What is strategic management?

We all have your own jargon. In the planning world we use "strategic management" but my clients don't always understand the distinction between strategic planning and strategic management.

Strategic Managementstarts with Systems Thinking, brings in strategic planning, adds people and leadership, and then includes managing and monitoring the execution of the plan. That's powerful!

Using The Systems Thinking Approach®we look at the entire system that you are working on. We look at the key stakeholders, the relationship with other teams and organizations and the needs of your clients and customers. Systems Thinking looks at the whole before looking at the parts and details, in order to minimize unintended consequences and see where you have the greatest leverage.

Strategic planning using The Systems Thinking Approach® means we start with the future environmental and a clear definitions of your goals - vision, mission and values. Many forms of strategic planning start with current state assessment. We don't start there because there's no context to give meaning to that assessment. Because we look at our vision, mission and values first, you can decide what information is relevant to gather in the current state assessment. 

After you envision your future and get feedback from key stakeholders through our Parallel Stakeholder Involvment process we create metrics of moving towards that future. Not measures of activities!

Then we conduct a thorough and relevant current state assessment because we can compare it to our clear future goals. For example, we decide to add "one point of contact" to fulfill our customers' wants. If this is a radical way of connecting with our clients and we had conducted a current statement assessment first, we wouldn't be gathering anything on our abilities to meet clients needs in the new way. 

Now we can create strategies and actions given we know where we are now the current statement assessment, and where we want to go (our vision, mission & values). 

The goal is strategic planning is to develop planning documents at all levels - departments, annual plans and budgets. 

Strategic Management goes further than just creating the documents by ensuring the people and leaders are involved throughout the process of both the creation and implementation of those documents. 

Strategic Management also ensures that the plan is successfully implemented through the creation of a change management plan and regular monitoring and updating of the plan throughout the year.This drives transformation in your organization year after year.

Strategic Management is an iterative process. This means we go back and revisit previous parts of the plan when we gather new information. This flexible approach to keeping the plan updated ensures that your plan stays relevant during our fast-changing environment. 

Two of the ways in which Strategic Management is different from Strategic Planning is because the process occurs throughout the year and is externally focused on our customersinstead of internally focused on ourselves.

If you'd like to distinguish yourselves from your competition focus on Strategic Management throughout the year - Systems Thinking, Strategic Planning, people, leadership, change management and monitoring implementation. If you want to bring this expertise into your organization let's talk!Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com