The Vision phase of the OnTarget Planning™ Methodology helps organizations define a consistent and constructive Vision that is both achievable, measurable, and possesses management commitment.

The Modeling phase of the OnTarget Planning™ Methodology builds off of a common Vision of where the organization will be in the future state. It features a unique balance of "blue sky" treatment of the business and objective analysis of industry, market, and financial realities.

It is an intensive phase that ultimately amounts to a proof of concept of the future business state and vision. Modeling thus involves indepth examination of all business aspects including industry, market and competitive analysis, opportunity definition, financial modeling, benchmark analysis, and budgets.

During the Gap Analysis phase of the OnTarget Planning™ Methodology a situational baseline analysis is performed which maps directly to the preceding Modeling phase. In this manner, an organization can quickly and objectively recognize where the critical success factors are that will determine their ultimate success.

Having performed all the necessary homework to objectively define the opportunity and the barriers that need to be overcome, the Strategy phase of the OnTarget Planning™ Methodology is where the rubber hits the road!

What are the best alternatives to overcoming the barriers? What will be the strategic business approach for Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Infrastructure? How do we mitigate the risk associated with certain success factors and to which do we give priority? These are all strategic questions that, when thoughtfully answered in this phase, will clarify and drive the corresponding tactical execution in the next.

As we enter the Tactical Planning phase of the OnTarget Planning™ Methodology, the tactical plan becomes self-evident. While there remains room and scope for alternative, creative, approaches to the tactical requirements, the real focus in this phase is the introduction of planning metrics. Your consultant will work with your planning team to identify and incorporate measurable performance metrics to be used throughout the execution of your plan. In addition, the consultant will verify that specific tactical plan elements that may not have surfaced during the Strategy phase (but are critical to a successful plan) are present.

And finally, the fruits of all the labor will be harvested through effective execution and management of the plan. Because the OnTarget Planning™ Methodology has been followed through to this point, execution and management of your plan features clear scorecarding metrics with built-in escalation thresholds that will signal to your management team when your plan is in jeopardy or possibly needs to be reassessed. It is this built-in performance measurement of the plan that ultimately ensures the results you originally set out to achieve. By this stage of the OnTargetTM Planning Methodology, our consultants may no longer be involved; however, it is recommended we engage in a periodic audit to reinforce the performance measurement aspect of your plan.