Strategic plans can help businesses organize and define their goals, with specific steps on how to achieve them. Some strategic plans can be lengthy and in depth, making them difficult to understand and it is harder to create actions. Understanding what is a one page strategic plan can allow businesses to condense their findings and narrow their plan for success, making it more accessible to other employees in the business. In this article, we discuss what a one page strategic plan is, how to create one, and the benefits of implementing one.
What is a one page strategic plan?
A one page strategic plan contains the same information as an in-depth strategic plan, but condenses and summarizes key findings. Lengthy strategic plans can be difficult to reference and revisit as a business's goals progress as key information can get hidden, amongst other less relevant details. A one page strategic plan takes the key information of a more lengthy strategic plan and highlights it on one page for easy access and reference. This can help businesses to stay accountable and track their goals more accurately, as they aren't required to earch through long records of information.
A one-page strategic plan often includes items like:
A mission statement
Company values
A vision statement
Competitive advantages
Strategic objectives
Short-term goals
Long-term goals
Action items
KPIs
Implementation models
Learning what is a one page strategic plan can help keep employees engaged with their work, promote overall company success and growth and help an organization successfully leverage and capitalize on opportunities. They also may act as a company handbook as they highlight information, such as mission and vision statements, and provide goals on which employees may want to focus on. Creating a document that is simple to read and contains all the important information is useful for businesses looking to keep their employees focused and informed.
Read more: Using a Strategic Plan Template (With Template and Example)
How to create a one page strategic plan
Several sections comprise one page strategic plans, including various statements and goals. Most organizations divide their plan into different columns. Each column focuses on a specific aspect of the plan.
Follow these steps to help you develop a one-page strategic plan:
Start with the foundation
The beginning of a strategic plan can set the foundation for the rest of its goals and outcomes. Businesses can begin their one-page strategic plan by defining the foundation of their organization. This includes the mission, values, and vision of the organization. The foundation may include:
Mission statement
The mission statement of a business explains its purpose and what problem it aims to solve. Its focus is on the present operations of a business and often relates to an emotional connection to why the business exists. It may highlight a large overarching goal that guides the company's operations or highlight what it aims to give back to its customers.
Read more: What Is Strategic Planning? (With Benefits)
Vision Statement
A vision statement focuses on the future of the business and highlights its key goals and aspirations. A vision statement defines where your company hopes to go or what it hopes to achieve in the future. A strategic business plan points all goals and benchmarks to the vision statement as that is what the business operations are working towards.
Values
Company values highlight what is important to a business and what they choose to be conscious of in their operations. Values help determine the boundaries or parameters a company uses to decide and help businesses dictate what they can and can't do. They are unique to each business but are often publicly displayed as they relate to mission and vision statements.
Read more: Strategic Business Planning (Definition, Benefits, and How-To)
Define your competitive advantages
Defining what makes a business stand out from their competitors is key to succeeding in the market. A business can conduct a competitive analysis to establish what makes them different and use this to shape their strategic plan. Businesses can also use this analysis to define their target market and to better understand the market they operate in.
Define business goals
Depending on the strategic plans, businesses can start by defining their long term and short-term goals. This can help businesses to establish the direction in which their strategy can take them and how they plan to reach these goals. Short-term goals can help businesses stay on track and accountable as they strive to reach long-term goals.
Develop a strategy
The strategy portion of a strategic plan lists the specific steps a business plans to take to meet its goals outlined in the portion above. The strategy operation can include strategic objectives, timelines for defined goals, and specific actions a business plans to take. This strategy can provide a guideline for employees and a direction for business executives to implement in their daily roles within a business.
Read more: How to Develop a Strategic Business Development Plan
Define key performance indicators
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are the specific outcomes of goals that a business can aim for to ensure they are successfully working towards their goals. KPIs determine how business may measure the effectiveness and define the success of their strategy. For example, a company aiming to grow its following on social media may set a one year KPI of 1,000 followers, a three year KPI of 10,000 followers and a five year KPI of 100,000 followers. This allows the business to check in each year to see how close they are to meeting their goals and make adjustments as necessary to get closer to reaching them.
Determine the implementation model
Once businesses have established their goals and the strategy in which they plan to reach them, they can move on to the implementation strategy. This stage relates to how they plan to implement their strategy across the business and in the specific roles of their employees. Businesses may consider creating sub-plans for each business department that highlights how which part of the goals each department is working towards. Alternatively, businesses may consider allocating responsibilities for different parts of their goals to each department individually. Ensuring each department is aware of their role in reaching the goals is essential for success.
For example, a business that becomes more sustainable as their goal can allocate different responsibilities to different departments. They may allocate designing more environmentally friendly packaging to their marketing teams, while they can allocate the operations team to developing a production process that produces less waste. Finance teams can balance the costs these changes may have while human resource departments hire a specialist in sustainability to oversee the project.
Read more: Four Strategy Types (With Benefits and How to Create a Plan)
Add strengths, weaknesses, and trends
Every business has its own strengths and weaknesses that can affect how effectively they may reach their goals. By listing its strengths and weaknesses, a business can establish where they can focus their efforts and where they can allocate resources to meet their targets. Highlighting specific industry trends can also help a business forecast industry events and alter their strategic plan around them.
Communicate the plan
Communicating a strategic plan is essential for successful implementation. Businesses may want to ensure everyone within the organization has a shared understanding of their one-page strategic plan. Businesses may consider distributing copies of their plan during the initial roll-out of the plan. Businesses can use the simple one-page document as an executive summary of what they hope to achieve, and review and explain each aspect.
Revisit the plan
Businesses can revisit their plan many times to ensure they are on track to meet their targets and goals. As time goes on, businesses may wish to adjust their strategy of implementation as they learn what works and what doesn't. As they reach certain KPI's and don't reach others, they may be required to adjust their goals or alter the specific steps they take. Strategic one page plans are not final and businesses can adjust it as many times as needed. Their purpose is to act as a guideline and framework for a business to reach their goals.
Benefits of a one-page strategic plan
Here are some benefits of developing and using a one-page strategic plan:
Provides employees with a common goal
A one-page strategic plan outlines what an organization hopes to achieve. This provides employees with clear shared goals and an understanding of the organization's vision. This may help employees stay focused on the company's goals and ensure each employee's work aligns with the organization's goals, mission, and values.
Simplifies complex business plans
One page strategic plans are often straightforward. They include simple statements and instructions, which are often free of complex statements or business jargon. This promotes shared understanding among all employees throughout the company.
Promotes accountability
A one-page strategic plan helps ensure accountability throughout the organization. Each action belongs to a specific person. This helps ensure everyone understands their role and prevents miscommunication.
Increases employee engagement
One-page strategic plans assign responsibilities to specific employees. Each employee has a unique role and a strong understanding of their goals and duties. This may help an employee feel more responsible for the success of the company, improving their connection with the organization and helping them be more engaged in the workplace.