When to Implement Strategic Planning

If goals aren’t being met and deadlines are pushed back, consider a policy deployment consultant. Sometimes called strategy deployment or Hoshin Kanri, this lean mechanism aligns a company’s resources with its most critical tasks. As a business consultant, the functions I undertake during policy deployment depend on goals, but generally, these are the objectives:

• Creating a shared vision with executive management
• Defining how customer needs fit the model
• Focussing on the current and changing needs of customers
• Aligning company resources to best-fit customer needs
• Defining goals and benchmarks to turn plans into reality

In policy deployment, strategic planning is always driven by the customers’ needs. My goal is to enhance service—to deliver breakthroughs in the eyes of the customer. By setting up goals and charts, I work month by month to measure progress and make strategic adjustments as necessary.

Policy deployment’s whole purpose is to remind businesses that the key to success always lies with its customers—it is a constant reminder that works to align teams focusing attention and resources on points that actually matter, thereby driving success and growth.

To successfully execute policy deployment, I consider several things:

• the voice of the actual customer and what they value
• which work brings value and advances key objectives
• defining a realistic timeline for goals (with measurable milestones)
• cascading strategic objectives throughout the organization so the impact is felt by the customer

Corporations struggling to meet their goals isn’t new–nor are you alone. It’s a challenge shared by many organizations trying to deliver the breakthroughs customers need. The good news is that strategic planning provides a roadmap. As a critical tool for driving satisfaction, it helps organizations thrive and grow by delivering what customers really want.