Some “Friendly Skeptic” Questions to Appraise a Strategic Plan

What special capabilities do you plan to have that your best competitors cannot match?

Why can’t they match them?

What actions will you take to put these capabilities in place?

In what way are your investment priorities likely to be different from those of the competitors?

How do you know the clients will like what you’re planning? What field resting have you done? What client input have you obtained?

Who will be in charge of executing each component of the plan?

Who was involved in the development of this plan? Is everyone in agreement? Who was not consulted? Do they have a role in executing the plan?

On whom will you be dependent for the execution of this plan? Do they have sufficient incentive to do their part? Is it in their interests to do what you want? Do you have to modify your reward systems to make this happen?

Specifically, which 5 or 10 clients, by name, represent your most likely source of expanded business for the next few years! What actions do you plan to take to get closer to these clients?

Which new clients are at the top of your priority list? Why? What makes you think you can get their business?

What is the other most significant thing that each of the main competitors doing that will affect you? What do you plan to do in response?

In what way do you plan to take advantage of the firm-wide network? How do you plan to get the cooperation of others?

How do you plan to contribute to the firmwide network) How will what you are doing benefit them?

What are the staffing implications of your plans! Where will you get the stall from?

What are the main assumptions on which your plan is based? Which is the most “risky”, (i.e. if it can go wrong, where will it go wrong?)

How will we know if the plan is working? What indicators can we agree on and when shall we review them?

What earth warming signals will there be if the plan is not working? What contingencies have you  put in place?

Excerpted from ‘Managing the Professional Service Firm’ by David Maister, page 228