Monitoring Strategic Planning Initiatives

In an online survey of 800 executives conducted by The McKinsey Group consultancy, fewer than half of respondents reported satisfaction with their company's development of strategic planning.

Their findings?

• Of those who reported that their company implemented a formal strategic process, 79 percent were satisfied with strategy execution.
• Only 23 percent of respondents said that a formal strategic process drives important decision making at their company.
• The majority, at 52 percent, credited small senior groups with making critical strategic decisions.
• Notably, there's a strong correlation between monitoring of strategic plans and executive approval of those plans, according to the study. Satisfied respondents were twice as likely to say their board checks the company's progress against the strategic plan.
• Still, only 56 percent of respondents overall reported that their company monitors its strategic initiatives!!!

BOTTOMLINE: What is the sense in going through all of the effort to create strategic plans - if they're not being monitored while being executed?