BENEFIT 1: CREATE A COMMON FOCUS GOALS & OBJECTIVES
There is obviously a big difference between thinking strategically (top-down) versus thinking tactically (bottom-up). While tactical thinking has its place, that place generally follows after formulating a solid strategic plan; strategy leads, tactics follow. During periods when the pressures that command your attention are at a minimum (if indeed there is such a time), it would behoove you to start your planning process early in the cycle, thereby freeing yourself and your team to focus on the ‘big picture’ in relative solitude.

By contrast, last-minute planning that takes place just prior to, or even during peak times of activity, is much more prone to reactionary, tactical-only thinking. Last-minute planners tend to abandon the what’s best in the long-run approach in favour of a more realistic what’s doable at this late juncture approach. Therefore, long-term success takes a backseat to the short-term need to just get something done. Sound strategic planning should always result in one thing: actionable, measurable goals. Specific goals give us a measure of success, help us determine what worked and what didn’t and give us a target to shoot for (and exceed) next time around.

BENEFIT 2: SETTING PRIORITIES & ASSIGNING RESOURCES
So now you have a list of broad objectives and specific goals. You have a plan. The next step you need to take to ensure success is to PRIORITIZE. Without priorities, even the most well-defined goals can quickly become mired in political, financial or operational red tape, while team members and stakeholders endlessly debate where to focus scarce resources, time and attention. By making prioritization a formal part of your advanced planning process, you’ll avoid resources, time and attention being spontaneously ‘reallocated’ throughout the execution phase of your program.

BENEFIT 3: FRONT-LOAD WORK DURING OFF-PEAK TIMES
Let’s face it, regardless of the business we’re in, we ALL have a busy season. For some of us, it’s summer. For others, it can be all year round. But for many, it’s the Holiday season. Regardless of when your busy season is, it only makes sense to be doing your planning outside of those peak periods, as resources are more readily available, minds are less cluttered, meetings less chaotic and attention spans somehow seem magically longer when the pressure is lower.

So why do so many of us find ourselves, at the last minute, scrambling to put together a make-shift plan in time for the Holidays? Once again, the pressures of planning during peak periods often leads to reactive, tactical thinking, rather than proactive strategy and reactive thinking rarely leads us to the results we’re looking for.

BENEFIT 4: CREATE A COMMON FOCUS / GARNERING COOPERATION
Now all this planning and strategizing with your team is great, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a little from outside the inner circle as well? All this becomes possible (or at least more-so) by planning in advance. Armed with clear planned, well-defined goals and (perhaps most importantly) a reasonable implementation timeline, you’ll find that other resources, teams and champions from inside and outside your organization will automatically be more receptive to the idea of getting onboard with the program you’re creating. Whether you’re looking for additional resources, partnership opportunities or additional budget, you’ll find that the combination of a plan and reasonable timeframe will do wonders when recruiting assistance and cooperation.

BENEFIT 5: BENCHMARKING FOR FUTURE SUCCESS
As a result of all your upfront planning, you’ve managed to pull-off a successful program in time for the Holidays. And, by setting goals and objectives during the planning phase, which you can now measure against the true results you have achieved, you can take what youve learned from this year and apply it to future efforts so you’re not reinventing the wheel each season.

How did it go overall? What worked well? What improvements could you make next time? All these questions can be answered by comparing expected results (goals) with actual performance. What’s more, you now have established benchmarks for next season/year. If anyone (say a boss or supervisor) comes asking, you’re armed with all the information you need to both defend last-year’s decisions and to champion next-year’s direction. And by referring to previous results, you can easily manage the expectations of other stakeholders without over promising or under delivering.