Operational Planning: Taking Strategic Planning up a Notch!

So, you have your strategic plan. What's next?

What is operational planning?

Operational planning is the process of determining how to execute your strategic plan. The goal of operational planning is to translate high-level goals into specific, actionable steps that can be taken to achieve those goals. This is where you decide what needs to be done, when it should be done, and by whom.

You can use operational planning to make sure that all the components of the strategic plan are being executed in a timely manner and that nothing is getting lost in translation from one department or team to another.

There are many benefits of operational planning, including:

Operational planning helps you ensure that your strategic plan stays on track and achieves the desired outcomes by providing a detailed set of instructions for achieving specific tasks or targets. It also helps ensure that all employees are working towards achieving the same goals by providing everyone with clear directions on what needs to be done.

How do you do operational planning?

Operational planning is done by breaking down each goal into smaller steps and identifying the resources required for each step. Then, using those resources and their availability (e.g., number of hours per week), determine how long it will take for each step to be completed and what resources will be required at each stage along the way.

Monitoring the operational plan:

You can monitor your progress by comparing it with actual performance data (e.g., sales numbers, number of people reached or the impact of service provision). If there are discrepancies between reality and expectations, then it is possible that something needs adjusting before moving on to another phase of implementation (or even backtracking

Have the courage to take your strategic plan up a notch.

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