WHAT TYPE OF WORK DO STRATEGY PLANNING CONSULTANTS DO?

Strategy planning consultants are brought in by organizations to help develop long-term plans and strategies to achieve key business goals and objectives. Consulting experts provide an outside, objective perspective and leverage their expertise in strategic planning methodologies to facilitate the planning process.

Among the first things a strategy planning consultant will typically do is conduct an environmental scan and analysis. That spans an assessment of the organization’s external and internal environment, including factors like industry conditions, competitive forces, market trends, technological developments, regulatory issues, and the organization’s own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The consultant uses this analysis to understand key influences that could impact the business.

Next, the consultant will usually facilitate visioning and goal-setting sessions with organizational leaders. Advisors help define an inspiring vision for where the organization wants to be in the future. Experts also facilitate discussions to set long-term strategic goals that will help the company realize its vision while responding to the external and internal factors identified in the environmental scan. Goals may relate to areas like growth, innovation, culture, operations, sustainability, and finance.

The consultant then oversees the development of strategies and plans to achieve the established vision and goals. That means analyzing different options and scenarios, determining resource requirements and constraints, sequencing initiatives based on priorities and dependencies, and defining performance measures and milestones. The result is a multi-year strategic plan that charts a course for how the organization can get from its present state to its desired future state.

Throughout the strategic planning process, the consultant focuses on fostering collaboration, creative thinking, and consensus among diverse stakeholders. Top pros use specialized frameworks and planning techniques to ensure the plan is robust, balanced, and aligned to the analysis. Thought leaders also consider risk factors and help the organization define contingency plans. The strategic plan they help develop lays out where the organization is headed, the steps and resources required to get there, and how success will be tracked. It provides crucial direction for leadership decision-making and enterprise-wide alignment.

For lack of a better way to put it, strategy planning consultants add significant value in facilitating a disciplined planning process that results in a thoughtful strategic plan to guide the organization’s priority-setting and resource allocation for executing its vision and goals. Consulting advisors’ outside expertise and structure brings clarity, rigor, and objectivity to the complex process of strategy formulation and management.