Strategy isn't just for staid corporations. It's a must for businesses of all sizes.

战略不仅仅是针对那些沉着的公司。对于各种规模的企业来说，这是必须的。

Studying up on strategic planning yields just one hard and fast conclusion: It has no clear definition, even among people who provide it. Depending on who you ask, it can be as simple as regular meetings to review sales strategies, or as complex as a multi-month process requiring tens of thousands of dollars of investment between time and external resources.

对战略规划的研究只得出一个硬性和快速的结论：它没有明确的定义，它可以简单到定期会议审查销售战略，也可以复杂到需要在时间和外部资源之间花费数万美元到多个月的过程。

For our purposes, let’s describe strategic planning simply: Defining what sets you apart to plan tactics for the coming year, linked to a dare-we-say-strategic vision for your ideal future. It does not have to take months or tens of thousands of dollars to complete. It’s generally accomplished in three stages – research/analysis, planning and execution.

就我们的目的而言，让我们简单地描述一下战略规划：定义哪些因素？使您能够为来年的战略规划脱颖而出，与我们所说的对您理想未来的战略愿景相联系。它不需要几个月或数万美元就可以完成。它通常分三个阶段完成：研究/分析、规划和执行。

What’s the point? Why not just write a to-do list? In two words: shiny objects. How many times has the ping of a text message, the pop-up of an email or a ringing phone pulled you away from an important task?

做这些到底有什么意义呢？为什么不写一份待办事项呢？或者一条短信的提醒，一封电子邮件的弹出，或者一个电话的来电提醒，有多少次让你远离了一项重要的任务？

Our brains are increasingly wired for not only interest in, but addiction to smartphones and other technologies. As much as to-do lists help with daily priorities, crafting a daily to-do without a longer-term plan for what those tasks accomplish leaves business owners susceptible to burnout, bandwagon-ing (“Our competitor is doing it, so we should, too”) and directionlessness. It’s hard to commit fully to a task when you’re not sure you should be doing it.

我们的大脑不仅对智能手机和其他技术感兴趣，而且对其上瘾。尽管待办事项列表有助于处理日常的优先事项，但在没有对这些任务的完成情况制定长期计划的情况下，制定日常待办事项会使企业主容易精疲力尽（我们的竞争对手也在这样做，所以我们也必须这样做）和失去方向感。当你不确定自己应该做什么的时候，很难全身心地投入到一项任务中。

“There’s no focus,” said Jan Griffioen of Griffioen Consulting Group (West Bloomfield, MI) , a veteran strategic planner with a B2B focus. “They’re going after any business opportunity that comes along. Sometimes it pans out and more often it doesn’t pan out because they’re not focused and they’re diluting their resources.”

Griffioen咨询集团（密歇根州西布卢姆菲尔德）资深战略规划师詹格里芬先生说：“没有焦点，因为他们没有集中精力，有时事情会解决，但更多的时候却不会解决，正在稀释我们的资源，我们会抓住任何商机。”

FIRST STEPS

第一步

While even the earliest-stage solopreneur can craft some sort of a strategic plan, having a mission and vision in place will take your outcomes beyond the tactical. Think of mission and vision as the “so what” behind your business. 

即使是最早的阶段，索洛普利纳也能制定出某种战略计划，但有了使命和愿景，你的成果将超越战术，把使命和愿景看作是你事业背后的目标。

And if you don’t have time, well, “[You] don’t see it as important enough,” according to Anthony Taylor, managing partner, SME Strategy Consulting (Vancouver, BC, Canada) . “If I told you you’d get a million dollars for a new website, and I guaranteed it, you’d find the money. You’d figure it out.” 

如果你没有时间，那么，中小企业战略咨询公司（温哥华，不列颠哥伦比亚省，加拿大）执行合伙人安东尼·泰勒表示：“你认为它不够重要，如果我告诉你，因此你会得到一百万美元的收益，我保证，你会赚到更多的钱，你会想出来更成功的商业模式。”

Canton Sign Co. (Canton, OH) fabricated this 8-ft.-tall, single-sided neon wall sign for a jazz and blues club in downtown Canton.

坎顿标牌公司为坎顿市中心的爵士蓝调俱乐部制作了这个8英尺高的单面霓虹灯标牌。

Mission (why you do what you do) and vision (where you’re going) can remain fluid while you’re nailing down strategic goals, but understand your differentiating factors. “You could ask, ‘If the business did not exist, then what?’” Griffioen said. “What would that mean to them and what would that mean to the marketplace?” In other words, what difference would it make if your company vanished tomorrow? 

当你确定战略目标时，任务（为什么你要样做）和愿景（你要带领你的企业去到哪里）你就必须搞清楚，你企业差异化有哪些，你的核心竞争力又是什么，你甚至可以问自己，如果这家公司不存在，那又怎么样？格里芬说：“这对他们意味着什么，对市场意味着什么？换句话说，如果你的公司明天就消失了，会有什么不同呢？

SOLOPRENEUR STRATEGY 

独行者策略

Even without mission and vision, and even lacking dedicated afternoons to the process, progress is possible. For those in the initial stages of business, Ivy Slater, founder of Slater Success Coaching (New York City) , recommends sitting down and simply brainstorming what worked and what didn’t, even if that means one hour a week around a conference table. Slater is the former owner of Slater Graphics – which was a promotional printing shop in the competitive New York market – and something of a sales-growth expert. 

即使没有使命和远见，甚至没有专门的进行这一进程，也有可能取得进展。对于那些处于创业初期的人，斯莱特成功教练（纽约市）的创始人Ivy Slater建议坐下来，简单地集思广益，哪些有效，哪些无效，即使这意味着每周一小时围着一张会议桌转。Slater是斯莱特图形的前老板，该公司是纽约的一家图形印刷公司，Slater也是一位销售增长专家。

Her counterparts partially agree. Griffioen recommends focusing on business-growth tactics (think: moving the sales needle) until you’re a player in your market before strategic planning as a solopreneur. That said, Slater’s work with smaller businesses veers toward the practical and operational.

格里芬建议，作为一名独行者进行战略规划之前，先专注于业务增长策略，直到你在市场上成为一名有影响力的专业人士，也就是说，斯莱特与小企业的合作转向了实用性和可操作性。

“My process is simple and has a hell of a lot of common sense in it,” Slater said. “I always start on what are the goals for the year, and why are those goals. I reflect back on what worked in my clients’ business the previous year. What worked in marketing, sales; what worked financially? What didn’t work?” She uses that data to establish sales targets and marks out five-year projections that inform annual goals. 

斯莱特说：“我的过程很简单，有很多都是常识性的问题，我总是从今年的目标开始，为什么是这些目标。我回顾了去年在我客户的业务中所起的作用，什么在市场营销、销售方面起作用，什么在财务上起作用？什么不起作用？“她利用这些数据来确定销售目标，并为年度目标制定五年预测。

ANALYSIS WITHOUT PARALYSIS

无瘫分析

Sold on strategy? Ideally, hire a consultant, someone who has no political stake in your choices and who can bring a set of fresh, experienced eyes to the planning process. At its simplest, this starts with a SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, for the uninitiated. More recently, SOAR analyses have become popular (strengths, opportunities, aspirations, results) as a gentler and more modern replacement for the traditional SWOT exercise.

按策略出售？理想情况下，你可以请一个销售顾问，一个对你的经济利益没有损害关系的人，他能给你的计划过程带来新鲜的、有经验的分析和视野。最简单的说，这是从一个SWOT分析开始的，对于不了解情况的人来说，优势、劣势、机会和威胁。最近，SOAR分析已经成为流行（优势、机会、抱负、结果）作为传统SWOT练习的更适合、更现代的替代品。

If you have time, or a consultant to help, you can also include a PESTEL analysis. Consider the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact your organization. Brainstorm top trends and threats, then use this to inform your SWOT or SOAR analysis. (Points if you’re keeping all these acronyms straight!)

如果你有能力或者时间，请到顾问来帮忙，他不仅可以给你带来新的战略分析，还会帮你考虑到影响公司发展中的：政治、经济、社会、技术、环境和法律等因素，头脑风暴的最高趋势，然后利用这一点来优化你的SWOT或飙升分析。

Lacking extra resources? Try these consultant-approved resources for conducting your own strategic planning research session, via Jan Griffioen:

缺少额外资源？通过Jan Griffioen，尝试这些顾问建议的资源，以进行您自己的战略规划研究会议：

Strategic Planning for Dummies by Erica Olsen

埃里卡·奥尔森的机器人战略规划

Online business databases (try a local or, better still, university library)

在线商业数据库（大学图书馆）

Small Business Reference Center (EBSCO)

小企业咨询中心（EBSCO）

AtoZ Databases

AtoZ数据库

IBISWorld

伊比斯瓦尔德

MarketLine

市场线

Mergent Archives

合并档案

Mergent Intellect

融合智力

PLANNING MORE THAN RETREAT

计划多于放弃

The stereotype of strategic planning as a day at the country club has its merits. It can help to plan time away from the office to minimize distractions and prompt creativity. No matter where you are, the planning phase means sitting down as a group and crafting an idea of your ideal future, what that looks like three (or sometimes five) years out, and making an operational plan to move toward that future over the next 12 months. If you’re a solopreneur, grab a friend for feedback and get started by asking, “What would my business look like in the future if all my hopes and dreams came true?”

把布署战略规划当作乡村俱乐部休闲的度过一天，以提升专注度和激发创造力。无论你身在何处，计划阶段都意味着一个团队坐下来，为你理想的未来构思一个想法，这看起来像是三年（有时是五年）之后的事情，并制定一个运营计划，在未来的12个月里朝着这个未来迈进。如果你是一个solopreneur，找一个朋友反馈，然后开始问：“如果我所有的希望和梦想都实现了，我未来的生意会是什么样子？”

“Most people are really operations-focused ... which is the non-strategic part of strategic planning,” Taylor said. “The operational stuff is the stuff you would do day-to-day if there were no difference. Strategic stuff is what you’re focused on over and above the day-to-day.” 

泰勒说：“大多数人都是行动派，这是战略规划的非战略部分，如果没有区别的话，运营方面的事情就是你每天都要做的事情。战略性的东西是你在日常工作之外需要关注的。”

Signarama Troy | Metro Detroit renovated this eight-story, three-sided, pyramid-shaped pylon sign that has stood on the grounds of the Macomb Mall in nearby Roseville, MI for over 50 years. Signarama removed the existing signage, sandblasted all eight stories of steel framework, repainted the structural steel and fabricated LED signage to replace the neon elements.

底特律地铁（Metro Detroit）修缮了这座八层、三面、金字塔形的塔柱标识，它矗立在密歇根州罗斯维尔（Roseville）附近的Macomb购物中心（Macomb Mall）广场上已有50多年。Signarama拆除了现有的标牌，对所有8层钢框架进行喷砂处理，重新喷涂了结构钢，并制作了LED标牌，以取代霓虹灯元素。

As you’re organizing your meeting or process, carefully consider who should be in the room. No matter what, Griffioen said, don’t do it alone. “Find a key employee or a manager in the organization who is a bit of a contrarian. You don’t want people that think exactly in lockstep and then work together on the strategic plan. Not only does [meeting with a key or contrary employee] allow the company to accomplish more in less time because you can share assignments and you can split up assignments, but there’s more opportunity for, hopefully, discussion.” (Griffioen, who commonly works with $10-15 million companies, sets aside 3-4 months for the process, including assignments for participants to report on market conditions, competitors, etc.)

格里芬说：“在组织会议或流程时，请仔细考虑参与者都是哪些人，不管怎样，不要一个人做，在组织中找一个有相反意见的核心员工或经理，你不希望人们的思维完全一致吧！然后一起制定战略计划，不仅[与关键或相反的员工会面]能让公司在更短的时间内完成更多的任务，因为你可以分享任务，也可以分割任务，而且还有更多的机会，希望能进行讨论。”（格里菲恩通常与价值1000万至1500万美元的公司合作，他为这一过程留出了3-4个月的时间，包括让参与者报告市场状况、竞争对手等的任务）。

At a minimum, map out the coming year with three top priorities – three strategic areas for improvement. Then create quarterly tasks that will get you there. Assign each task a person and a due date.

至少，规划出来年的三个首要任务——三个需要改进的战略领域，然后创建季度任务，让你达到目标，为每个任务分配一个人和一个截止日期。

EXECUTION: THE HARDEST EASY PART

执行：最容易的部分

For time-starved businesses, execution can be the hardest part of planning, simply because consultants are no longer onsite, attention spans are focused elsewhere and there is a sense that with the initial (long, tiring) meetings done, the plan is more or less complete. Come back to your plan at least quarterly to check that assigned tasks have been completed, and to adjust as needed. 

对于缺乏时间管理的企业来说，执行可能是计划中最困难的部分，因为顾问不在现场，你的注意力集中在其他地方，而且有一种可能性，随着战略规划会议的结束，计划或多或少在执行的时候，会出现完成不完整的情况，因此，你至少每季度回到你的计划，检查分配的任务是否已经完成，并根据需要进行调整。

“Where people fall short in plans sometimes is they don’t actually look at their plan,” Taylor warned. “Everybody has a strategic plan; they just might not know it. You’re making choices on a day-to-day basis, and consider that they are unconscious choices. If you’re feeling frustrated and you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s probably because you have no goal to work toward.” This trickles down to employees: “Imagine playing a game with no scoreboard and no rules. … That’s how most people are running their business. They have no objective, no purpose, no focus.” 

泰勒警告说：“大多数的人们有时在计划上是落空的，因为他们并没有定期的审视自己的计划，每个人都有一个战略计划，只是他们可能不知道，每天都在做选择，并且认为它们是无意识的选择。如果你感到沮丧，感到不知所措，那可能是因为你没有目标要努力实现，将这一点逐渐渗透到员工身上，你可以想象一下，玩一个没有记分牌、没有规则的游戏，可笑吧！这就是大多数人经营业务的方式，他们没有目标，没有目的，没有重点。”

DREAMS AND REALITY

梦想与现实

“Formal procedures will never be able to forecast discontinuities, inform detached managers, or create novel strategies,” wrote strategic planning forefather Henry Mintzberg in The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (check the Harvard Business Review for a free online excerpt). 

《战略规划的兴衰》（查看《哈佛商业评论》免费在线摘录）一书中，战略规划的创始人亨利·明茨伯格（Henry Mintzberg）写道：“正式的程序永远无法预测连续性，无法告知独立的管理者，也无法创造新的战略。”

Still, Slater’s hopeful message resonates: Strategy can be as simple as asking where you want to be in five years, and what you’re doing this year to get there. “We had three big jobs last year that made an impact; what if we had one more of those jobs this year? I get a little granular,” she said. “It still baffles me that people don’t do this regularly.”

尽管如此，斯莱特充满希望的信息还是引起了共鸣，战略可以简单到问你五年后想去哪里，今年你要做什么才能达到目标，去年我们有三个大的改革，产生很好的影响；如果今年我们还有一个这样的工作呢？她说：“但是通常大家都不经常这样做，还是感到困惑的。”

Note: To complement this article, we asked signshops and sign companies to submit images of their "dream sign project," or a sign project that fulfilled all of their design, fabrication and installation dreams. Grant Freking contributed image curation and captioning to this article.

注：为了补充这篇文章，我们要求招牌店和招牌公司提交他们的“梦想招牌项目”的图片，或者一个完成所有设计、制造和安装梦想的招牌项目。Grant Freking为这篇文章提供了图像策展和字幕。

Live!by lowes,a hotel in Arlington.TX.was on the receiving end of this sign fabrication jog by lon art (ausin.tx)the live!sign is 14 ft.tall x 26 ft.wide.and is composed of individual freestanding cabinets.the “loews”letters were fabricated with stainless steel returns and white push-through acrylic faces.

活着！lowes在德克萨斯州阿灵顿市的一家酒店接受了lon art（ausin.TX）现场制作的标识！标牌高14英尺，宽26英尺，由独立的标识牌组成，“loews”字母由不锈钢返回件和白色压克力面制成。

In providence.RI.keystone Mill operators tapped providence painted signs for signage that preserves the style of their 1900’s building.which onced housed the textile manufacturing company west boylston.

在普罗维登斯·里·基斯顿磨坊，运营商利用providence油漆的标识牌，保留了他们1900年的建筑风格，这座建筑曾经是纺织制造公司west boylston的所在地。

Birmingham.AL’s lyric theater was recently restored by Fravert Services with only old photographs as evidence of its former charm.Today.LEDs replicate the exposed letters’original incandescent lamps.

伯明翰，阿尔的抒情剧院最近被弗雷维特服务公司修复，只有旧照片作为它以前魅力的证据。LED外露发光字的白炽灯格外显眼。

When TWA revamped its hotel at New York City’s john F.Kennedy international airport.it tapped nearby crown sign systems to match historical’60s elements with modem code requirements.

当TWA在纽约约翰F肯尼迪国际机场对其酒店进行改造时，它利用了附近的皇冠标识系统，将60年代的历史元素与现代规范要求相匹配。

Heritage signs (Green cove springs FL)introduced retro and modem elements into a pylon sign for a jacksonville.FL-based nonprofit radio station.lit internally by LEDs.the sign includes a pole cover with radius comers and raised station logo channel wrap cans.

特色标识（格林湾温泉佛罗里达州）将复古和现代元素引入了位于佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔市的非营利广播电台的塔架标识中，该标识内部由LED点亮，该标识包括带半径角的灯杆盖和凸起的电台标识牌。