Importance of Strategic Planning Assignment

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The fundamental purpose of
strategic planning is to align a
company’s mission with its vision.
Without mission and vision, the
plan exists in a vacuum, as the
mission is the starting point
for planning, the vision is the
destination, and the strategic
plan is the roadmap that helps
you navigate from one to the
other. Values are also important
to the strategic planning
process as they provide the
organization with a touchstone
for developing appropriate
strategies and tactics; if any
strategy or tactic is in opposition
to the company’s values, then
it should be reconsidered.
Even if your organization already
has well-defined mission, vision,
and values statements, you
should review them throughout
the strategic planning process.
Don’t assume that every member
of your strategic planning team
can articulate your mission,
vision, and values – especially if
some of these team members are
relatively new to the organization;
you need to ensure that they
are current, resonate with key
stakeholders, and provide a
firm foundation for planning.
If such statements don’t exist –
or they need to be revised and
updated – invest whatever time
is necessary to create mission,
vision, and values statements that
can provide a powerful framework
for strategy development. If
your mission, vision, and values
statements aren’t up to the task,
then it will minimize the likelihood
of your strategic plan succeeding.
Mission
A mission statement is a brief
description of the organization’s
fundamental purpose. A
mission statement answers the
question, “Why do we exist?” For
instance, the mission statement
of LibertyHealth in Jersey City,
NJ, is, “We enhance life.” The
mission statement of Memorial
Health in Savannah, GA, is, “With
compassion, we heal, teach, and
discover.” As you see from these
examples from urban teaching
hospitals, mission statements are
as varied as the organizations
they describe. However, all
mission statements should
broadly describe an organization’s
present customer focus in a
way all internal and external
stakeholders can understand. The
secret to creating great mission
The Link Between
Mission, Vision, and Strategy
A White Paper from AchieveIt

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statements is to focus on why
your organization exists, not
the products or services your
organization provides. In the
two examples above, there is no
mention of providing the highest-
quality healthcare at the lowest-
possible cost. Certainly, these
are the operational goals of both
hospitals, but the reason they
exist – their missions – speaks to a
higher purpose.
“The secret to creating great
mission statements is to focus
on why your organization exists,
not the products or services your
organization provides.”
Vision
A vision statement is a picture of
your organization in the future,
but it’s so much more than that.
A vision statement is both your
inspiration and the framework
for strategic and operational
planning. A vision statement is the
articulation of your organization’s
dreams and hopes for the future.
It reminds you of what you are
trying to build. While a vision
statement doesn’t tell you how
you’re going to get there, it does
set the direction for strategic
and operational planning. That’s
why it’s important when creating
a vision statement to let your
imagination dare to dream – and
why it’s important that a vision
statement capture your passion.
When writing a vision statement,
be sure you don’t fall into the trap
of only thinking ahead a year or
two. Once you have your vision
statement, it will have a huge
influence on decision making and
the way you allocate resources.
Values
Values are traits or qualities
that are considered worthwhile;
they represent an individual’s
highest priorities and deeply held
driving forces. Values define how
people want to behave with each
other in the organization. Values
are statements about how the
organization will value customers,
employees, vendors, and
stakeholders. Value statements
describe actions that are the
enactment of the fundamental
values held by most individuals
within the organization. The
values meld together to form your
corporate culture. The values of
your senior leaders are especially
important in the development
of your culture. These leaders
have a lot of power in your
organization to set the course and
environment. If you think about
your own life, your values form
the cornerstones for all you do
and accomplish. If you are truly
living your values, they define
where you spend your time. They
do the same for your organization.
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Plans With AchieveIt!
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• View robust reports that tell you who is executing to
their highest ability, and who is not.
As you read above, creating a relevant and effective
strategic plan is difficult, but with AchieveIt software
developing sound strategy and managing execution
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