When is the best time to launch a Strategic Planning initiative?

If you don’t have a Strategic Plan currently in place, the answer is “now!” Having said that, organizations often launch strategic planning initiatives when they are facing a change in executive leadership. Some do it to help them identify the perfect candidate. Others do it soon after they have a new executive in place so that he or she can help the organization chart a new course. Strategic planning can also be important when organizations are confronted with significant and often unanticipated programmatic, financial, or regulatory challenges.