Why Traditional Strategic Planning Often Fails – and What to Do Instead

There’s a certain reassuring logic to traditional strategic planning. You start with the numbers, analyse the market, maybe throw in a SWOT analysis for good measure, and plot your course from there. On paper, it all looks quite linear.

But in real life, strategic planning isn’t that straightforward. It’s about more than the numbers, and the on-paper details – it’s about the people in the team, their personalities, drivers and motivations.

Why strategic planning often fails 

Too often, strategic planning focuses purely on what the business does – not how it works. We get caught up in forecasts, margins and market share, and forget that that none of it really matters if the team isn’t on board.

People resist change, even when they’ve asked for it. They miscommunicate, overthink, under-commit, or quietly hope the new direction doesn’t apply to them.

Worse still, planning sessions tend to be dominated by the loudest voices – or the ones with the most important titles – while quieter concerns or different perspectives go unheard.

And before you know it, you’ve got a strategy that looks good on a slide deck… and dies a slow death in implementation.

How to make strategic planning stick 

This is where Navigator comes in.

Navigator is a process we’ve developed that treats strategy not just as a destination, but as a journey that needs to accommodate every traveller. It factors in how people think, how they communicate (or don’t), and how they respond to direction, challenge, and change.

It doesn’t require weeks of meetings or 100-page reports – just one day.

One focused, structured, people-first day that gets to the heart of where you want to go – and how you’re actually going to get there. We still talk goals. We still look at where you are now. But we don’t ignore the human stuff – the personalities, motivations and internal dynamics that make the difference between a strategy that works, and one that doesn’t.

Sound simple?

It is.

But as the old saying goes, simple isn’t the same as easy. It takes the right questions, the right method, and the right environment – and that’s what Navigator provides.

So if you’ve ever wondered why your carefully-crafted plans never quite landed, it might be time to try a different approach.

You can find out more about the Navigator programme here, or get in touch to discuss running Navigator for your organisation. It’s designed for organisations of all sizes, from SMEs to enterprise-level organisations, and we can tailor your strategic planning day to suit your needs, your requirements and your team.

Feedback on Navigator strategic planning 

“We undertook the Navigator process with Evolution at a stage in our development where we needed to step back to see the way forward.  By giving ourselves (the Directors) the gift of a whole day working with Martin, we could not only see where we want to go but also had a route to get there.  We have already achieved the first 3 items on our plan, all ahead of schedule, thanks to having a clear and positive outlook on our strategic development.”

Claire Easson Bassett – Director –  Event Cornwall

“Working with Evolution we managed to agree our service objectives and design a plan to achieve them within the course of one day, a process which would normally have meant us holding several workshops. The process was creative, enjoyable and very effective and meant that the whole team could take an active part.”

Tracy Winser – Head of Customer Services – West Devon Borough Council and South Hams District Council

We were at a point in our business growth where we needed to take a step back and underpin our key visions for the future.  Martin at Evolution suggested the navigation planning technique to help us understand where the business was going and the directions we wanted it to take. The day was extremely rewarding and took us out of a busy office environment to plan the steps needed to reach where we wanted to be. Valuable time to reflect which you don’t normally get in the day to day running of your business. The process took into account the views of myself and  team and brought these together in a detailed report that we started working with immediately. Without this planning day, our vision would not be as structured and clear. Martin’s approach was very positive and professional, which allowed us to challenge future plans leaving the whole team motivated and ready to start implementation straight away. A fantastic process to work through.

Sue Hook – Director Sapience HR