The terms strategy development and strategic planning mean different things to different people. Not surprisingly, there are hundreds of models for developing business and organizational strategies. The basic thrust and purpose of strategy is even conceptualized in different ways. For instance, strategy has been framed as:

Many strategic planning processes begin with the planning team creating mission, vision, and values statements. The theory behind such efforts is that defining a shared purpose and long-term organizational objectives is vital to the planning process and to implementing the strategy.

By the same token, some strategy specialists question the need for putting mission, vision, or values statements in writing at all. One of their main objections is that a great many of the statements that result sound generic and aren’t truly actionable. Another complaint is that people often mistake vision statements for mission statements and end up creating more confusion than clarity.

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Dwight Eisenhower once said, “I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” It was a great way to say that effective strategies are adaptable by nature, and that rigid lists of instructions won’t last long.

That said, a well-conceived and written strategic plan could be a helpful guide for the rollout of programs, policies, and processes—if it achieves some basic things. Note that most of these characteristics have less to do with a plans’ particular format and more to do with its practicality and clarity. To these ends, good strategic plans share the following characteristics, according to planning specialists.
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According to Edgar Schein, organizational culture is the pattern of shared assumptions a group learns as it solves problems of external adaptation and internal regulation. These assumptions have proven to work well enough to be considered valid by the group, and therefore are taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel.

Culture, then, refers to the aspects of groups or organizations that are the most stable and least flexible. It also may be thought of as a group or organization’s “style” and comprises such qualities as:

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“All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they’re getting . . .”

It’s one of the old-saws of organizational consulting. But consultants are not alone in thinking it. Systems theorists have been saying the same thing in different words since the beginning of the 20th century.

To develop an effective business or strategic plan, the process doesn’t need to be complicated. Sometimes simpler is better. This is especially the case for non-profit organizations or communities for whom planning involves many different people and interest groups. But simplicity also pays off for many for-profits, excepting those that face a lot of market complexity.

The word strategy derives from the Greek strategia, which means “office or command of a general.” Since the days of Alexander, usage of the word has expanded considerably from its original military context. Today, strategy generally refers to plans, methods, or activities for obtaining desired results. In other words, strategy is about creating successful futures—however such success might be defined.

The terms goals and objectives are often confusing because they are frequently used interchangeably. Some people classify objectives as broad and general and goals as specific and measurable. Others see it the other way around.

The important point is that defining goals and objectives is a critical part of most, if not all, strategic planning processes. So guidelines for establishing viable goals and objectives can be invaluable.

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