Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Clearing Up the Confusion about Strategic Planning

Many people are confused by the terms strategy, strategic plan, and strategic planning. Well, I'm here to help you get a clear picture. For the moment, forget what you've heard about this subject. I promise that strategic planning makes a huge difference to your organization both tangibly and intangibly, so keep reading!

In the following sections, I not only define what strategy is and how it relates to strategic planning, but I also show you why a strategic plan is important and how you can implement one in your organization by digging in to the key elements of planning.

Defining strategy

Strategy means consciously choosing to be clear about your company's direction in relation to what's happening in the dynamic environment. With this knowledge, you're in a much better position to respond proactively to the changing environment.

The fine points of strategy are as follows:

• Establishes unique value proposition compared to your competitors
• Executed through operations that provide different and tailored value to customers
• Identifies clear tradeoffs and clarifies what not to do
• Focuses on activities that fit together and reinforce each other
• Drives continual improvement within the organization and moves it toward its vision

Knowing what strategy is can also be explained by looking at what strategy isn't. Dr. Michael Porter, the leading strategy guru and professor at Harvard University, says strategy isn't the following:

• Agility ...