What is a Strategic Plan

From [1], the operational parts of a strategic plan are:

1. Taking a wide look around at what's going on outside the organization and how it might affect the organization (an environmental scan), and identifying opportunities and threats
2. Taking a hard look at what's going on inside the organization, including its strengths and weaknesses (perhaps doing a SWOT analysis)
3. Establishing statements of mission, vision and values (some prefer to do that as the first step in planning)
4. Establishing goals to accomplish over the next (usually) three years or so, as a result of what's going on inside and outside the organization
5. Identifying how those goals will be reached (strategies, objectives, responsibilities and timelines)

Strategic planning determines the overall direction and goals of the organization. Consequently, strategic planning influences numerous aspects of the organization, including what:

1. Products and services will be provided by the business and how those products and services will be designed
2. Organizational design and roles will be needed by the organization
3. Performance goals should be established for positions throughout the business
4. Board committees should be developed (in the case of corporations)
5. Resources will be needed to achieve those goals, and consequently, how much money is needed to procure those resources -- ultimately, the goals determine the content of various budgets