Don’t Forget Your People and Your Customers in Your Long-Range Strategic Plan

I recently stumbled upon a white-paper from Vistage International on on Six Critical Elements of Long-Range Strategic Planning and I think two important elements are missing from what is an otherwise good synopsis of what companies need to do to survive and thrive in the years ahead. Those elements are your staff (people) and your customers.

I think it is wonderful to create a 5-year plan that sets goals and objectives to work toward, but if it is not created with your people and your customers in mind you have less of a chance of succeeding. If they are not adequately trained or given the tools for support to effectively do the work that will meet the goals and objectives of that 5-year plan, what took a lot of time to create will eventually fail.

Our country is still in economic turmoil and there is a tendency in companies to cut training and eliminate performance improvement programs to save money. If the programs were effective and proven to either save or make money for the company during good economic times, it stands to reason that continued investment should be made and be included as part of a company’s strategic 5-year plan.

Further Reading

For more information on training in a down economy, and what trainers must do to stay relevant in their companies please see the following:

• The Best Advice for Training Developers
• Cutting Training in a Down Economy is not a Smart Move