CBC Strategic Planning & Vision 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client asks how often a strategic plan should be formally reviewed. What is the best coaching guidance?
- Review it on a regular cycle, such as quarterly, and adjust when conditions change (Correct answer)
- Never revisit it once approved, to maintain consistency
- Rewrite it completely every month
- Review it only after a crisis occurs
Correct answer: Review it on a regular cycle, such as quarterly, and adjust when conditions change
Effective strategic plans are living documents reviewed on a regular cadence and adjusted as internal or external conditions shift.
Question 2: A coach notices a client's stated core values conflict with how leaders actually behave. Why does this matter for strategic planning?
- Values that are not lived undermine credibility and weaken strategy execution (Correct answer)
- Values only matter for marketing materials
- Behavior is irrelevant as long as values are documented
- Conflicting values automatically improve creativity
Correct answer: Values that are not lived undermine credibility and weaken strategy execution
When leadership behavior contradicts stated values, employees lose trust and commitment, which erodes execution of the strategy.
Question 3: In the balanced scorecard framework, which four perspectives are used to translate strategy into measurable objectives?
- Financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth (Correct answer)
- Marketing, sales, HR, and IT
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
- Vision, mission, values, and goals
Correct answer: Financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth
Kaplan and Norton's balanced scorecard measures strategy across financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives.
Question 4: A small-business client wants to pursue five major strategic initiatives simultaneously with a team of eight people. What should the coach help the client do?
- Prioritize initiatives based on impact and available resources (Correct answer)
- Hire dozens of new employees immediately
- Pursue all five at once regardless of capacity
- Abandon strategic planning altogether
Correct answer: Prioritize initiatives based on impact and available resources
Effective strategy requires focusing limited resources on the highest-impact priorities rather than diluting effort across too many initiatives.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes a strategic objective, as opposed to an operational task?
- A medium-to-long-term outcome that advances the vision, such as entering a new market (Correct answer)
- A daily to-do item, such as replying to customer emails
- A one-time administrative chore, such as filing paperwork
- A routine maintenance activity, such as restocking supplies
Correct answer: A medium-to-long-term outcome that advances the vision, such as entering a new market
Strategic objectives are significant outcomes tied to the long-term vision, whereas operational tasks are routine day-to-day activities.
Question 6: A client resists setting a long-term vision, saying the market changes too fast. How should a coach best respond?
- Explain that a vision provides stable direction while strategies and tactics can flex with the market (Correct answer)
- Agree that vision statements are obsolete in fast markets
- Insist the client copy a competitor's vision
- Recommend planning no further than one week ahead
Correct answer: Explain that a vision provides stable direction while strategies and tactics can flex with the market
A vision anchors long-term direction, while the strategies and tactics used to pursue it can adapt as conditions change.
Question 7: What is a key performance indicator (KPI) in the context of strategic planning?
- A quantifiable measure used to track progress toward a strategic objective (Correct answer)
- A legal document required to register a business
- An informal impression of how the team is feeling
- A type of employee disciplinary record
Correct answer: A quantifiable measure used to track progress toward a strategic objective
KPIs are quantifiable metrics selected to show whether the organization is progressing toward its strategic objectives.
CBC Strategic Planning & Vision 3
A client asks how often a strategic plan should be formally reviewed.
What is the best coaching guidance?