If youre starting a new business or planning your businesss future, there are plenty of things you should take into account.Strategic Planning For Dummies covers everything you need to know to develop a plan for building and maintaining a competitive advantage no matter what business youre in.

Written by Erica Olsen, founder and President of a business development firm that helps entrepreneurial-minded businesses plan for a successful future, this handy guide covers all the basics, including:

How a strategic plan is different than a business planEstablishing a step-based planning processPlanning for and encouraging growthTaking a long-view of your organizationEvaluating past performanceDefining and refining your mission, values, and visionSizing up your current situationExamining your industry landscapeSetting your strategic prioritiesPlanning for unknown contingencies

If youre in business, you have to plan for everything especially if you intend your business to grow. Whether youre planning for a small business, large conglomerate, nonprofit, or even a government agency, this book has the planning specifics you need for your organization. Step-by-step, youll learn how to lay the foundations for a plan, understand how your plan will affect your business, form planning teams, discover what your strengths are, see where you are, and, finally, plan where youre going. And theres much more:

Learn to analyze business trends that will determine your businesss futureSet measurable, realistic goals that you can plan for and achieveMake strategic planning a habitual part of the organizationPrioritize multiple strategies that you can implement simultaneouslySet a defining vision for the organization that guides all your planning and strategy

This friendly, simple guide puts the power of strategic planning in the palm of your hand. For small businesses that cant afford to hire strategic planning consultants, its even more imperative. Careful, constant planning is the only way to handle an uncertain business future. With this book, youll have all the step-by-step guidance you need to ensure youre ready for anything that comes.

Erica Olsen holds a BA in Communications and an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird. Shes frequently tapped to lecture at the University of Nevada in Reno and the University of Phoenix in Reno on management and planning topics. She hosts workshops and has spoken at conferences nationwide.
As one of the developers of MyStrategicPlan, Erica has stripped strategic planning of its fate as a static document. With her online strategic planning system, any organization, regardless of size and budget, can build a plan in a matter of weeks (or even days). Once completed, the online system actually helps organizations execute the plan instead of just shoving it on a shelf.
MyStrategicPlan is just one of several services offered by Ericas company, M3 Planning. M3 also does onsite strategic planning facilitation and retreats as well as market research consulting. Over the last several years, M3 has developed and reviewed hundreds of strategic plans for organizations across the country.
In addition toStrategic Planning For Dummies, Erica has co-authoredStrategic Planning Made Easy: A Practical Guide to Growth and Profitability, and contributes regular columns to local, regional, and national business publications.

Introduction.

Part I: Laying the Foundation for Your Strategic Plan.

Chapter 1: What Is Strategic Planning Anyhow?

Chapter 2: Why Strategic Planning Impacts Your Growth.

Chapter 3: Getting Set Up for Successful Planning.

Part II: Looking Backward to Move Forward.

Chapter 4: Taking Lessons from the Past.

Chapter 5: Focusing on What You Do Best.

Chapter 6: Refining Your Mission, Vision, and Values.

Part III: Sizing Up Your Current Situation.

Chapter 7: Assessing Your Business and Its Capabilities.

Chapter 8: Seeing Your Business Through Your Customers Eyes.

Chapter 9: Assessing Your Strategic Position in a Dynamic Environment.

Part IV: Moving Your Organization into the Future.

Chapter 10: Growth: Its Not Just for Kids Anymore.

Chapter 11: Finding New Customers.

Chapter 12: Establishing Your Strategic Priorities.

Part V: Creating and Making the Most of Your Plan.

Chapter 13: Putting Your Plan Together.

Chapter 14: Putting Your Plan to Work.

Chapter 15: Contingency Planning: Your Plan B.

Chapter 16: Planning Considerations for Entrepreneurs and Department Managers.

Chapter 17: Planning for the Social Sectors.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Keep Your Strategic Plan from Hitting the Shelf.

Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Ruin Your Strategic Planning Meeting.

Chapter 20: Ten Shortcuts to Getting Your Plan Done.

Index.