The Strategic Planning Process

Introduction

In order for an organization to be successful in today’s highly competitive marketplace, it must develop a strategy, or set of strategies, which outline a specific path to achieve some, predetermined measure of success (Hill, Jones, & Schilling, 2014, p. 3). However, developing strategy, for strategy-sake, is an ill-advised endeavor and could equate to a significant loss of resources as well as jeopardize the long-term profitability of an organization. An organization and its leadership must develop strategies that align with the organization as a whole. However, what determines this alignment? What tenets guide this strategy formulation? The foundation of the strategic planning process rests in an organization’s mission, values, and vision (Hill, et al., 2014, p. 12). These components then form the basis

15). This vision acts as the destination of the company; a company may take different routes, with different stops, but the destination remains the same. Additionally, this vision acts as the inspiration and motivation to reach the organization’s destination (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory , 1993). This vision is the overriding objective that influences every aspect of the organization, from strategy to product development. Much like its mission, a company’s vision will affect the strategy decisions of its leaders. Leaders must utilize the vision of the company to guide strategy formulation and implementation; all strategies must relate to the attainment of the organization’s vision. They must also use this vision to help develop the milestone goals of the company to ensure that the goals will effectively move the company towards attainment of the mission (The Relative Position of Vision, Values, and Mission, n.d.), which will help in the achievement of the vision (Hill, et al., p.