An introduction to Dust consulting\'s strategic planning process.

2. What is strategic planning?
Strategic planning is a process of pro-active
planning for the future we want to create for our
business

3. Why strategic planning?
Primarily for 2 reasons …
1. To plan our business’ future strategy
2. To get everyone in our business on board
about our business’ future strategy – we want
to share a common vision

4. How do we plan our business’
future strategy?
We sit around a table for 2 to 3 days and we
follow a specific process of conversation that
helps us develop the strategic plan of our
business

5. What are the conversations
about?
1. The 1st strategic conversation is about the
bigger picture of our business
2. The next conversation is about the
lighthouse, the direction that guides our
business into the future
3. Then we have a conversation about the
current place our business is at right now
4. And then we talk about mapping the road we
take to get from where we are now to the
lighthouse, where we want to be

6. Our bigger picture
conversations
 We do a PEST analysis and look at the
Political, Economical, Social and
Technological environment that surrounds our
business
 We also do a CC analysis and look at our
Customers and our Competition
 In these conversation we try to understand the
larger environment that surrounds our
business

7. The golden thread…
Now that we understand the
bigger picture of our business,
we can look forward to the future of
our business, the lighthouse

8. Our lighthouse conversation
We talk about 1 specific thing
in our lighthouse
conversation
What is the *vision we want
to pursue for our business?

9. The golden thread…
Now that we understand the *vision of our
business, we look at the current place of our
business

10. Our current place
conversations
We talk about 4 specific things in our current
place conversations…
 What are the: 1 *strengths, 2 *weaknesses,
3 *opportunities and 4 *threats of our
business?

11. The golden thread…
Since we now understand the current place
of our business, we can map the road that will
take us from here (the current place) to where we
want to be (the lighthouse)

12. Our road map conversations
We talk about 6 specific things in our road map
conversations
1. What is the *mission of our business?
2. What are the *values of our business?
3. What are the *strategic paths we want to
take to get us to the lighthouse?

13. Our road map conversations
4. How will we work our *weaknesses into
strengths?
5. How will we grow our *opportunities?
6. How will we minimise our *threats?

14. How do we get everyone else now
on board?
1. All the other teams in our business also sit
around their tables 2 hours a week for 6
weeks
2. They also have specific conversations to
develop operational plans for the strategic plan
3. Their conversations are less strategic and more
operational
4. They primarily answer this question, “How can
we operationalise what the big guys
strategised?”

15. Diagrammatically it looks like this

16. What are the intended results?
1. Everyone shares a common vision
2. A nice looking documented strategic plan for the
business
3. Nice looking documented operational plans for
every business and their departments and teams
4. Individuals that understand what their function is
in the team or department they work with
5. Teams that understand what their function is in
achieving departmental goals
6. Departments that understand what their function
is in achieving business goals

17. What are the unintended results?
1. More focus on the following levels
a. Corporate
b. Leadership
c. Teams
d. Individual
2. Better and more synergistic team work
3. Happier people working in our business
4. A business that knows its place in this world

18. Why use a external Facilitator?
1. Well, he’s neutral – he doesn’t take sides
2. He takes care of the process of getting the
strategy developed and implemented
3. He referees the process, something a player
engaged in the process can’t do effectively
4. He allows all the players to play, because
none of the players need to referee

19. Why use Dust consulting?
1. We have been doing this for 20 years, or
more
2. We understand the business context of South
Africa
3. We truly have a heart to walk the extra mile
4. We believe in you and what you do in your
business
5. We draw from cutting edge knowledge and
expertise
6. We have a proven, well designed process
7. And, we are nice people to do business with

20. Without vision people perish