Applied Strategic Planning: A Comprehensive Guide

This is really a nice book for someone who has been through the strategic planning process a number of times and wants an outline or guideline to facilitate the process themselves. It's not a stand alone aid to someone or an executive staff who have never been through such a process. They should definitely consider outside help. The book is clear cut, easy to read and understand, and not written for the academic but for the hands-on, roll-up your sleeves folks who have to make the process work.

While browsing through the strategy books, I saw it by chance. I went through the table of contents, hoping it might turn out to be the right one for me as a startup strategy manager. It indeed turned out to be an excellent book on strategic planning in respects of coverage, sequencing of chapters and examples given. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to make progress in strategic planning in a relatively short time.

In Applied Strategic Planning, the authors give a comprehensive step-by-step guide to conducting applied strategic planning. They clearly demonstrate organisations' need for strategic planning. The book is different from other strategic planning models in some significant ways. The major differences are in the values scan, organisational culture, strategic business modelling and integrating business and functional plans. The authors emphasise the importance of application considerations and environmental monitoring as on-going processes throughout the planning period. The authors produced a high quality book that is an important reference source whenever I need to undertake strategic planning. The book provides the reader with an overall understanding of the process of applied strategic planning and the required steps and technology for using the model in a strategic planning process. The strategic planning model covers application and implementation from the inception of the plan to the post-implementation phase, making it very practical. The model involves nine sequential steps as well as two continuous functions, namely environmental monitoring and application considerations, that are involved at each of the sequential phases. The sequential steps are planning to plan, followed by values scan, then mission formulation followed by strategic business modelling. Performance audit and gap analysis follow, these two being different aspects of a single phase. The last three phases are integrating action plans, contingency planning and implementation. I read the book because I would like to increase my proficiency in and knowledge of practical strategic planning and to sharpen my consultancy skills. The book is very practical and easy to follow. As a consultant, I should be able to use the methodology in the course to manage the planning process. Applied strategic planning provides an appealing model for transforming organisations. The model is future focused and leadership driven. It involves all people in an organisation. It produces a plan that is detailed, comprehensive, understood and accepted, and has the potential to generate energising force to drive the transformation of an organisation. After going through the book, I feel confident that I could act as a consultant for any organisation.

I loved the organization of this book. It's like you are the CEO and are really organizing a new business from the scratch. The author uses a structured approach of applying strategic planning that makes a complex subject like this extremely simple to understand.

Provides an understanding of effective strategic planning processes. Offers a model for planning, with chapters devoted to each phase. Topics covered include: envisioning, culture, roles of the consultant, environmental monitoring, values scan, mission formulation, strategic business modeling, performance audit, gap analysis, integrating action plans, contingency planning, and implementation. This work is informative and highly useful for leaders and consultants.