According to Henry Mintzberg, every one of the 5 Ps stands for a different strategy approach. Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, and Perspective are all included in this. These five components help a business create a more effective plan. A plan is comprehensive and covers multiple facets of the business or organization you collaborate with. The strategic management process functions best when all members of the organization are aware of the company’s strategy. Goal-setting, analysis, strategy creation, strategy implementation, and strategy monitoring are the five phases of the process. In addition, there are four distinct phases of strategic drift that culminate in a revolutionary change that affects the entire firm. Incremental change, strategic drift itself, flux, and transformational change are those phases. The 6 elements of strategic management include (1) Vision and objectives, (2) Core values, (3) SWOT analysis, (4) Tactics and operational delivery, (5) Resources and resource allocation, and (6) Measurement and analysis.

On that note, what are your thoughts on the following:

Regarding strategic planning: 

1.       Being a strategic thinker is not the same as being strategic. Analysis is the first, while synthesis is the second step.

2.       Planners should contribute outside of the strategy-making process rather than within it.

3.       Call an informal retreat “planning,” hand it over to conventional planners, and observe how fast the gathering formalizes.

4.       Creating new categories rather than rearranging existing ones is necessary for true strategic transformation.

Regarding the pitfalls of planning: Proponents of planning intend to weaken managers’ influence over formulating strategies.

Regarding the fallacies of strategic planning: 

1.       Is there any proof, anywhere in the planning literature, that anyone has cared to investigate how managers formulate strategies? The answer is negative.

2.       Genuine strategists sift through a variety of sources looking for inspiration, and genuine strategies are crafted from the pearls they find.

Regarding planning and planners in strategic planning: 

1.       The person left behind in a meeting with the CEO, who assists in packaging the strategic decisions that are metaphorically scattered about the table, is a fitting representation of the planner.

2.       To adjust a strategy to a changing environment, it is sometimes necessary to leave it as broad visions rather than detailed plans.

Georgios Ardavanis – 23/01/2024