What Is Strategic Planning?

What is Strategic Planning?

Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more and how it's going to get there. Typically, the process is organization-wide, or focused on a major function such as a division, department or other major function. (The descriptions on this page assume that strategic planning is focused on the organization.)

How to Get a Feel for Strategic Planning -- There's No Perfect Way to Do It

Planning typically includes several major activities or steps in the process. Different people often have different names for these major activities. They might even conduct them in a different order. Strategic planning often includes use of several key terms. Different people might use apply different definitions for these terms, as well.

Don't be concerned about finding the "perfect way" to conduct strategic planning. You'll soon notice that each writer seems to have their own particularly interpretation of the activities in strategic planning. However, as you read the materials linked from the topic Strategic Planning in this library, you'll begin to notice some information that is common to most writers.

Read the basic description described below on this page. Then review the various materials linked from the library in the topic Strategic Planning. Once you start strategic planning, you'll soon find your own particular approach to carrying out the process.

One Way to Look at Strategic Planning

One interpretation of the major activities in strategic planning activities is that it includes:

1. Strategic Analysis

This activity can include conducting some sort of scan, or review, of the organization's environment (for example, of the political, social, economic and technical environment). Planners carefully consider various driving forces in the environment, for example, increasing competition, changing demographics, etc. Planners also look at the various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (an acronym for this activity is SWOT) regarding the organization.

(Some people take this wide look around after they've identified or updated their mission statement, vision statement, values statement, etc. These statements are briefly described below. Other people conduct the analysis before reviewing the statements.)

(Note that in the past, organizations usually referred to the phrase "long-range planning". More recently, planners use the phrase "strategic planning". This new phrase is meant to capture the strategic (comprehensive, thoughtful, well-placed) nature of this type of planning.)

2. Setting Strategic Direction

Planners carefully come to conclusions about what the organization must do as a result of the major issues and opportunities facing the organization. These conclusions include what overall accomplishments (or strategic goals) the organization should achieve, and the overall methods (or strategies) to achieve the accomplishments. Goals should be designed and worded as much as possible to be specific, measurable, acceptable to those working to achieve the goals, realistic, timely, extending the capabilities of those working to achieve the goals, and rewarding to them, as well. (An acronym for these criteria is "SMARTER".)

At some point in the strategic planning process (sometimes in the activity of setting the strategic direction), planners usually identify or update what might be called the strategic "philosophy". This includes identifying or updating the organization's mission, vision and/or values statements. Mission statements are brief written descriptions of the purpose of the organization. Mission statements vary in nature from very brief to quite comprehensive, and including having a specific purpose statement that is part of the overall mission statement. Many people consider the values statement and vision statement to be part of the mission statement. New businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) often work with a state agency to formally register their new business, for example, as a corporation, association, etc. This registration usually includes declaring a mission statement in their charter (or constitution, articles of incorporation, etc.).

It seems that vision and values statements are increasingly