Strategy Process Associates Reasons Why Strategic Plans Fail

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It’s a difficult reality to face — many strategic plans fall far short of their goals. The results for you and your customers can be tragic.

The section below describes the most common reasons for these failures. Many of them could be prevented, or their severity reduced, by using the techniques we employ. Our services deliver on that promise in a focused, trusted, experienced, and high value manner.

Reasons why strategic plans fail †	How we can help you
† source Wikipedia ‡ Not Yet Available
Failure to understand the customer Why do they buy Is there a real need for the product Inadequate or incorrect marketing research	Customer Satisfaction
Inability to predict environmental reaction What will competitors do Fighting brands Price wars Will government intervene	NYA‡
Over-estimation of resource competence Can the staff, equipment, and processes handle the new strategy Failure to develop new employee and management skills	Stakeholder Satisfaction & Management
Failure to coordinate Reporting and control relationships not adequate Organizational structure not flexible enough	Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Failure to obtain senior management commitment Failure to get management involved right from the start Failure to obtain sufficient company resources to accomplish task	Stakeholder Satisfaction & Management
Failure to obtain employee commitment New strategy not well explained to employees No incentives given to workers to embrace the new strategy	Stakeholder Satisfaction & Management
Under-estimation of time requirements No critical path analysis done	Services
Failure to follow the plan No follow through after initial planning No tracking of progress against plan No consequences for above	NYA‡
Failure to manage change Inadequate understanding of the internal resistance to change Lack of vision on the relationships between processes, technology, and organization	Supply Chain Value Chain
Poor communications Insufficient information sharing among stakeholders Exclusion of stakeholders and delegates	Stakeholder Satisfaction & Management

If any of these reasons apply to you, contact us now