Related Topics Core Competencies Mission and Vision Statements Scenario and Contingency Planning Description Strategic Planning is a comprehensive process for determining what a business should become and how it can best achieve that goal. It appraises the full potential of a business and explicitly links the business’s objectives to the actions and resources required to achieve them. Strategic Planning offers a systematic process to ask and answer the most critical questions confronting a management team—especially large, irrevocable resource commitment decisions. Methodology A successful Strategic Planning process should: Describe the organization’s mission, vision and fundamental values; Target potential business arenas and explore each market for emerging threats and opportunities; Understand the current and future priorities of targeted customer segments; Analyze the company’s strengths and weaknesses relative to competitors and determine which elements of the value chain the company should make versus buy; Identify and evaluate alternative strategies; Develop an advantageous business model that will profitably differentiate the company from its competitors; Define stakeholder expectations and establish clear and compelling objectives for the business; Prepare programs, policies, and plans to implement the strategy; Establish supportive organizational structures, decision processes, information and control systems, and hiring and training systems; Allocate resources to develop critical capabilities; Plan for and respond to contingencies or environmental changes; Monitor performance. Common Uses Strategic Planning processes are often implemented to: Change the direction and performance of a business; Encourage fact-based discussions of politically sensitive issues; Create a common framework for decision making in the organization; Set a proper context for budget decisions and performance evaluations; Train managers to develop better information to make better decisions; Increase confidence in the business’s direction. Related Bain capabilities Change Management Corporate Strategy Mission & Vision Strategic planning Selected References Drucker, Peter F. Managing in a Time of Great Change . Plume, 1998. Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Has Strategy Changed?” Sloan Management Review , Winter 2002, pp. 88-91. Goold, Michael, Andrew Campbell, and Marcus Alexander. Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value in the Multibusiness Company . John Wiley & Sons, 1994. Hamel, Gary, and C.K. Prahalad. Competing for the Future . Harvard Business School Press, 1994. Mankins, Michael C. “Stop Wasting Valuable Time.” Harvard Business Review , September 2004, pp. 58-65. Mintzberg, Henry. The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: Reconceiving Roles for Planning, Plans, Planners . Free Press, 1994. Mintzberg, Henry, Joseph Lampel, and Bruce Ahlstrand. Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management . Free Press, 1998. Ohmae, Kenichi. The Mind of the Strategist: The Art of Japanese Business . McGraw-Hill, 1991. Porter, Michael E. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors . Free Press, 1980. Porter, Michael E. “What Is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review , November/December 1996, pp. 61-78.