Strategic planning is critical to business success. Different from classic business planning, the strategic variety involves vision, mission and outside-of-the-box thinking. Strategic planning describes where you want your company to go, not necessarily how you're going to get there. However, like all other "travel plans," without knowing where you want to go, creating details on how to arrive are meaningless. Strategic planning defines the "where" that your company is heading.
Often confused with business operation plans, strategic plans are expressions of ownership dreams and visions of successful results. Strategic planning functions as the "design" just as a blueprint functions as the "how" to build something. The strategic plan displays the finished product or goal. Usually, in smaller businesses, strategic planning is focused on the overall company, not on a department or division.
Unlike business plans, there is no one right way to create effective strategic planning. It is, by definition, brainstorming at its best. Strategic planning involves "feel" just as much as it depends on management science. Since it depends on creativity and outside-the-box thinking, there is no perfect way to design a winning strategic plan. The more you understand your company, your industry, and your corporate "wish list," the better a winning strategic plan you'll create