Strategic planning consists of developing strategies to reach a defined goal. It helps organizations to envision their future and develop essential steps and actions to achieve that future. Gathering and analyzing information, identifying serious issues faced by the organization, development of a strategic vision, mission review or revision and development of goals and strategies are the basic steps of a strategic planning process.

A strategic plan is made up of several integrated parts including vision statement, mission statement, values statement, assessment statement, objectives/ goals statement, strategy statement and outcomes statement.

A vision statement describes the desired future structure, services, size and markets. It can be called the strategic baseline, and it has to be challenging and compelling. An effective vision statement makes you different.

A mission statement outlines customers, competitors and markets, thereby defining business scope and purpose. It sets customer requirements and the range of services provided.

Every organization has a values statement that briefs the organization. It distinguishes the firm from its competitors and comprises basic ethical standards about how to deal with employees, customers, competitors and payers.

An assessment statement is an analysis of external and internal factors that affect the organization in realizing its vision and mission. The external factors include opportunities, threats, economic conditions and competition, while the internal factors are liabilities, assets and the like.

The goals and objectives statement deals with a set of goals and additional objectives that frame what needs to be done. A goal can be defined as a written statement demonstrating a defined action.

A strategy is a statement of direction that serves as a central organizational theme that guides and coordinates functional actions. It describes the nature of a business and its key intentions for the future. It can be called an agenda that directs the choices that determine the nature of a company. Strategies are action oriented and realistic.

Strategic planning helps to close the gap between where the organization is and where it wants to be. This requires transforming strategies into realities of organizational structure, products, policies and operations. The final phase of strategic planning is identifying these critical issues and prioritizing them. The result is the outcome statement. The outcome statement describes what the organization must make of itself and the results it must effect in its environment to fulfill strategic essentials.