Strategic planning, what is it all about?

It’s already halfway through the year, I mean, am I getting old or time is flying by? Ok, yes perhaps a bit of both! 

We love to talk about building your strategy here at The Delforge Group®, especially with our members, we teach them that every detail matters, every structure will create an impact on their workload and the more you plan, the less reactive you become, the more proactive you are, creativity can flourish, in a nutshell, the more you plan, the better you feel. If it doesn’t go your way because things happened on a personal or professional matter, it’s fine, you have a strategy to fall back on, a direction, a focus. 

This is something that I have personally adopted from very early on in my career, even when employed, I have always been very clear in what I wanted for my year-on-year growth, whether it be on a personal or professional level. 

What is apparent when we discuss strategy, is the confusion it can bring to the owners. What is strategic planning anyway? What’s the true point of it? 

I wrote a blog a couple of years ago which you can find HERE and I still very much truly believe in it.  

Strategy planning is at the heart of everything we do. As an entrepreneur, now more than ever, you must take time to recenter on your business and refocus on what truly matters so you can feel on top of everything but more importantly, feel aligned with your business, ethos and core values. That in itself will trickle down to your communication, your mindset, and your focus. It’s like a magnet, it attracts everything around you that will keep you motivated to produce even more of what you want. 

The business can be overwhelming, you can feel like you are shooting everywhere but ending up nowhere.

The common question is: what did I truly do this week? It felt like nothing. Nothing that made my business grow further in a strategic way anyhow. 

I asked one of my members the other day to write down everything he does until we meet again in our next session so we can assess his workload and why he finds it difficult to focus on strategy and building the bigger picture. I mean, I want to know if he is going to the post office or having to deal with stuff that he shouldn’t be doing. And it was revealing: how can we be empowered if what we deal with is patching things up or doing things that his managers should be in charge of? 

It’s time to structure: time, money, organization of who does what, when and how, and think of how he truly wants to work in his business. 

Now we can strategise, now we can add the magic dust that makes the machine work, being creative, focused and having that crystal clear vision that will keep growing him and his business, 

There is nothing wrong with wanting to stabilise the business, enjoy the fruits of your labour and work the way you want to work, you don’t have to always want more and more. That’s where the confusion comes, the feeling that we need to do more to be successful. My favourite quote that I even had on my first website from Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” But to know what success looks like for you, you must align yourself with your business and the desired direction, and for that, you must take time to analyse how you function to grow your business for the better and work in advance to become pro-active. 

However, since strategic planning is a multifaceted process that requires careful consideration, continuous learning, and the ability to adapt to a constantly changing environment, it can be extremely challenging to focus on it or even believe in it. 

In my 10 years of consulting, I know that Strategic planning will allow you to have a direction that will leave you feeling content, satisfied and make you remember why you have built the business in the first place, the time is now, you have 6 months till the end of the year, start with that: how do you want to feel by the end of 2024? 

Contact us for more information on how we can help you build your dream business, that's what we're here for.

Much love,

Valerie x