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Answers

The questions CEOs ask about strategic planning

Ten straight answers from Marc Emmer, drawn from more than 500 strategic plans for privately held, mid-market companies.

Marc Emmer
Founder, Optimize Inc. ยท Updated
Leader studying a planning flowchart on a whiteboard Start here What Does a Strategic Planning Process Actually Look Like? A strategic planning process is a structured sequence that moves a leadership team from assessment to execution. It has four core stages: an honest assessment of where the business stands today, a clear set of choices about where to compete and how to win, three to five prioritized initiatives each with a named owner, and a quarterly cadence to review progress and adjust. The output is not a binder but a short set of decisions the team can act on immediately. Read the answer

Every answer

Sticky notes grouped on a whiteboard during a working session AnswerHow Do You Run a SWOT Analysis That Is Actually Useful? A SWOT analysis is a structured review of a company's internal Strengths and Weaknesses and its external Opportunities and Threats. Colored game pieces connected across a network, representing market segments AnswerHow Do You Conduct a Market Analysis? A market analysis answers three questions: how big is the opportunity you can realistically serve, where is demand heading, and where do you fit against the competition. Performance chart on a laptop screen AnswerHow Do You Use KPIs in Strategic Planning? KPIs are used in strategic planning to measure whether a company is winning on the few outcomes its strategy depends on. A red figure standing in front of a circle of wooden figures AnswerWho Should Be in the Room for Strategic Planning? Strategic planning decisions should be made by a tight core of five to eight senior leaders accountable for executing the plan, typically the CEO and the heads of major functions. Darts clustered around the bullseye of a target AnswerHow Do You Write a Vision and Mission That Actually Guide Decisions? A vision statement describes the future a company is trying to create, and a mission statement describes what it does every day to get there and for whom. Executive presenting a growth plan to colleagues AnswerHow Do You Turn a Strategic Plan into Execution? Turning strategy into execution means converting each strategic priority into a concrete initiative with a single accountable owner, a measurable outcome, and a deadline. A single white pawn surrounded by black chess pieces AnswerWhy Do Strategic Plans Fail? Strategic plans usually fail in execution, not in conception. Chess pawns lined up on a reflective board AnswerHow Often Should You Revisit Your Strategic Plan? Most companies should set a strategic horizon of about three years, review the plan quarterly, and complete a deeper replan once a year. A small pawn standing in front of two larger chess pieces AnswerWhat Is Different About Strategic Planning for a Privately Held, Mid-Market Company? Strategic planning for a privately held, mid-market company differs from enterprise planning in four ways.
A client leadership team working through a value chain analysis during an Optimize planning session

Who is answering

Marc Emmer

Marc Emmer, founder of Optimize Inc., has 25 years of consulting experience and has personally facilitated more than 500 strategic plans for privately held, mid-market companies. He is the author of Momentum: How Companies Decide What To Do Next and a contributor to Inc. and Forbes.

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