The process of developing your strategic plan will help you view issues from a broader perspective. It is an opportunity to think about where you are, where you want to go and how you will get there. When you don’t have a strategic plan, you end up in only working on your day-to-day tasks and duties. You feel a lack of sense of purpose and prioritizing things is much more difficult. Use this simply template from the management.about.com website. Be collaborative – involve everyone in the planning process.
1) Vision statement: It gives you an overall direction
Try to figure out where you want your unit or organization to be in the future, usually 3-5 years from now. Vision is the answer to all the “whats” and “whys” for everything you do. Be bold and don’t fear noble words. This is a right time to use them, since your mission and vision should be aspirational.
2) Mission statement: What you do today
Your mission should describe what you do, for who and how. A mission statement can broaden your choices or narrow them. It is the descriptive part of your plan. You can even be more concise and craft one statement, which includes both the vision and the mission.
3) Core values: Your beliefs and behaviors
Quality: What we do, we do well. Or Leadership: The courage to shape a better future. These two are from the Coca Cola’s list.
4) SWOT analysis: Sums up where you are
SWOT analysis helps you to understand what the current state is and what you should focus on.
5) Long-term goals and yearly objectives
Long-term objectives are the level below your vision and describe how you want to achieve the vision. Each of these big, long term objectives should have a few one-year objectives. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based.
6) Action plan
Each objective should have a detailed plan of how it is going to be achieved.
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