Developing a strategic plan is not an easy matter. In fact, doing it right requires a great deal of information and lots of practice. This exercise will give you a feel for some of the challenges involved in developing such a plan.

Questions for Discussion

1. How easy or difficult was it for you to develop this strategic plan? What would have made the process easier or more effective?
2. Which of the 10 steps would you imagine is easiest to implement? Which do you think would be most challenging?
3. Would you use competitive intelligence in the course of implementing your plan? If so, how?
4. What special challenges, if any, would the employees of your company face as they attempted to implement this plan? How would you attempt to overcome these challenges?

Directions 1. Suppose that you are the president of a small software development firm that has for years sold a utility that has added functionality to the operating system used in most computers. Now, you suddenly face a serious problem: Microsoft has changed its operating system such that your product no longer serves any purpose. 2. Using the 10 steps outlined in Figure 16.9 (page 595), develop a strategic plan to keep your company alive. Make any assumptions you need to develop your plan, but state these in the process of describing it.