Strategic planning is essential in every organization, big or small. It determines where an organization is going and how it plans to accomplish successful outcomes. The planning is for the entire organization with specific steps implemented to reach goals.

There are a variety of strategic planning models, depending on the specifics of the organization. The most important objective is to make the planning continuous, because the strategic planning process enables organizations to steer more effectively toward the long-term goals while balancing short term needs.

Continuous strategy evolution enables an organization to act and react quickly to critical challenges and opportunities. To connect a vision with the changing environment, the strategic plan must be an evolving plan, not a rigidly fixed road map. Periodic reexaminations track the measurable outcomes, allowing course corrections due to changes in the environment.

Strategic Planning does not end with the publication of a plan; its success depends on purposefully becoming a never-ending process. While strategic planning must indeed produce a product, the primary value comes from the teamwork, vision, commitment to and ownership of organizational success the planners gain through the process of making the decisions and seeing their progress.