A long-term plan is a document that acts as a map or guidance, clearly establishing where you are headed and how you are going to get there. It allows you to accurately prioritize works, and monitor your progress towards the end-goals. This process liberates you from the troubling cycle of day-to-day planning.
Long-term planning is conducted at a strategic level and begins with setting definite goals and analyzing strategic options to reach them, based on the assessed SWOT results. To succeed in your field, this data should be always kept up-to-date, considering current market conditions and forecasts. What are the steps required for long-term planning? How does it differ from strategic planning? What goal planning software to use?KeepSolid Goals team answers all these questions below.
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Long-term planning is an absolutely essential tool, as it gives you the perspective about how you use your valuable time on the way to your goals. The steps of the planning process are relatively simple:
Step №1
Determine clear and measurable goals. This will help you to develop your vision of what you need to arrive at by the end of the project.
Step №2
Break up your goals into smaller units. These units will serve as steps towards your ultimate objective, showing you what resources you will need, and how long it may take to accomplish the whole set of works.
Step №3
Set a priority sequence of the specified steps, and assign them to a period of time you expect each will take. Make sure to allow some time for contingencies that may occur.
Step №4
The final step of the long-term planning process is to consistently update your plan. Adjust the document to respond to current market conditions, and closely align it to meet the purpose of your big goal.
A sophisticated goal planning tool like KeepSolid Goals helps you easily manage all required tasks and successfully reach your goals.
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Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization will be over the next few years or more, how it is going to get there, and how you will know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, including its mission, vision, and strategy for the business.
Effective strategic management occurs on an ongoing basis, meaning that if conditions change, the plan should be refined to enable a company to sustain its operations over the years. Once the strategy is developed, long-term planning can be conducted in order to set priorities, align resources, focus attention on common goals and the overall performance.
Long-term planning
Long-term planning is about setting a process by which a particular strategic plan will be achieved. This process focuses on activities that start now and continue well into the future. It will help you to align project work with the strategic goals and coordinate departments to keep them in sync and make sure they are ready to execute the plan according to a given timeframe and milestones.
Long-term planning usually differs for each department and involves monitoring and evaluating activities, as well as establishing goals that you expect to achieve five or more years ahead.
Do You Need a Goal Planning Tool
Both strategic management and long-term planning contribute to an organization’s overall financial health and enable its growth. That is why it is imperative for every company to perform these two planning processes. Doing it in separate software, or, worse, on paper, is not the best solution. So what tool can assist you?
A good goal planner software like KeepSolid Goals can save your day. The tool offers a reliable framework to consider both plans on one page. With this smart goal planner tool you can carry out all the steps mentioned above: set your objectives, break them up into smaller units: key results, sub-key results, and tasks; prioritize and update your plan.
What Makes KeepSolid Goals the Best Goal Planning Software
All in all, the goal planning software by KeepSolid allows you to precisely monitor the performance of all tasks, manage your team, collaborate in real-time, and share your vision with stakeholders. Here’s just a quick overview of the software features for efficient planning and achievement of your goals:
Mind map. Generally, a mind map is a graphic way to represent ideas and concepts related to some central thought. In KeepSolid Goals software, this central thought is your ultimate Objective, and the items radiating outward from it are the Key Results, Sub-Key Results, and Tasks. The mind map tool lets you get a big picture view of your entire plan and also is a great visually appealing way to share your vision with stakeholders and other parties.
Team collaboration. Goals software lets you create a team, assign Key Results and Tasks, and collaboratively work to put your plans into action.
Kanban board. With this tool, you can further develop a thorough plan to achieve the goals set and easily monitor the progress in real-time.
Reports. As mentioned before, long-term planning usually involves monitoring and evaluating activities, which makes reports an indispensable tool. Goals software offers a number of reports so that you always keep a pulse on how your team is progressing. Reports let you analyze data, improve effectiveness, and course-correct when required.
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