Jump start the big picture: when attempting to develop an effective strategic plan, every bank runs into three major problems that threaten to slow progress and dim the vision. Here's how to recharge and re-energize the effort.

• Author: Wemmers, Rick
• Position: Strategic Planning

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There are many obstacles to creating a profitable competitive strategic plan for a community bank; however, my experience teaches me that three things are more difficult and prevalent than others.

I will discuss below each of these obstacles, giving suggestions as to how you can move around them.

Fully understanding exactly what a competitive strategic plan encompasses.

In teaching strategic planning classes to today's corporate executives, it is clear to me that few business executives understand what makes a good competitive strategic plan. I'd like to share my explanation of the key terms:

Mission Statement: A short, simple descriptive statement of what business we are in. (For banks that is not as easy as just saying "banking." Ask yourself just what facets of banking are your core competencie, and how do they fit the spoken and unspoken needs of your market--today?)

Vision statement: Where do we specifically want to be two years from now?

Objectives: What are the measureable growth objectives for this year?

Strategy: What actions are we going to take to achieve the objectives?

Tactics: What specific activities will we conduct, on what dates throughout the year, to support the strategies? (Some banks call tactical actions their "strategy." This is wrong.)

These definitions are brief, but this is what I find "sticks" with the average top executive. Brief definitions are more easily remembered and passed down the ranks, especially in a high-speed business society. Most top executives don't member more than one sentence of a definition; no offense, just a dose of reality that life has taught me.

Suggestion: Make sure the management team understands, accepts and uses the same definitions of these terms.

Conducting a proper strategic planning meeting.

Bank strategic planning meetings unfortunately are often treated as more social than serious business sessions. Some are held off-site, usually orchestrated by the CEO or by the board, who then directs the management team to get it done. Or news of what some other bank is doing becomes the focus. Thus in the end, the strategic plan is often what a few believe should be done versus what the team collectively would have recommended. It very rarely includes insights on what the bank's customers and prospects really need or want.

A good planning session is serious work. Attendees should have homework to do and instructions to follow before arriving at the meeting. This...