| To many people, strategic planning is something meant
only for big businesses, but it is equally applicable to
small businesses. Strategic planning is matching the
strengths of your business to available opportunities. To
do this effectively, you need to collect, screen and
analyze information about the business environment. You
also need to have a clear understanding of your business
-- its strengths and weaknesses -- and develop a clear
mission, goals and objectives. Acquiring this
understanding often involves more work than expected. You
must realistically assess the business you are convinced
you know well. In addition, strategic planning has
become more important to business managers because
technology and competition have made the business
environment less stable and less predictable. If you are
to survive and prosper, you should take the time to
identify the niches in which you are most likely to
succeed and to identify the resource demands that must be
met.
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