The Major Components of a Strategic Plan

Name: The Major Components of a Strategic Plan
Author: Micky Bahadur

Understand each part of a strategic plan.

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(upbeat music) What components make up the backbone of the strategic plan? We'll now go over vision and mission statements, how to set up and align goals with the strategic plan, and how to analyze the plan and communicate the strategy. If strategic thinking involves analyzing internal and external factors that affect a business, its processes, customer experience, and so on, then the strategic plan is the framework that takes all of this information and puts it into practice. It's similar to a development phase. It uses the important information that's been gathered and examined. A strategic plan consists of five key components: a vision statement, a mission statement, goals and objectives, an action plan, and a plan to review details with estimated timelines for updates. But what do all these components look like and how did they work in the strategic plan itself? First, let's look at vision and mission statements. A vision statement is a statement that guides an organization to achieve its ultimate goals. It gives the organization purpose and continuously guides its leaders towards their beliefs. A good vision statement should be short, simple, specific to the business, and include the organization's ambitions. Let's examine the vision statements of a pair of popular companies. McDonald's vision statement is "to be the best quick service restaurant experience. "Being the best means providing outstanding quality, "service, cleanliness and value, "so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile." Notice how this vision statement is constructed like a checklist. They need to prove that they're the best, so McDonald's clarifies why, because of their quality service, cleanliness, and value. Then there's Ikea whose vision statement is "our vision is to create a better everyday life "for many people." That's aspirational, short, and to the point. More than that, it sets the tone for the company and makes it clear that they're in the market to offer low price quality furnishings that suit everyone's lifestyle. But a vision is only half the battle. What about the reality, the mission? Creating a mission statement is crucial to an organization's direction and purpose. It's different from a vision statement because it clearly states what your organization does. It's a reflection of your organization's leadership, and it always answers the following two questions: What does your business do? And who does it benefit? It tells your customers and employees who you are and why. Let's look at Spotify's mission statement and break it down. "To unlock the potential of human creativity "by giving a million creative artists the opportunity "to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity "to enjoy and be inspired by it." This explains what they do, they unlock the potential of human creativity. How they do it, they give an opportunity. Who they do it for, the creative artists and their fans. And the value that they provide, artists are able to make a living off their art, which fans enjoy and are inspired by. As long as your mission statement covers those four main elements, the what, how, who, and value, in one way or another, this will give you direction for what the strategic plan needs to achieve.

Beginner Provider : Micky Bahadur 5 Lessons · 15m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

Several components make up the backbone of a strategic plan. This module goes over vision and mission statements, how to set up and align goals with a strategic plan, and how to analyze the plan and communicate the strategy with your teams and investors. The strategic plan helps you take all the information you have about your business and put it into practice. This module will also guide you in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your strategic plan, and help you match each department’s goals with the company’s overall strategic plan. These actions get you closer to following the plan and making the goals at the end of the road a reality.

What You'll Learn

Define vision and mission statements as part of a strategic plan
Set up a strategic plan and align goals with it
Align each department's goals to the company's overall strategic plan
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your own strategic plan
Review action plans and adjust the plan as it shifts
Communicate the strategy to teams and investors and gain acceptance from managers and staff

Key Takeaways

Several components, including vision and mission statements and aligned goals, make up the backbone of a strategic plan.
A strategic plan helps you take the information you have about your business and put it into practice.
Aligning each department's goals with the company's overall strategic plan moves you closer to achieving the plan's goals.
Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a strategic plan is part of following and refining it.
Communicating the strategy to your teams and investors and gaining acceptance from managers and staff supports execution of the plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

This module covers vision and mission statements, how to set up and align goals with a strategic plan, how to align departmental goals to the overall strategic plan, how to assess the plan's strengths and weaknesses, and how to communicate the strategy with your teams and investors.

What are the learning objectives of this module?

The learning objectives are plan setting and shifting, action plan review, and gaining acceptance from managers and staff.

What lessons are included in this module?

The lessons are Vision and Mission Statements; Setting the Plan; Aligning Departmental Goals to the Overall Strategic Plan; Assessing Your Own Strategic Plan: Strengths and Weaknesses; and Communicating the Strategy.

What skills will I build in this course?

The course builds skills in strategic planning, business planning, strategic analysis, strategic management, strategic planning software, and strategic technology planning.

How does a strategic plan help my business?

A strategic plan helps you take all the information you have about your business and put it into practice, getting you closer to following the plan and making your goals a reality.