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Roadmap Planner 1 9 – Strategic Planner Product Ideas Accounting

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Any organization wanting to be viable, fiscally healthy and results-oriented (that's everyone, right?) needs a strategic plan to guide decision making and set priorities for three to five years.

5 signs that you need a strategic plan:

  1. Your organization has no long-term plan for success
  2. There is no formal mission, vision or goals
  3. When team members are asked about the organization, answers vary or are vague
  4. Leadership does not or cannot track spending to company objectives
  5. The organization has evolved and is no longer a one-person show

What is a Strategic Roadmap? A Strategic Roadmap is a comprehensive framework envisioning, developing, guiding, and measuring project initiatives—. Establish Strategic (End State) Vision. Identify Project Goals & Objectives. Current State Assessment & Architecture. Recommended Implementation Approach and Scope. With the new update, we are ending support of Roadmap Planner and making it part of Goals by KeepSolid. Discover our new web app for planning and execution strategy. Now you can build strategy roadmaps smarter, faster, together on Any Device. See how Roadmap Planner helps Product Managers reach they goals by creating and executing a strategy. Register now and start planning for free! See how Roadmap Planner helps Product Managers reach they goals by creating and executing a strategy. Register now and start planning for free! Save your ideas.

Roadmap Planner is a native Mac App, which means you can use it without the internet connection. Your roadmaps will sync with our servers as soon as you get back online. Championed by senior-level stakeholders, strategic planning roadmaps focus on mission-critical business objectives, and usually emphasize long-term timelines and deadlines. Unlike product roadmaps, which often show which features and initiatives will be executed in the short-term, strategic roadmaps illustrate the long game.

Creating a strategic plan gives everyone in your organization a working roadmap for the future. The pieces of the plan help guide daily actions—everything ranging from how to allocate company resources, to how to engage stakeholders. Even small companies need a strategic plan to formalize their values and vision, which guides goal setting while also allowing them to measure their impact beyond the bottom line.

Most strategic plans define the organization's Mission, Vision, and Goals, and establish short-and long-term Objectives. Creating the plan might seem daunting, but referring to the plan keeps team members connected to guiding principles and actually makes daily operations easier.

How do we get started?

Having helped hundreds of organizations develop a strategic plan, we know the biggest obstacle is getting started. Here are some tips to make it easier:

  • Don't go it alone. Establish a core team of trusted personnel to help with the creation of a plan. Bringing in outside help can keep things moving and offer a different, often broader perspective on your mission. Amazon didn't set out to just sell books; they wanted to be a successful online retailer – an important difference in their mission that drove their growth in distinctly different ways.
  • Mission and vision are the biggies and they can be difficult. An easier start is to first define objectives and desired outcomes. From there you can build up to mission and vision.
  • Communicate. Tell stakeholders you are creating a strategic plan. Share your mission statement with your team. Remember the 'If a tree falls in the woods' theory. If no one knows your mission, vision, goals, or objectives then they don't really exist.
  • Execute your plan! Don't file your strategic plan away for a year. Instead, create a concept of operations (CONOPS) that spells out how you will put strategies to work. Be specific about timelines, resources and who will do what.
  • Plan to review and update your plan as things change or on a regular schedule. It's vital that your plan remains a living document, capable of responding to new developments.

Work your plan

Your CONOPS spells out how to put the plan into action, but that step takes people and resources. Spell out who will do what and when. Often the team providing input for a strategic plan will take the lead on implementation. Tasking people and groups across the organization is a good way for everyone to hear about the plan and buy in to the shared mindset and strategies.

Decide early on how you will measure progress. For some organizations that means metrics based on data, while others are satisfied with an observed shift in perception or awareness.

The process of developing a strategic plan can be a powerful force for good in your organization. Working together, sharing values and soliciting feedback can boost energy, commitment and morale. If implemented correctly, your plan and the CONOPS can also yield tangible benefits: stakeholder satisfaction, risk mitigation, teamwork and optimal work scheduling—as well as a clear roadmap for your organization for years.

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The success of your organization — no matter what size or industry — depends on the thoroughness of your planning and vision. A strategic plan can provide a roadmap for accomplishing specific goals, and will increase your chances of reaching objectives on time and budget. In this article, we've rounded up the top strategic planning templates in Microsoft Word and Excel, all of which are free to download and fully customizable.

Additionally, we've provided customizable strategic planning templates in Smartsheet, a collaborative, real-time work execution platform that empowers you to better plan, manage, and report on strategic initiatives.

What Is Strategic Planning?

Roadmap Planner 1 9 – Strategic Planner Product Ideas Accounting Software

Strategic planning is an organization's process for defining their strategy so that they can accomplish specific goals and objectives. Strategic planning may be utilized on a large scale, such as planning for business growth over several years or to help a nonprofit or governmental organization reach its stated mission. A strategic plan can also be used on a smaller scale, such as crafting a marketing plan or developing strategy for the goals of one department within a business or organization.
It is important to note that strategy is distinct from planning: While strategy looks at why certain steps should be taken, a plan outlines how to enact those steps. strategic planning marries these two concepts in order to determine the best possible course of action. The purpose of strategic planning is to provide a thoughtful, deliberate approach to reaching objectives based on an in-depth analysis of both internal and external factors affecting an organization.

A strategic plan often covers multiple years, addressing both short- and long-term goals. It also provides a way of tracking progress and measuring success. However, it's not a document that is fixed in stone — instead, it's wise to revisit and adjust a strategic plan periodically based on the evolving vision, objectives, needs, and resources of a business or institution.

Depending on the scope of your plan, you may be working with a team of multiple stakeholders during the strategic planning process. To keep the process running smoothly, make roles and responsibilities clear. Different parties may be responsible for providing data, reviewing the plan, or authorizing strategic decisions. As you prepare for planning, make sure all participants understand what's involved in the process and have received any relevant information prior to meeting.

Benefits of Strategic Planning

There are benefits of strategic planning, including the following:

  • Align the goals of a department or project with larger business goals
  • Provide clear communication to team members, stakeholders, or clients
  • Clearly define the vision and mission of an organization
  • Provide clarity on how to deal with internal or environmental changes

Parts of a Strategic Plan

One way to think about strategic planning is that it identifies any gaps between a current state and desired future state, and then dictates how to close those gaps — how you get from where you are to where you want to be. To that end, various factors are taken into consideration in order to formulate an effective plan. Here are some of the elements often included in a strategic plan.

  • Introductory Statement: The introductory statement should briefly describe why the strategic plan was developed and for what time period, and list the authors of the plan.
  • Background Statement: This section may provide information about the organization, such as history, management structure, and supporting partners or agencies. Alternatively, you could use this section as a brief business statement — more of an elevator pitch — to concisely describe your business.
  • Organizational Structure: Include this information if it's relevant to evaluate how your business or organization operates and is structured, from governing board to staffing.
  • Vision: A vision statement should briefly describe what a company wants to achieve or become. This is one of the primary organizational tenets to consider, along with values and mission.
  • Values: These are the principles that an organization stands for and abides by. Many businesses create core value statements to guide company culture.
  • Mission Statement: A mission statement describes the purpose of a business or organization. This is distinct from a vision statement because it is not a projected goal for the future.
  • Problem Statement: Some plans include a problem statement, which can outline key or discrete issues that need to be addressed.
  • SWOT Analysis:A SWOT analysis provides a foundation and context for developing strategy by examining the strengths and weaknesses within and organization as well as external opportunities and threats.
  • Goals: As stated earlier, a strategic plan may include long-term as well as short-term (i.e, monthly or quarterly) goals. Objectives should be measurable and broken down into actionable steps, and the action plan for each goal should specify who is responsible for implementing the strategy, a timeline for starting and ending the action, and how the outcome will be evaluated.
  • Evaluation: Methods for evaluation should be spelled out in the strategic plan. This could include tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and documenting the progress of action steps on an ongoing basis.
  • Executive Summary: This final summary helps employees, investors, or other readers quickly understand your plan.

Roadmap Planner 1 9 – Strategic Planner Product Ideas Accounting Principles

No matter what type of strategic plan you are working on, using a template provides a simple and quick outline to organize your process. In the following sections, you'll find free, downloadable planning templates for business, nonprofit, human resources, marketing, IT strategic planning, and more.

Simple, powerful project management with Smartsheet. See for yourself.

Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform that allows teams and organizations to plan, manage, and report on projects, helping you move faster and achieve more. See Smartsheet in action.

Strategic Business Plan Template

A comprehensive, strategic business plan may include company information, SWOT analysis, research, goals, resources, risks and more. A template provides structure for your business planning process as well as a communication tool that's simple to update or modify. Use the template as a guide for evaluating your business, identifying opportunities for growth and development, and creating a strategic plan.

Download Strategic Business Plan Template

Excel | Smartsheet

Roadmap Planner 1 9 – Strategic Planner Product Ideas Accounting Services

Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

A nonprofit strategic plan often emphasizes vision, values, and mission as the foundation for future objectives. A template can be used to clearly define who is being served and what issues need to be addressed. As with a business plan, nonprofit planning may include sections for evaluating risks and opportunities, measuring financial resources, developing a marketing plan, and creating objectives for organizational change.

Download Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

Excel | Smartsheet

HR Strategic Plan Template

Create a detailed human resources strategic plan for your organization, or modify the template to focus on one specific area, such as recruitment or employee relations. Use the template to translate strategies into measurable action plans. This simple layout makes it easy for readers to quickly view key information.

IT Strategic Planning Template

IT is an essential part of any business, nonprofit, school, or government agency. While information technology is just one part of an overall business strategy, creating a separate strategic plan for IT will help ensure that you have a comprehensive roadmap to follow for managing and purchasing new assets, understanding your current and potential technology usage, and aligning your IT goals with business objectives.

Strategic Marketing Plan Template

Use this free template to help shape your marketing strategy. It combines information on your target market and business with marketing tactics to help you think strategically and create a plan of action. The template can guide your research process or be used as a simple brainstorming tool.

Social Media Strategy Plan Template

Social media is an integral part of online marketing, and creating a strategic plan can help ensure that you are using your time and resources effectively. Consider your branding, mission, target audience, competition and other factors to determine which social networks and types of content will perform best for your company. Keep track of KPIs and adjust your social media plan accordingly.

SWOT Analysis Strategy Template

This matrix template combines SWOT analysis with strategic planning. Examine the relationships between your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and then list related strategies to tackle your goals. The layout of this template allows you to view the SWOT categories and strategies side-by-side, which may be useful for a presentation or summary.

One-Page Strategic Planning Template

A one-page strategic plan is perfect for small businesses or for summarizing a longer planning process. Use this template as is, or edit the layout or included information to better suit your needs. This template includes all the essentials on one page, including values, strengths and weaknesses, goals, and actions.

Download One-Page Strategic Planning Template

Excel | Word | Smartsheet

Strategic Vision Template

Summarize your strategic vision and plan, highlighting key information for stakeholders, management, investors, or for your own reference. Combining a vision statement with a brief summary of goals, actions and KPIs makes it easy to see how your business values and purpose relate to your objectives. It also provides a succinct summary for use in a presentation or meeting.

Download Strategic Vision Template

Excel | Word

University Strategic Plan Outline

This template provides an outline for university strategy planning. The actual strategic plan may cover multiple pages and provide an in-depth analysis and detailed mission and vision statements. Strategic planning is an opportunity for universities to look closely at campus needs, institutional values, infrastructure, long-term goals, important obstacles, and more. The strategic plan will be a guiding document that is reviewed and updated regularly.

Create More Collaborative, Real-Time Strategic Plans with Smartsheet

Product

The ability to create detailed project plans is important to the success of your strategic initiatives. To ensure that your plans reach the outlined goals and objectives on time and on budget, consider using a tool that enables you to plan, manage, automate, and report on project details in real time, and to share and collaborate on your plans with your team and key stakeholders.

Smartsheet is a work execution platform that enables enterprises and teams to get from idea to impact - fast. Top project management leaders rely on Smartsheet to help align the right people, resources, and schedules to get work done.

Use Smartsheet to streamline initiative and project planning, improve collaboration, and increase stakeholder confidence. Share project vision, details, and resources with internal and external stakeholders to increase transparency. Stay up to date on status with automatic alerts and use reports and dashboards to roll up details to ensure projects stay on track.

Try Smartsheet to discover why project managers around the world use it to deliver projects on time and on budget.

Discover a more collaborative, real-time way to manage strategic initiatives.





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