Facilitation Questions for Strategic Planning
If you ask a group of business leaders to list the most important strategy questions they need to ask in order to transform or improve their business, many will be stumped. It’s not that they aren’t capable of finding the right questions; in most cases, they simply don’t have the time!
Many of today’s leaders are time poor and rich in problems to solve. They may or may not have realised the importance of developing a strategic plan. They may not be aware that thinking time is one of the most powerful assets they could leverage in order to achieve substantial growth within a short period of time.
If your company is in dire need of transformation, ready for rapid growth, or in need of a few refreshing changes across the board, you will benefit greatly from taking the time to ask a few penetrating questions that will lead you to the right solutions.
The necessity for transformation within a business might begin with a nagging feeling that something needs to change. Caught up in a whirlwind of to-dos, you might find it difficult to imagine ever having the time to develop a strategic planning process. The idea of taking a few hours or even days out of your busy schedule to simply think, plan, brainstorm, and strategize could fill you with horror.
However, strategic thinking will not only allow you to find unique answers that will help you to achieve the transformation your company needs, it will also allow time for the kind of inspiration that comes only with immersion, time, and space.
If you’re serious about creating change in your business, it’s essential that you set aside the time and space you need for the kind of immersive thinking and strategizing that creates transformation.
It won’t happen by itself and the longer you put it off the longer you will be putting off your dreams and future business goals.
Michael Porter
Once you’ve decided to make time to think and strategize, you might start the process by organizing a few brainstorming sessions with your leadership team. You might even choose to hire a team of specialists who will guide you and your teams through a series of strategy workshops.
Whether you’re organizing a strategic planning session yourself or working with a group of professionals, here are a few brainstorming questions for strategic planning that will help you to gain greater clarity over what needs to change, why it needs to change, who needs to change it, how to implement that change, and what benefits these changes could bring in the long run.
Questions to Ask During Strategic Planning Sessions
Company Evaluation Questions
What is our current position?
What are our core strengths?
What are our weaknesses?
What doesn’t fit?
What’s missing?
Who are our main customers?
Are we fulfilling their expectations?
Operational Questions
What is not working?
What is working well?
Why are the successes working so well?
How can we transfer what’s working well over to any areas of weakness?
What project management changes do we need to make?
Where are the gaps?
Where are we wasting time, energy or money?
Brand Perception Questions
Do we have clarity about our brand?
How do our customers feel about our brand?
How can we increase brand awareness?
What do we do best in our market? Better than our competitors?
What makes us unique?
What’s our USP?
Why do we do what we do?
What do we do best?
What would we like to be known for?
Goal Setting Questions
What are our long and short-term aims?
What systems need to change in order to improve our chance of achieving them?
What changes will have the greatest impact on our long and short-term success?
What is the measure of growth we wish to achieve in the next 3-5 years?
What is the single thing that needs to change over the next few weeks, for us to achieve this growth?
What do we foresee as the long-term consequences of these changes?
Competition and Legacy Questions
What is our current share position in the market?
How can we offer more to stakeholders?
What makes us competitive?
What gives us the edge?
Where should we compete? Where is it not a good idea for us to compete?
What unique insights and experience do we have that no other company in our market has?
What would my business mentor, hero or heroine do if he/she was in my position?
Choose from the list and feel free to add a few questions of your own. The important thing is knowing that change needs to happen and that asking the right questions is the first step to finding the perfect solutions.
Need help with strategic planning? Click here to find out how Group Partners can help you to gain clarity with their innovative, creative and interactive system of visual thinking tools and workshops.
