Strategic planning is essential to business success, employee satisfaction and company efficiency. Here are some interesting facts supported by industry studies:

 

• Most organizations typically realize only 63% of their strategic potential value. Those that can close the “Strategy-to-Performance Gap’ should see an increase in performance from 60-100%. – Harvard Business Review Study, 2005
   

• 59% of employees don’t know what their company stands for. – State of the American Workplace, Gallup 2010-2012 study
   

• 95% of employees don’t know their company’s strategy – Harvard Business Review Study, 2005
   

• 8 out of 10 – that’s a whopping 80% of entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months. The five main reasons for failure are:

  • Reason #1: Not really in touch with customers through deep dialogue.

  • Reason #2: No real differentiation in the market (read: lack of unique value propositions)

  • Reason #3: Failure to communicate value propositions in clear, concise and compelling fashion.

  • Reason #4: Leadership breakdown at the top (yes — founder dysfunction).

  • Reason #5: Inability to nail a profitable business model with proven revenue streams.
    
    Source: http://www.forbes.com