Why Strategic Plans Fail

I found a great article written by Ron Price, CEO of Price Associates, in AgProfessionals.com regarding why strategic plans fail.  At one time, I was in a manufacturing company that periodically performed a strategic plan that had many of the problems brought out in this article.

In short, there are six primary reasons why strategic plan fails:

Lack of focus – Many people get lost in in trying to define their plan, vision, mission, etc.  Therefore, when it comes time to implementing the plan, they are out of steam and this is not conducive to a good plan.

 Lack of energy/resources –  Some people run out of money or energy before they can get the practical part of the plan started.  Many companies spend so much money on the vision, that they have nothing left over for the plan.

Lack of understanding – Others confuse strategic planning with operational planning.  Altough I am CPA, I know that you can not use an accountant’s mind set in setting up and perfecting a strategic plan.  It requires a long-term managerial mind to keep them going and perfected.

Lack of accountability – Many plans become too political.  There is so much time spent on protecting turf, that little of a pratical nature gets done.

Lack of follow up – Many companies end up with a very detailed notebook on how the plan is to proceed, however, they end up putting it on the shelf and never implementing it.

Lack of flexibilty – Many plans fail since circumstances change and the plan has no flexibility to allow for changes to the plan.  Good strategic plans will allow for a review mechanism to allow changes at any time.