Pub. 8 2019 Issue 1

The CommunityBanker 10 F E A T U R E Sometimes the Most Important Things Get the Least Attention Strategic Planning Strategic planning is a vitally important responsibility that gets relatively little attention. Effective strategic planning can unleash an organization’s potential, focus efforts in the right places, and energize teams to create amazing results. Strategic planning is a requirement of sound bank man- agement. However, the time and effort devoted to planning is often much less than the time devoted to other matters considered by boards. At its core, strategic planning is the exercise of determin - ing if we are pursuing the correct priorities. This is the most important question we must answer. Being good at pursuing a great strategy is much better than being great at pursuing a bad strategy. Why We Don’t Put More Effort into Planning There are many reasons boards and senior managers don’t put more time and resources into planning. The three most significant are that the participants don’t enjoy the process, feel it takes too much time and effort, and believe that it does not deliver useful results. Participants Don’t Enjoy the Process Most individuals responsible for corporate governance have been involved in planning efforts that were less than satisfying. The dissatisfaction often resulted from feel- ing that his or her voice was not heard, the most important issues were not considered, or discussion of certain issues was uncomfortable. Such experiences tend to throw a wet blanket on the process. It Takes Too Much Time and Effort There are literally hundreds of systems for planning. Many of them provide for exhaustive preparation, extensive meetings and drafting large and detailed plans that are inflexible and difficult to administer. Sometimes the effort becomes so much about the process that results seem to be an afterthought. It Does Not Deliver Useful Results We all know of strategic plans that were written, ap- proved, filed and only brought out when the examiners asked for them. Sometimes the plans are so detailed that they be- come obsolete shortly after their creation. Sometimes the plan looks awfully similar to last year’s plan. By Mark Mangano