Strategic Planning Models:

3 Awesome Examples
 The best strategic
planning process I’ve
ever used.
Kobus Van Zyl - CEO, Mercedes Benz Africa

Curious? Check out the ebook!

05 What is a Strategic Planning Model?

10 Model 1: The Cascade Strategic Planning Model

13 Model 2: Hoshin Kanri

15 Model 3: OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)

17 Choosing the Right Strategic Planning Model

18 Next Steps?
 Quick Intro
Strategic planning models exist as blueprints which we can follow when tackling the process
of creating a strategic plan.

In this article, we’re going to look at 3 of the most popular examples of strategic planning
models. We’ve chosen a range of different strategic model examples so finding one that
suits you should be a breeze!

[Link] Page-4
 What is a Strategic Planning Model?
A strategic planning model is actually a collective term for a number of elements that
contribute to the strategic planning process. The core components of a strategic planning
model typically include:

• A templated structure for creating goals.

You can think of strategic planning models as ‘templates’ into which you can drop your
own ideas. At the end, you’ll come out with a strategic plan which is sensibly structured
and gives you a clear set of actions upon which to work. Now that we’ve defined what a
strategic planning model actually is, let’s look at the different elements that one should
contain. Essentially, there are three parts to any good strategic planning model:

[Link] Page-5
 Frameworks are essentially methodologies that you can apply to help you come up with
your goals, as well as categorize your goals to ensure they’re balanced and will meet your
needs. You can check out our guide to some of the more popular strategic frameworks
here.

Goals refer to the specific things that you’ll be doing within your strategic plan. This will
almost always include very high-level aspects such as your vision. But also more specific
outcomes, actions and measures.

Governance refers to how you’ll go about actually tracking and reporting on the goal
elements of your strategy.

We’ve deliberately selected only those examples of strategic planning models that include
both Goals & Governance, since we think that both are critical when it comes to actually
implementing your strategic plan. What’s the point in having an awesome strategy on paper
if you have no effective way to actually execute it?!

For the purpose of this article, we’re only looking at the later two elements of a strategic
planning model, as we’ve already covered strategy frameworks in an earlier article.

[Link] Page-6
 Strategic Planning Models
vs Strategic Frameworks
We should first clarify the difference between strategic planning frameworks and strategic
planning models. Quite a few online resources use these terms interchangeably, but in
reality they’re quite different things.

You’ll find a few different takes on this subject, but the definitions that we find the most
useful are as follows:

A strategic planning model refers to the overall structure that you apply to your strategic
planning process. It roughly describes the various components and how they interact with
one another. I’m going to use the example of an architect building an airport. A model
of the airport would show you at a high-level how the approach roads connect to the
departure hall, and how the departure hall connects to immigration, which then connects
to the terminals, the runways, etc etc. A strategic planning model functions much the same
way, in that it describes each of the elements of a coherent strategy - what they do, how
they fit together and in what order.

A strategic planning framework refers to the conceptual approach you will bring to
populating your strategic plan. In our airport example, we might apply a building framework
that is designed to maximize the speed at which people move through the airport for
efficiency. Or alternatively we might apply a framework which is designed not to maximize
speed, but rather to maximize the amount of time people spend in the airport shops. These
are two very different approaches to building an airport - hence two different frameworks.
However they would most both use the same overall model.

Another way to put it would be to say that strategic planning models provide the high
level structure - whilst strategic planning frameworks provide design principles for the
detail within our strategic plans. In other words, you should always start by selecting
your strategic planning model and then move onto to selecting your strategic planning
framework. You could even mix and match multiple different frameworks into your model

[Link] Page-7
 - i.e. you could start by doing a SWOT Analysis, and then apply McKinsey’s 3 Horizons of
Innovation on top.

We’ll be covering 3 examples of strategic planning models in this article - but for examples
of strategic planning frameworks, you’ll want to check out some of our other posts on
famous frameworks such as the Balanced Scorecard or McKinsey’s Three Horizons of
Innovation. The balanced scorecard revolves around 4 key areas of the organization. So,
we can apply any one of the strategic planning models below, to help us discover issues
and solidify goals. Frameworks are essentially methodologies that you can apply to help
you come up with your goals, as well as categorize your goals to ensure they’re balanced
and will meet your needs. You can check out our guide to some of the more popular
strategic frameworks here.

Goals refer to the specific things that you’ll be doing within your strategic plan. This will
almost always include very high-level aspects such as your vision. But also more specific
outcomes, actions and measures.

Governance refers to how you’ll go about actually tracking and reporting on the goal
elements of your strategy.

We’ve deliberately selecting only those examples of strategic planning models that include
both Goals & Governance, since we think that both are critical when it comes to actually
implementing your strategic plan. What’s the point in having an awesome strategy on paper
if you have no effective way to actually execute it?!

For the purpose of this article, we’re only looking at the later two elements of a strategic
planning model, as we’ve already covered strategy frameworks in an earlier article.
The goal here is not to steer you to a particular strategic planning model, as your situation
is unique, instead these options are here to give you perspective on how you can approach
your planning before you dive into the detail. 

[Link] Page-8
 One more point to note - all of the strategic planning model examples below are framework
agnostic. That means that regardless of which strategic planning model you choose, you
can apply any number of frameworks to help you actually come up with your goals!

So without further hesitation, let’s get into the detail and look at 3 examples of strategic
planning models that we think are pretty awesome...

[Link] Page-9
 Model 1:
The Cascade Strategic Planning Model
OK, let’s get this out of the way first - we hands-down think that this is the best example of
a strategic planning model that you’re likely to find. We actually wrote a dedicated article
on this strategic planning model. But if you want the summary version - read on!

This strategic planning model is simple enough to understand, and has the benefit of also
being easy to implement when it comes to the actual execution of your strategy. Here’s a
quick look:

[Link] Page-10
 Let’s dive into two of the key elements of the Cascade Strategic Planning Model - goals
and governance.

The goal elements of this strategic model are as follows:

1. Identify your Vision Statement – This is the statement(s) that describes why the
organization exists, i.e. its basic purpose. The vision statement can evolve over the
years (check out this article).
2. Define your Values - describe the way in which you want your organization to behave as
it strives towards its Vision.
3. Craft your Focus Areas - these articulate the key areas that you’ll be focusing your
efforts on to help deliver you Vision.
4. Create your Objectives - your strategic objectives define more specifically the outcomes
you want to achieve under each of your Focus Areas.
5. Define your KPIs - each of your Objectives should contain at least one or two KPIs
to help you measure whether or not you’re close to reaching your desired outcomes
(Objectives).
6. Specify your Projects - these are one of the most critical elements in your strategic
planning model, as they state exactly what actions you will take to deliver against your
Objectives.

The governance elements are:

1. Monthly Strategic Updates - these apply only to Objectives and require the owner to
provide a narrative update on the overall progress towards the Objective.
2. Project Updates - these are ad hoc updates made against the Project level of the plan
and include general updates and progress.
3. KPI Exceptions - these are required when KPIs are outside of their tolerance level and
explain the difference and any actions being taken to address the gap.

[Link] Page-11
 When you combine the goal and the governance elements of this strategic planning model,
you get a comprehensive set of tools that you can use not just for creating your plan, but
also executing it.

[Link] Page-12
 Model 2:
Hoshin Kanri Model
Hoshin Kanri is a strategic planning model used by organizations who want to drive a
consistent focus throughout many levels of their structure. As such, it’s well suited to
large organizations with different layers of management including at least ‘top level’
executive management, ‘middle managers’ and ‘front line’ staff.

A lot of the work we did to create the Cascade Strategic Model (above) was inspired by
Hoshin Kanri - so it’s certainly a strategic planning model that we respect and admire here
at Cascade. Let’s dive into the detail of the Hoshin strategic planning model with a quick
visual:

[Link] Page-13
 Let’s dive into the goal elements of the Hoshin Kanri strategy model:

1. The first level of the Hoshin Kanri strategic planning model refers to our vision - a
distant horizon that will guide everything that sits beneath.
2. We then move onto our 3-5 Year Strategies - these are high level summaries of what we
want to achieve (both qualitatively and quantitatively).
3. Beneath that, we will define Annual Objectives, which will be split between different
departments.
4. Finally we have our Action Items - specific things we are going to do to reach our Annual
Objectives

Now let’s take a look at the governance elements of this strategy model:

1. Monthly Reviews - these are done against the Annual Objectives and require the owners
of the goals to provide descriptive updates of progress.
2. Annual Reviews - these are also done against the Annual Objectives, however happen
at the end of the time period and encompass a decision point as to whether to mark the
Annual Objective as complete or roll it over into another year.

There are actually quite a few different ways to implement the Hoshin Kanri strategic
planning model - the above is simplified but covers most of the core elements.

[Link] Page-14
 Model 3:
OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)
The OKR strategic planning model was popularized by Intel and more recently Google. It
focuses on quarterly sets of ‘OKRs’ which are set and reviewed by every management level
in the organization. We’ve written a detailed guide to OKRs here which you might also want
to check out. The OKR strategic planning model looks something like this:

[Link] Page-15
 As with the Cascade Strategic Planning Model and Hoshin Kanri - the OKR strategy model
is made up of two key elements being goals and governance. The goals look like this:

1. Objectives - These describe the outcome that you are looking for in the current quarter
(remember, OKRs are designed to evolve each quarter).
2. Key Results - These are specific measures that describe your progress towards your
Objective in numerical terms.
3. ToDos - these are small ‘tasks’ that sit against each of your Key Results that when
completed, should take you closer towards achieving that Key Result.

Governance is a critical component in the OKR strategic planning model. The typical
governance on OKRs includes:

1. Weekly Check Ins - Each OKR should have a weekly check in which covers your
confidence level in the achievement of that OKR as well as remediation steps and
general progress updates.
2. Quarterly Review - For each OKR, a formal quarterly review should be undertaken where
that OKR is given a ‘score’ (usually from 0 to 1) and a decision is made on what to do
with that OKR in the next quarter.

[Link] Page-16
 Choosing the Right
Strategic Planning Model
In all honesty, the examples of strategic planning models that we’ve picked have quite a
lot in common. That’s for a good reason - the best strategic planning models are simple,
contain all the right elements, and combine goal setting with governance to give you a
strategic planning model that will serve you well when it comes to execution.

As such, you can’t really go wrong with any of the strategic planning model examples
we’ve outlined here. We’ve made no secret of the fact that we think that the Cascade
Strategic Planning Model is arguably the best (that’s model number 1 above). But
ultimately the choice is yours.

We’d love to hear your own thoughts of the best strategic planning models - did we miss
any that you would have included?

[Link] Page-17
 Have You Seen Our Course?
We have a completely Free Strategic Planning Course available for you!

Our strategic planning course walks you through the entire process to develop a strategic
plan from scratch... and it’s FREE! Click the image below to get access!

Access the FREE Course!

[Link] Page-18