which the strategic process was worked. For the recognition it is necessary to take into account the results achieved and reward the achievements combining the moral with the material.

MAIN CATEGORIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROCESS FOR A STRATEGIC PLAN

.	CATEGORY	INTERPRETATION
one.	Sensitization	This category seeks in the first instance to establish the why, how and for what a strategic process is necessary, in addition to developing a common language throughout the process, as well as creating the necessary commitment to comply with the different steps, where the audience has to understand the importance of their role by being the central element that will give content to the entire process
two.	Identity	It is the definition of who we are, based on the history and trajectory of our organization, which defines a behavior and where there is a wealth of values that it is necessary to know to gain a sense of belonging and to induce all new workers into it. It is the image that the organization projects and of which all those who work in it should feel proud.
3.	Mission	The mission is defined as the reason for being of the organization. In other words, the mission must tell us what our organization exists for. By saying that a mission is the reason for being of an organization, it means that the organization exists, not to do something that satisfies itself or that it exists to do this or that; if not that it exists to satisfy the need of one or several types of clients that must be the final consumers, that is, the representatives of society.
Four.	View	It is the strategic purpose or main aspiration of where we want to be on the planning horizon based on the perception that we would like those who look at our organization to have. It is the main work tool that seeks to “pull” the organization towards the future and that tries to create the future before the future surprises us.
5.	Tactical values	They are those “basic values” that should “guide and inspire the daily behaviors of everyone in the organization”. They should serve as a self-control mechanism and a strategic channel for the “daily processes” that are carried out in each organization for the implementation of the Mission and Vision.
6.	Strategic reflection	It is an exploratory step that seeks that the participants, based on their practical experiences, of their profession, characterize the main tendencies that are observed in the micro and macro environment and that can impact in some way the work of the organization and pose new challenges..
7.	Key success factors	They are the main variables that can determine the success of an organization. They precisely identify the specific results that are crucial for success, they are cornerstones in the construction of the strategy because they allow to concentrate the forces to be much better. There are not many, they can fluctuate between 4 and 6
8.	Key result areas	These are the areas where the main strategic objectives of the organization are grouped by affinity, so that the management of the organization focuses its performance on them, since they are vital for its survival. They are essential categories for the organization to successfully carry out its Mission and Vision.
9.	Strategic objectives	They are the main results that want to be achieved in a planning horizon and propose where to direct the efforts so that these results validate the mission and vision of the organization.
10.	Scenarios	A "scenario" is a description with some consistency of the possible environments in which an organization could operate in the medium-term future and that can exert some influence on its behavior. The “scenarios” are developed from the identification of the main hypotheses that can be formulated, that is, of the events that can harm or benefit the organization, dimensioned in the “technological, economic, political and social aspects, considering in the latter, in the same way, demographic factors ”.
eleven.	Strategic diagnosis	It is the analysis process that tries to identify the main variables that identify the forces of the environment and the internal ones that may or may not help to achieve the defined objectives. The variables that identify the forces in the environment are analyzed within the framework of the planning horizon, that is, what opportunities and threats are observed in the given horizon; while the variables that identify the internal forces are analyzed from the present, from now on. That is, from the strengths and weaknesses that it has.
12.	General strategic problem	It is derived from the analysis of the forces defined in the diagnosis and is formulated from the following analysis: if threats materialize, taking into account the weaknesses of the organization, the strengths cannot be used to fully exploit the opportunities.
13.	General strategic solution	It is derived from the analysis of the forces defined in the diagnosis and is formulated from the following analysis: it is necessary to fully use the forces on the opportunities that arise, to minimize the threats and overcome the weaknesses.
14.	SWOT matrix	It is the work tool used to carry out a cross analysis between the external variables that are forces that can provide opportunities or represent threats, with the internal forces that can pose strengths and weaknesses. From the cross-analysis of these variables, the main offensive, defensive, adaptive and survival strategies must be derived.
fifteen.	Objectives vs Strategies Matrix	It is the work tool used to make a cross analysis between the defined strategic objectives and the main strategies conceived to achieve these objectives. From this relationship those objectives and strategies with the greatest strength should be made manifest, as well as it would serve to decide what actions to take in the face of objectives that do not have strategies or vice versa.
16.	Action plan	It is the work tool that must be reflected in a document for each strategy how it must be achieved, so it must be specified which are the main tactical actions to be developed, who must develop it, on what date and with what resources, if necessary..
17.	Implementation or implementation	All the previous steps create the different parts of the body of a strategic plan, this implementation plan is the one that brings it to life, sets it in motion. We conceive of implantation from two angles or in a double subordination scheme. On the one hand, the values, strategic and tactical, together with the strategic objectives, have to move throughout the organization through different channels, in order to seek the necessary disaggregation at all levels and seek the commitment of all stakeholders. actors, who have to pay in different ways to their achievements. On the other hand, establishing action groups or operational commands Responsible for the actions associated with each of the strategies, aimed at achieving the different objectives.
18.	Paradigm	A set of rules and regulations or provisions, written or not, that do two things: first they set or define limits, second they indicate how to behave within those limits to be successful. A paradigm shift is a shift towards new rules and regulations.
19.	Challenges	They are those challenges that the organization has to face as a result of the trends that operate in the micro in the micro, as well as in the macro environment, as well as the incompetence that they have and do not allow them to achieve success within the business that they operate.
twenty.	Feedback	Systematic process that evaluates the progress of the strategy implementation process and that may entail adjustments to the strategy or the development of contingency plans.
twenty-one.	Psychological Contract	Agreements and terms of reference between the organization's management team and the group of external consultants, so that the project to be undertaken can be successfully completed and carried out with complete transparency and within the framework of adequate professional ethics.