The Planning Cycle is shown in figure :

The stages in this planning process are explained below:

Stage 1. Analysis of Opportunities

The first thing to do is to spot what needs to be done. You will crystallize this into a formal aim at the next stage in the process.

One approach to this is to examine your current position, and decide how you can improve it. There are a number of techniques that will help you to do this:

SWOT Analysis

This is a formal analysis of your strengths and weaknesses, and of the opportunities and threats that you face.

Risk Analysis

This helps you to spot project risks, weaknesses in your organization or operation, and identify the risks to which you are exposed. From this you can plan to neutralize some risks.

Understanding pressures for change:

Alternatively, other people (e.g. clients) may be pressing you to change the way you do things. Alternatively your environment may be changing, and you may need to anticipate or respond to this. Pressures may arise from changes in the economy, new legislation, competition, changes in people's attitudes, new technologies, or changes in government.

A different approach is to use any of a whole range of creativity tools to work out where you can make improvements. These creativity tools culminate in the powerful Simplex process.

Stage 2. Identifying the Aim of Your Plan

Once you have completed a realistic analysis of the opportunities for change, the next step is to decide precisely what the aim of your plan is. Deciding and defining an aim sharpens the focus of your plan, and helps you to avoid wasting effort on irrelevant side issues.

The aim is best expressed in a simple single sentence. This ensures that it is clear and sharp in your mind.

If you are having difficulty in formulating the aim of your plan, ask yourself:

• What do I want the future to be?
• What benefit do I want to give to my customers?
• What returns do I seek?
• What standards am I aiming at?
• What values do I and my organization believe in?

You can present this aim as a 'Vision Statement' or 'Mission Statement'. Vision Statements express the benefit that an organization will provide to its customers. For example, the vision statement for Mind Tools is: 'To enrich the quality of our customers lives by providing the tools to help them to think in the most productive and effective way possible'. While this is wordy, it explains what this site aims to do.

Mission statements give concrete expression to the Vision statement, explaining how it is to be achieved. The mission statement for this site