Done-with-it strategy planning doesn’t work anymore.
Learn how to make strategy an evolving, everyday mindset.
For decades, strategic planning was treated as a periodic event - often annual, sometimes every few years. Teams would gather, produce a plan, and move on. In today’s environment, that model simply doesn’t hold up. Markets shift quickly, risks emerge unexpectedly, and opportunities don’t wait for the next planning cycle.
Modern business strategy requires something different: a continuous strategic practice.
Why Ongoing Strategy Matters
When strategic planning becomes ongoing, organizations are better able to:
- Keep strategic goals relevant as conditions change
- Integrate risk planning into everyday decisions
- Adjust priorities without losing direction
- Strengthen organizational agility and resilience
- Leverage foresight to inform decision-making
Instead of reacting to surprises, teams build the habit of anticipating change and adapting early.
From Annual Event to Daily Discipline
Making strategy ongoing doesn’t mean constant re-planning. It means creating simple, repeatable rhythms that keep strategy alive:
- Regular Strategy Review Meetings – Focused conversations to review assumptions, risks, and progress.
- Environmental Scanning – Ongoing awareness of market, technology, regulatory, and customer shifts.
- Scenario-Informed Thinking – Using scenarios to test ideas and explore “what if” situations.
- Structured Growth Conversations – Tools like the Ansoff Matrix help teams regularly examine growth options and risk levels.
These practices embed strategy into how work actually gets done.
The Role of Leadership and Professional Development
Sustainable strategy isn’t driven by documents - it’s driven by people. Leadership training and targeted professional development ensure leaders and teams have the skills to think strategically, ask better questions, and make aligned decisions.
When more people across the organization understand strategy, it stops living at the top and starts shaping everyday behavior.
Build the Capability to Sustain Strategy
At LBL Strategies, we help organizations move from episodic planning to continuous strategic capability through holistic and customizable training:
- Mastering Foresight: Scenario-Based Planning
https://www.lblstrategies.com/scenario-based-planning/
Learn how to anticipate uncertainty and stress-test strategy across multiple futures. - Mastering Strategy: Strategic Management Performance System (SMPS)
https://www.lblstrategies.com/training-and-certification/strategic-management-performance-system/
Build a disciplined system for planning, alignment, execution, and review.
Strategy isn’t something you finish.
It’s something you practice.
Ready to make strategic planning a living capability in your organization? Explore LBL’s programs and start building a culture of continuous strategic thinking.