Isolated initiatives rarely work. Link your initiatives with a Business Plan and performance will improve. We see Business Planning as a rolling process that involves many of the things below. Vision, Strategy and Action are all key, but each stage can throw up development needs that should be addressed.

Involve/Communicate

Decide who to involve and how to communicate the results to others. Establish a sense of urgency. Consider forming a guiding coalition. (Reference John Kotter)

Planning to Plan

Gather data relating to what is happening in the environment, with respect to customers, legislation, competition, etc.

Environmental Review

Review the world around you; managers consider the opportunities and threats.

Mission & Values

Describe What business the organisation is in, Who it seeks to serve, and What is important to it.

The Vision

Define clearly and in measurable terms what the organisation will look like in say 3 years. It needs to inspire.

Organisational Review

Evaluate the organisation’s internal strengths and weaknesses against the vision. (SWOT)

Goals

Decide on the strategic goals which form the key measures against which progress will be measured.

Strategy

Strategy defines how the organisation will achieve these goals, and deliver the vision. Line up some short term wins.

Sanity Checks

Refine ideas, check understanding, and involve others in the planning process.

Action Planning

Produce the SMART targets, plans and budgets to deliver the defined strategy. (Budgets being only a small part of the plan.)
Empower people to overcome obstacles.

Monitoring & Control

Ensure effective monitoring and control through a disciplined management process and routines.
Anchor new approaches in the culture.
Organise development to bridge the gaps in performance.