Intrafocus

Intrafocus has been in the business of demystifying strategic planning since its inception in 2011. Intrafocus provides information and services to help organisations structure their strategic planning. Long gone are the days when strategy was an executive only activity. Today, the best companies and organisations involve employees from the outset in their strategic planning. Why? Because more often than not, employees are the experts. They live with the work, day in and day out. They understand the processes, interact with their customers, and know that their job is dependent on providing the very best services or products.

But to involve everyone in the strategic planning process requires a high degree of management. That translates into using a good business process. Formulating a strategy should not be an ad hoc activity. Like all other business activities, it is a process. Intrafocus has developed a seven-step strategic planning process based on the already successful balanced scorecard methodology. The process acts as a checklist. It ensures that everything that needs to be done is done and done in the right order.

The seven-step Strategic Planning Process (SPP) consists of the following:

Foundation – Creating a vision for the future and stating the purpose of the organisation. These are based on the foundational core values.

Assessment – Conducting an internal and external evaluation of the organisation and marketplace to refine the vision and set three strategic priorities.

Objectives – Developing a set of strategic objectives that break the three priorities down into allocated work areas.

Measures – Creating a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that measure the success, or otherwise, of the objectives

Projects – Planning the projects that will drive the strategy forward.

Communication – Communicating the whole strategy to employees, stakeholders, and, if required, customers.

Automation – Using the right tools to automate the implementation of the strategy paying specific emphasis on measurement.

This Strategic Planning Process (SPP) has been developed over decades and has been proven to be successful in many organisations across the world. Intrafocus provides training consultancy and software to help with this process.

Intrafocus consultants have decades of experience in strategy workshop facilitation. We have developed a three-session strategy workshop based on the strategic principles found in the Balanced Scorecard Methodology. The methodology, which examines the four focus areas (or Perspectives) of Finance, Customer, Internal Processes and Organisational Capacity, builds a ‘balanced’ strategy through facilitated exercises. The three sessions take place during the mornings of three consecutive days.

The morning sessions last between four and six hours each, depending on the number of attendees. The facilitator organises ‘homework’ for the afternoon that usually takes around an hour to complete. The facilitator also uses this time to write a critique of the session output presented the next day. The three sessions aim to create an Integrated Strategy Map, similar to the illustration below. Our consultants will also record all of the material generated in a Strategy document using a pre-defined template. Please download a copy of the template shown on the right-hand side of this page.

There is often a tendency during a strategic planning workshop to meander away from the task-in-hand. A skilled strategy workshop facilitator can ensure the participants are led back to the central topic while at the same time allowing space to explore and develop new ideas. Whether it is incorporating a brand new digital strategy or simply revising an existing communications strategy, our facilitators will be a hand to help guide participant in the right direction. Our facilitators have decades of experience that can help you develop and structure your ideas to create a plan that will succeed.

One of the most critical aspects of the seven-step Strategic Planning Process is measurement. Without measurement, it is impossible to determine whether or not a strategy has succeeded or failed. To that end, Intrafocus can provide the world acclaimed KPI management product Spider Impact. We work with our clients and help them develop their strategy and then use Spider Impact to communicate the strategy and embed it into their standard set of review processes.

Not only that, but we provide a complete set of free resources. Strategic planning is not a black art. It is a simple process, but it is a process that needs to be taught. Based on the balanced scorecard methodology, the seven-step strategic planning process is the best strategic planning process available. Intrafocus has made it a mission to demystify the strategic planning process.

About Intrafocus
Intrafocus is a business-performance management consultancy and software reseller. Intrafocus provides strategy workshops, strategic consultancy and software to help organisations build, implement and manage their strategy.