Strategic planning creates the roadmap of where an organization intends to go over the next year or more, the strategies to get there and the metrics to know if it got there or not. There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. Goals-based planning is probably the most common. This plan starts with a focus on the organization's mission, vision and values, then moves into developing goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action plans (who will do what, by when). Development of a sound strategic plan greatly helps to clarify the organization’s future goals and current work, and ensure that key leaders are all "on the same script".

The effort put into building a solid strategic plan for your organization only shows a return when the plan becomes dog-eared, underlined, marked on and modified. In short, when it is used. This article explains six critical steps to follow after a plan is created to assure it becomes more than a dusty book on a shelf.

Author: William Dann, Founder