Decide what you want the plan to accomplish. Prioritize primary goals for the plan, estimate the effort required, and then decide on the scope for the plan. Not all elements of a plan require the same level of excruciating detail. For example, evaluating new product and service costs in detail may be vital but older, more stable products may only warrant fine-tuning.

Avoid over or under-planning. If you have to dust off the old plan before you open it up to start over it's a clue that either the plan was so perfect it ran on autopilot or you didn't use it. If it was perfect, please give me a call right now and you can write the next article on this subject. If you didn't use it, maybe you just didn't need that level of planning. Consider adjusting it or using it to a greater extent throughout the year.

Use a manual and a standard format. Standardization and manuals help keep the deadwood out (If you don't build it in that is.) and simplify the entire process from planning through creation and implementation. Start simply and adjust on a year by year basis. 

Break the plan and the process into smaller more manageable pieces. You then have the chance to apply your priorities and effort levels accordingly. Delegation also rears its beautiful head as an option for sharing the load.

Avoid the "make it fit" syndrome. I have yet to meet a manager who didn't occasionally try to use a shoehorn to jam 7 pounds of cost and effort into a 5-pound budget limit.  Two things can happen, however, and only one of them is good. On the good side, you might somehow discover or luck into a way to make it fit. On the down side, that overage could explode in the middle of the year leaving you with a mess to clean up next planning cycle. Personally, I got tired of being hammered on by one myopic boss who insisted on the shoehorn, withheld the resources to make it happen, and then looked for a scapegoat for the inevitable problems. If you're going to set stretch goals, make sure you plan the effort to make the sales increase, cost reduction, or whatever is required.

Plan for the planning process. A good strategic business plan should be a moneymaker and an integral part of everyone's job and the process is built into the budget. The problem of not having enough time seems to result from the fact that few companies plan for their planning process. All too many departments see planning as an intrusion on the task of making money or getting their real jobs done.

Check your plan against the corporate mission. Your mission is an overarching guide for the future. Any potential conflicts are a sure sign that something is out of harmony. Take heed before it catches you by surprise. One major organization suffered for years through the process of rigorously setting goals and then put them in a file without checking them against their mission. They wondered what kept going wrong until new management brought in new methods and systems to set goals and create plans that were consistent with the organizational mission.  The process was difficult but the positive results paid off very well.