The seven steps in the Hoshin Planning System should be followed in this order:

• Step 1: Establish Organizational Vision. Before creating a new vision statement, it is important to assess the current state of the organization to determine how far away it is from what it is envisioned to be. This assessment involves examining current policies, organizational hierarchies, current long-term goals, and older mission and vision statements.
• Step 2: Develop Breakthrough Objectives. A breakthrough objective is the large-scale change that the organization wants to make that should take roughly three to five years to implement. Identifying these larger changes involves exploring new areas in the industry, new clientele, etc.
• Step 3: Develop Annual Objectives. This stage involves breaking the larger goals into smaller goals for the year.
• Step 4: Deploy Annual Objectives. After identifying the yearly goals, break them down into actionable items for each department or individual in the company. In this way, every level of the organization is collectively working toward achieving the breakthrough objectives. Breaking it down in this way helps to align and integrate every level of the company. Additionally, progress toward smaller goals should be monitored and completion dates should be cataloged to record progress towards the breakthrough objective.
• Step 5: Implement Annual Objectives. At the end of each year, the smaller tasks that are needed to implement the annual improvements should be completed.
• Step 6: Conduct Monthly Reviews. Keeping detailed records of smaller task completion will help to determine how successful the organization is in meeting its larger goals and will also help to identify any changes to current tasks or new projects that need to be added to the strategy. Having a meeting every month helps to keep everyone accountable for getting their work done efficiently and on time.
• Step 7: Conduct Annual Reviews. Meetings should also be held at the end of the year to determine how far off target the organization is from reaching its breakthrough objectives. Keeping track of this progress will help to determine what should be done differently the following year.

The new online Hoshin Planning System template from Praxie is used by strategy teams to improve communications throughout the company while also reducing the waste created by poor direction or bad management at any level. The Balanced Scorecard and SWOT analyses can be used to complement the Hoshin Planning System. Specific metrics and data analyses are often needed to assess progress around cascading Hoshin Planning Systems.  

The Hoshin Planning System is a seven-step procedure that outlines how to implement business strategy. More specifically, this system aims to align the goals that the organization is trying to achieve with its strategy and the resources that are available within the company. Get started with our Hoshin Planning System template. 

How to use it: 

1. Define situation, objectives, goals, and strategies at the company level.  
2. Use the same template to cascade objectives to departments and teams.​ 
3. Create an action plan for completing the Hoshin Planning Process. 

Unlike most traditional Hoshin Planning System techniques, Praxie’s online Hoshin Planning System tools allow any team or organization to instantly begin working with our web templates and input forms. Our digital platform goes far beyond other software tools by including progress dashboards, data integration from existing documents or other SaaS software, elegant intuitive designs, and full access on any desktop or mobile device.