The strategic plan structure, slide by slide
Borrowed from the Marshall Plan recovery structure. Each beat is one slide, three at most.
- 01The promiseName the recovery in one line and say who is writing the plan.
- 02Situation in numbersThree measures against a healthy baseline, with the worst one in color.
- 03Root causeDraw the loop that keeps things broken and mark where you will break it.
- 04Goal and time frameOne goal, the program years, and an end date you commit to.
- 05Who wrote the planShow the people closest to the problem drafted it, and how the ask changed in review.
- 06PillarsFour workstreams at most, with one clearly carrying the weight.
- 07FundingWhere every dollar goes, by unit, sized to scale.
- 08ConditionsWhat each recipient commits to in writing, and how the money recycles.
- 09GovernanceWho decides and who reports, as one diagram that can show either.
- 10MilestonesThe scoreboard metric by year against the baseline, with dates you will hit.
- 11RisksA register with owners and mitigations, honest about the ones you cannot stop.
- 12The askThe first tranche, the period it covers, and when you come back.
What good strategy and planning do
- Score last year before planning the next.
- Name the few bets and, just as clearly, what you will stop doing.
- Targets with owners and dates; resources follow the bets.
Where they usually fail
- A list of everything
- Bets without owners
- Nothing stopped
More strategic plan examples
Operation Overlord
One objective. Five beaches. One weather report.
- Legend
- Original craft
- Unfair
Wrigley
The free gift kept winning, so he sold the free gift.
- Legend
- Original craft
- Unfair
Blockbuster
They passed on Netflix for $50M. This is the deck they needed next.
- Legend
- Original craft
- Unfair
Strategic plan template: questions
What are the parts of a strategic plan?
Where you are now, where you are going, the few priorities that get you there, what you will stop doing, who owns each priority, how you will measure progress, and when you will review it.
What is the difference between a strategic plan and an annual plan?
The strategic plan sets direction over several years. The annual plan turns this year's slice of it into goals, budgets and owners.
How many priorities should a strategic plan have?
Few enough that people can name them from memory. If every team's work appears as a priority, nothing has been chosen.
Make yours with this structure
Type your site and we'll write the prompt for your deck, in your brand, built on the Marshall Plan recovery structure.