Strategic Planning: Why It Makes a Difference, and How to

Do It
Additional article information

Short abstract
Take action before problems reach crisis level. Strategic planning provides the
structure to make day-to-day decisions that follow a larger vision, creates a
direction for your practice, and maximizes your options for influencing your
environment.
In oncology practice, where dramatic changes in reimbursement, technology, and
the marketplace are just a few of the driving forces, “the future,” as Yogi Berra
once said, “ain't what it used to be.” You may not be able to control the future, but
strategic planning can create a direction for your practice and maximize your
options for influencing your environment. Without it, your group will likely take
action only to address immediate problems—a kind of crisis management
approach. Strategic planning gives a practice the structure to make day-to-day
decisions that follow a larger vision. This article presents the principles of strategic
planning and outlines processes that your practice can adapt for short- or long-term
planning. Strategic decision making is needed now more than ever for success in
oncology practice.
A strategic plan is a tool that moves your practice toward a goal you have set.
However, the definition of a strategic plan differs among different people,
according to management consultant Teri Guidi, MBA. Guidi, chief executive
officer of Oncology Management Consulting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, points
out that although there is “no wrong idea” of what a strategic plan encompasses,
people often do have misconceptions about it. “Some expect a strategic plan to be
precise—it's not. Some think that it will take you forward forever—it won't. The
biggest mistake people make is already having the end result in mind when they
start.”

Why Do It?
Of all the compelling reasons for your group to engage in strategic planning,
perhaps the most critical is the speed at which forces in your environment are
changing. “Physicians who try to keep practicing as they have in the last five years
will be at a disadvantage,” says Dawn Holcombe, MBA, president of DGH
Consulting in South Windsor, Connecticut. “The world swirling around
oncologists is changing, and things they may not even know about will affect their
practice.”
Engaging in the process of strategic planning has benefits in addition to the plan
that comes out of it. For starters, having everyone in the same room fosters
collegiality and creates a milieu in which you can focus on the direction of your
practice, away from patient care and other duties. In addition, the process promotes
the open and creative exchange of ideas, including putting disagreements on the
table and working out effective solutions.

Short- and Long-Term Planning

Establishing the direction of your practice and identifying overarching goals
provide the foundation for strategic planning, whether short or long term. In the
field of health care today, a long-term plan will likely address no more than the
next 3 years. After the strategic course is determined in the initial planning session,
the group should meet at least annually. During these sessions, the partners should
revisit the practice goals, update the environmental assessment with new data, and
identify strategies needed to address issues that will arise within the next 12
months. For example, as the retirement of one or more partners approaches, a
succession plan may need to be developed (as described in related article on page
136). Meanwhile, growth in patient volume may call for recruitment strategies for
both physicians and midlevel providers.

Should You Use a Consultant?

Although use of an outside facilitator entails expense, turning to a strategic
planning professional has a number of advantages that can contribute greatly to
success, especially if you are undertaking strategic planning for the first time. A
professional has done this before—many times—and thus can direct the process
efficiently. He or she knows how to collect and analyze diverse information—
opinions, practice data, and market reports, for example—and present it in a
concise way, thereby saving you and your administrator many hours of work. As a
moderator, a consultant knows how to keep a group moving forward, prevent it
from getting bogged down in side issues, and objectively help participants resolve
disagreements and develop effective solutions.
Perhaps the biggest value added by a consultant is guidance in assessing your
environment. A well-qualified strategic planning consultant should have a
thorough and current knowledge of national trends in medicine as well as detailed
knowledge about oncology practice. Regarding your community, although your
group naturally knows the local marketplace well, an outsider can provide a fresh
and objective perspective; in fact, the familiarity of physicians with the local scene
may create blind spots. Similarly, in assessing the strengths and limitations of a
group, a consultant can contribute objectivity and should be able to provide
national benchmarks for objective comparison.
In choosing a consultant, look for an individual or firm that will contribute
valuable knowledge about national reimbursement, patient care, and business
initiatives and trends affecting oncology practice. Many management consultant
firms offer strategic planning services, but you will be best served by a consultant
who has worked with physician practices and has significant recent experience
with oncology practice.

Scheduling a Strategic Planning Session: Who, When,

and Where
Just as there is no one way to define strategic planning, there is no single way of
doing it. Examples and guidelines are presented here that you may draw on to
implement a process that makes sense for your practice.
The decision makers of the practice should be the ones who conduct strategic
planning. If your practice is so large that including all partners could make a
meeting unwieldy, it might make sense to have a smaller group, such as the
executive board, do the planning. In addition to shareholders, you may want
physician associates and key managers to participate. Inclusion of individuals who
are not partners, at least for some parts of the meeting, may also have advantages.
This can foster buy-in to the strategic direction, thereby contributing to the success
of the resulting action plan. The oncology group at the Toledo Clinic, a large
multispecialty center in Toledo, Ohio, found it beneficial to include the executive
director of the clinic. By participating, the director gained valuable insight into the
special administrative and practice needs of oncology.
Setting aside at least one day for strategic planning is recommended, especially if
this is the first time your group has undertaken it. Distribute an agenda ahead of
time, and use a moderator to keep the meeting on track. The location should be
comfortable and private. The participants must be able to focus solely on strategic
planning, without interruption, so arrange to have patient-related calls covered.
Members of the Toledo Clinic used a consultant to guide them through strategic
planning, and the consultant facilitated a one-day retreat at a country club. The
meeting began around 9 AM, after physician rounds, and the nurse practitioners of
the group provided patient coverage. Other oncology groups may have conference
space available in their office. A half-day meeting can be adequate for groups that
have been doing strategic planning for many years.

Starting Point: Mission and Values

Developing a mission statement for your practice—a statement of its basic
purpose—is the first step of strategic planning and provides the foundation for the
entire process. You may think that putting your mission in writing is a bureaucratic
waste of time, but in fact, determining how to articulate your mission is a
productive experience. It sets the stage for later prioritization, and the process
compels the shareholders to reflect on and express the purpose of the practice. Is
providing high-quality care to patients with cancer your entire mission? What
about research? Does your practice have a mission to serve the community through
education? Answering questions such as these helps spell out the core mission of
the group.
Once you succinctly define the mission of your organization, you should develop
value statements expressing your core beliefs regarding issues such as patient care,
interaction with the community, and how members of the practice work together.
In the framework of a traditional strategic plan, the mission statement is concisely
expressed in not more than one or two sentences, with value statements articulated
separately. However, some organizations combine the mission and values into a
narrative of one or more paragraphs. The format used is inconsequential; most
important is that your group express the enduring elements of your practice, which
will form the foundation on which the practice direction and strategies are
expounded.
For a practice that is hospital based or part of a larger organization, the mission and
values of the group should be consistent with those of the larger organization. Your
group may want to state its own distinct mission or simply adopt that of the larger
organization, as did the group of nine oncologists affiliated with the Toledo Clinic.
“In practices like ours, which are within a larger organization, it's important to
support the larger organization's mission,” says Peggy Barton, group manager. “It
could lead to confusion if the broad organization and the practice are going in
different directions.”
Vision: Where Do You Want to Go?
With the mission and values defined, the next step for the group is determining
what kind of practice you want in the future. Again, the words of Yogi Berra
apply: “If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else.” A
vision statement—whether just a few words or a longer document—creates the
desired image of the future state of your practice. Do you want to be recognized for
treatment of a certain type of cancer? Is your vision to be the leader in clinical
research in your state? Do you want to grow larger and have a network of practice
sites? The vision of the group must complement your practice environment, so you
may find that your review of internal and external information (described in
SWOT Analysis) leads you to revise your vision statement to some extent as you
continue planning strategically.
The vision statement for your group should be painted in broad strokes, not in
detail, and it should represent the end point, not the strategy for achieving it. For
example, your vision may be to provide multidisciplinary services to your
community, but your vision statement would not include a specific strategy, such
as merging with a certain radiology group or recruiting two physicians. When
developing a vision statement, an atmosphere of openness should prevail to
encourage creativity and thinking beyond current boundaries.
As in all stages of strategic planning, disagreements may surface. “Different
opinions about the direction of a practice are very healthy,” says Guidi. “The ideas
might be in conflict, but getting them out on the table helps [you] to see what is
really important.”
Barton agrees. “One purpose of the strategic planning meeting was to get everyone
in the room at the same time to identify where we agree and disagree and to reach
compromise. The process encouraged input from everyone, and the group made
some important decisions that have helped them over the past year.”

SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis—an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats of your practice—is a staple of strategic planning. This analysis uses a
mix of quantitative and qualitative information, most of which should be gathered
and analyzed before the planning meeting. The process for gathering information
and performing a SWOT analysis varies greatly, and there is no single correct
method. The size of the group, the frequency of strategic planning meetings, and
 how fast changes are taking place both nationally and locally are all significant
factors affecting the process.

Internal Assessment: Strengths and Weaknesses

In identifying internal strengths and weaknesses, include hard data such as the
number of new consults, cost of drugs per full-time-equivalent physician, and
financial reports. It is useful to benchmark aspects of the quality and efficiency of
the practice against data on other oncology practices (Sources for Benchmarking
Data provides references for locating this information).
If possible, investigate the perceptions of individuals outside the practice—
patients, hospital administrators, and referring physicians, for example. A
consultant naturally has an advantage in gathering candid assessments from such
individuals, unless an anonymous survey is used. How others view the practice can
be critical to performing an accurate SWOT analysis, as demonstrated in an
experience reported by consultant Guidi. In one practice that had rather long wait
times, the physicians believed that the patients did not mind, because “they know
that when it's their turn, they'll get just as much attention as the patient before.” But
the patients interviewed by Guidi cited long wait times as a top complaint and said
they would mention it to others considering the practice for treatment.
Gather qualitative information and opinions from physicians and staff. What do
they see as the top issues facing the practice, and what do they consider to be the
strengths and weaknesses of the practice? These perspectives can be provided
during the meeting, but it is useful to collect information ahead of time, so a larger
group can be polled, and anonymity can be assured. Holcombe distributes a
questionnaire to solicit information from each physician and also interviews key
individuals. Her summary is then reviewed and discussed during the strategic
planning retreat.

Sources for Benchmarking Data

 ASCO Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI). http://qopi.asco.org
 Medical Group Management Association: Performance and practices of successful
medical groups. www.mgma.com/surveys or call 877-275-6462
 American College of Physicians: Practice management check up: Examining the
business health of your practice. www.acponline.org/pmc/new_checkup.htm
 Akscin J, Barr TR, Towle EL: Benchmarking practice operations: Results from a
survey of office-based oncology practices. J Oncol Pract 3:9-12, 2007
 Akscin J, Barr TR, Towle EL: Key practice indicators in office-based oncology
practices: 2007 report on 2006 data. J Oncol Pract 3:200-203, 2007
 Barr TR, Towle EL, Jordan W: The 2007 National Practice Benchmark: Results of
a national survey of oncology practices. J Oncol Pract 4:178-183, 2008
Oncology Associates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, uses its face-to-face planning meeting
to share personal perspectives about the practice. The group is small—currently
five oncologists—and has been doing strategic planning for many years. SWOT
data for analysis is gathered ahead of time, but at the beginning of the meeting,
each physician discusses how he feels about his own practice, including his
workload, his satisfaction with the schedule, and other aspects of practice. “With
everyone in the room, they all hear each other's perspective, which helps later on
when we are talking about the practice as a whole and making decisions about
issues such as expanding services or recruiting a new provider,” says Carole
Dzingle, practice manager.
A third method is used at the Mark H. Zangmeister Center in Columbus, Ohio. The
executive board of the 16-oncologist practice holds an annual strategic planning
session. Glenn Balasky, executive director, obtains input from six or seven staff
managers and works with the managing partner to complete a SWOT analysis that
is presented at the meeting.

External Assessment: Opportunities and Threats

Data about the marketplace of the practice, such as demographics, economic
trends, referral patterns, and competition, should be analyzed in light of whether
they represent threats or opportunities. In addition to the local picture, the broader
environment, including the regional health care system and approaching changes in
reimbursement and regulation, should also be assessed. Although the physicians
and staff in some groups stay abreast of local, regional, and national trends, a
consultant knowledgeable about oncology market forces is often needed to provide
an analysis of the environment. The Toledo Clinic found the report on the national
picture prepared by the consultant significantly helpful.
Some groups work to keep up with trends on their own through active involvement
in state and national oncology societies. The physicians of Oncology Associates
are active in ASCO as well as in the Iowa Oncology Society, and the staff
managers are involved with organizations such as the Association of Community
Cancer Centers and the Medical Group Management Association. Physicians and
staff leaders at the Zangmeister Center are involved with the Community Oncology
Alliance and other oncology organizations at both national and state levels, and
each staff manager actively participates in a professional organization. Monitoring
the environment takes energy and commitment, but it produces advantages,
according to Balasky. “It pays off in the raw market intelligence we get, and we
stay in touch continually rather than having a once-a-year report.”

Developing Strategies
Once a clear picture of the practice and its environment has been established, the
group should develop strategic options for moving the practice from its current
status toward the desired future position. Be alert to the pitfalls of discussing
operational issues and trying to decide on tactics instead of identifying strategies.
For example, a strategic decision may be to go forward with implementing an
electronic medical record system, but the strategic planning meeting is not the
place to discuss available systems, preferred data fields, or training required.
Managing these kinds of details will be the responsibility of individuals assigned in
the action plan.
In some cases, the SWOT analysis can reveal weaknesses that call for
implementing one or more strategic priorities before pursuing others. Practices
sometimes realize they need to create the infrastructure necessary to reach their
goals. For example, they may not have systems in place to provide data that will be
needed to remain competitive.
In other cases, the group may come up with many strategies that need to be
prioritized during the meeting or at a subsequent meeting. To narrow down big
lists, Guidi describes two approaches that work well when groups meet more than
once. One mechanism she uses is to put all the strategies in writing after the first
meeting; she then asks individuals via e-mail to score the importance, difficulty,
and cost of each strategy on a scale of one to five. In another approach, after one or
two brainstorming sessions, Guidi boils down the information to three or four
overarching goals for additional discussion by the group. Guidi finds that several
short strategic planning sessions are often more productive than is a full- or half-
day retreat, and in the end, the shorter sessions call for about the same total hours
of physician time.
 More Information About Strategic Planning
 Soper WD: The meeting you won't want to miss: Annual strategic
planning. www.aafp.org/fpm/20010200/28them.html
 Holcombe D: Strategic planning and retreats for
practices. www.dghconsulting.net/images/holcombe_strategic_planning_0908.pdf
 McNamara C: Strategic planning (in nonprofit or for-profit
organizations). www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm

Action Plan
The outcome of developing strategies should be the prioritization of a few (ie, two
to five) achievable strategies and creation of related action plans. Many strategic
plans have faltered or failed because they were too ambitious or too complex. Do
not try to take advantage of every opportunity or address every limitation identified
in your SWOT analysis. Some goals may be important but can be scheduled for
implementation in a year or two. By having an annual strategic planning meeting
to update your plan, these goals will stay in sight and can be addressed
successfully.
Create an action plan to address each strategic priority within the next 12 months.
Spell out steps to be taken, who will have the lead responsibility, and the
milestones that will show progress. For example, a strategy of adding midlevel
providers might have a work plan with dates and assignments for finalizing a
position description, creating a compensation package, recruiting, hiring, and
conducting orientation. A strategy of building a new facility or merging with
another practice will ultimately involve complex actions, but initially, the work
plan might specify only the steps involved in finding and retaining a consultant to
present a business plan by a certain date. Make sure the action plan is in a format
that can and will be used by those with responsibility for implementation.
Communicate the strategic goals and action plan to all clinical and administrative
staff. Everyone in the practice should know the goals and clearly understand his or
her role in implementing strategies to achieve them. Effective communication and
cultivation of a team culture are especially important if your strategic planning
results in changes or begins moving the practice in a new direction.
Keep in mind that a strategic plan does not have to involve a lot of paperwork or a
big report. The mission, values, and vision of the practice should be documented,
and the group should revisit them at the beginning of subsequent strategic planning
meetings to validate them or make revisions if appropriate. A summary of the
SWOT analysis should be included, but this may be brief, with the data that went
into it provided as appendices or even stored elsewhere while remaining easily
available for updating. The action plan must be available for tracking progress.
Your strategic plan must be a living document—a roadmap that guides what
happens in your practice on a day-to-day basis—not a report that sits on a shelf.

Article information
J Oncol Pract. 2009 May; 5(3): 139–143.
doi: 10.1200/JOP.0936501
PMCID: PMC2790676
PMID: 29452035

Copyright © 2009 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Articles from Journal of Oncology Practice are provided here courtesy of American Society of
Clinical Oncology

Strategic planning and business

strategy consulting blog
Top 3 Strategic Problems and How to Address Them
Written by Grace Lu | May 25

The first step that any effective strategy facilitator takes when working with an
organization is to understand their problems. Each organization's problems
are unique, and we always take that into account. However, we’ve gathered
data on 500 people and their biggest strategy roadblocks. Over 75% fall into
three key buckets: Understanding the process, getting alignment and setting
and keeping strategic goals. As understanding the problem is the first step to
productive problem solving, this post highlights them and offers tips to help.
30% of professionals are stuck on getting started and following the process

A third of professionals we surveyed said that they are stuck in the planning
process, often at the beginning. Due to the immense undertaking of changing
strategies, the management can feel very overwhelmed. This sentiment leads
to delays, inconsistent efforts, and lack of tangible action.

Here are the most common problems we hear from people who have trouble
getting started:

It’s impossible to get everyone together

If your strategy is broken, no one is producing to their full potential. It is

therefore the leadership’s task to communicate the priority in having a
functional strategic plan. We recognize that this process is like herding cats.
An effective strategy is to target a function’s pain points, whether it is
inefficiencies, disorganization, or gaps in communication. Then, make and
communicate a commitment to incorporate these pain points in your strategy.
Motivated by solving their pain points, the team is much more likely to buy-in.

Here's a more in-depth video walkthrough of the strategic planning process:

I’m too busy working in my company to work on my company

A well written and executed strategic plan is costly and time-consuming, and
will always require review and revision. However, each step of the process,
from research to implementation, will give you a better understanding of your
own company. We’ve helped leaders realize that all industry success stories
have a clear strategy to follow their vision. If you know you’ll need one
eventually, you know that you’re better off closing your e-mail inbox and
starting today.

There are too many stakeholders

Large companies like Facebook and Google would never be able to gather
everyone for strategic planning. Facebook is split into two operational halves
managed by Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Instead of meetings,
Zuckerberg makes decisions after talking to smaller groups and hosting office
hours. Facebook has weekly Q&A meetings to understand his company’s
concerns and resolve confusion. His employees trust that their interests are
being taken into account, and Zuckerberg makes sure to communicate with
smaller units to keep everyone on track. All of these components of
Facebook’s strategic success can be replicated in your growing business.

There are many resources on the internet to creating a strategic plan, but
many do not take into account the dynamic and varying needs of each
business. We’ve developed a starter kit that runs you through the process,
helps you identify and answer your own problems, and gives you all the tools
along the way. Instead of perpetuating costly delays or use valuable
resources on “figuring it out”, this package is the investment you need to get
started.

25% of professionals aren’t sure how to foster alignment

Alignment occurs between people, strategy, and purpose. A large part of our
practice is helping management find this alignment in their company, and here
are the most common root causes we’ve discovered.

An unclear or inaccessible strategy

You’ve heard that strategy should be a living document within the

organization. A dozen page document sitting on a desk in the CEO’s office
does not equate to a strategy. Moreover, your employees have enough
problems in a day without having to discern what role they play in that multi-
page document. The clauses in your strategic plan should be clearly
actionable, with the roles of each department easily understood.

Poor communication channels for the strategy

No matter how good your new strategy is, sending it attached to a daily
employee e-mail is not going to get you any buy-in. Your employees need to
realize the weight of executing a strategy, and that it isn’t just another
document sitting in their inbox or a meeting they have to get through. Choose
your communication channels that best help your organization get the point
across.

Failure to incorporate the interests of all parties into the strategy

One of our most useful documents in our strategic planning starter kit is a
strategic planning survey to ask your team. If a strategic plan doesn’t work to
serve them, they will reject the extra work needed to implement it. Taking time
to understand a team’s needs, whether through observation or surveying, will
pay off when getting the buy-in.

We acknowledge that getting buy-in is the hardest and most time-consuming

part of writing and implementing a plan. This is why our aligned strategy
development is fully focused on filling this need. Read about how having a
facilitator will help you achieve alignment.

20% of professionals struggle with setting and focusing on goals

If you don’t know what your goals are, it is very likely that your strategy is not
doing anything to fulfill them. As this is often the first step to an effective
strategy, we outline the top problems we’ve seen with goal-setting.

Different people in the organization have different priorities

There are almost always certain goals that should precede others. Use this to
create cascading goals. First, take into account every team’s priorities, and
analyze the process needed to achieve them. You will find that one goal will
be more actionable once another is achieved. Using this model to set your
organizational priorities will help your team understand why some goals are
being put on a lower priority.

Goals are unmeasurable

Goals that do not have clear performance indicators are like baking a cake
without measuring cups. The best way to create measurable goals is to look
at past data and dig into what numbers align your past successes and
failures. Take time to define measurable numbers, method of monitoring
progress, and dates to review and reassess.

None of these three problems occur in isolation. You can finish the process of
creating a strategic plan and find that you did not have alignment to execute,
or have your goals set but are unaware of the next steps on your way to a
strong strategy. While a strategic plan is meant to improve the process, it
requires a process itself. If you’re reading this, it is unlikely that I have to
stress to you the important of an effective strategy. While for some companies
it works great to just do things themselves, for many others it may save you
time and money to hire someone who has had years of experience.
 Developing your strategy?
Our starter kit will guide you through every step of the strategic planning
process:

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Section 2. Proclaiming Your Dream: Developing Vision and Mission

Statements
Toggle navigationChapter Sections

 Main Section
 Checklist
 Examples
 Tools
 PowerPoint
Learn how to develop effective vision and mission
statements to effectively communicate the work of your
organization or effort.

 WHAT IS A VISION STA TEMENT?

 WHAT IS A MISSION ST ATEMENT?
 WHY SHOULD YOU CREATE VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS?
 HOW DO YOU CREATE VISION AND MI SSION STATEMENTS?
 Creating your organization's vision and mission statements are the first two steps in the VMOSA
action planning process. Developing a vision and mission statement is crucial to the success of
community initiatives. These statements explain your group's aspirations in a concise manner,
help your organization focus on what is really important, and provide a basis for developing
other aspects of your strategic plan. This section provides a guide for developing and
implementing your organization's vision and mission statements.

WHAT IS A VISION STA TEMENT?

Your vision is your dream. It's what your organization believes are the ideal conditions for your
community; that is, how things would look if the issue important to you were completely,
perfectly addressed. It might be a world without war, or a community in which all people are
treated as equals, regardless of gender or racial background.
Whatever your organization's dream is, it may be well articulated by one or more vision statements,
which are short phrases or sentences that convey your community's hopes for the future. By
developing a vision statement or statements, your organization clarifies the beliefs and governing
principles of your organization, first for yourselves, and then for the greater community.
There are certain characteristics that most vision statements have in common. In general, vision
statements should be:

 Understood and shared by members of the community

 Broad enough to include a diverse variety of local perspectives
 Inspiring and uplifting to everyone involved in your effort
 Easy to communicate - for example, they are generally short enough to fit on a T-shirt

Here are some examples of vision statements that meet the above criteria:

 A community where all individuals and families achieve their human potential.
 CALCASA envisions a world free from sexual violence.
 A future where tobacco is a thing of the past. (Truth Initiative)
 A world without Alzheimer’s Disease. (Alzheimer’s Association)
 The United States is a humane community in which all animals are treated with respect and kindness.
(ASPCA)
 A world where everyone has a decent place to live. (Habitat for Humanity)

WHAT IS A MISSION ST ATEMENT?

The next step of the action planning process is to ground your vision in practical terms. This is
where developing a mission statement comes in. An organization's mission statement
describes what the group is going to do and why it's going to do that. An example is "Promoting care
and caring at the end of life through coalitions and advocacy."
Mission statements are similar to vision statements, in that they, too, look at the big picture.
However, they're more concrete, and they are definitely more "action-oriented" than vision
statements. Your vision statement should inspire people to dream; your mission statement should
inspire them to action.
The mission statement might refer to a problem, such as an inadequate housing, or a goal, such as
providing universal access to health care. And, while they don't go into a lot of detail, they hint - very
broadly - at how your organization might fix these problems or reach these goals. Some general
guiding principles about mission statements are that they are:

 Concise. While not as short as vision statements, mission statements generally still get their point
across in one sentence.
 Outcome-oriented. Mission statements explain the fundamental outcomes your organization is
working to achieve.
 Inclusive. While mission statements do make statements about your group's key goals, it's very
important that they do so very broadly. Good mission statements are not limiting in the strategies or
sectors of the community that may become involved in the project.

The following examples should help you understand what we mean by effective mission statements.

 Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources.
(Community Tool Box)
 The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) provides leadership, vision and resources
to rape crisis centers, individuals and other entities committed to ending sexual violence.
 Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and
enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion
of brain health. (Alzheimer’s Association)
 The mission of the ASPCA, as stated by Henry Bergh in 1866, is "to provide effective means for the
prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States”.
 Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes,
communities and hope.

WHY SHOULD YOU CREAT E VISION AND MISSION

STATEMENTS?
Why is it important that your organization develops vision and mission statements like those
above? First of all, these statements can help your organization focus on what is really important.
Although your organization knows what you are trying to do to improve your community, it's easy
to lose sight of this when dealing with day-to-day organizational hassles. Your vision and mission
statements remind members what is important.
Second, your vision and mission statements give other individuals and organizations a snapshot
view of what your group is and what it wants to accomplish. When your vision and mission
statements are easily visible (for example, if they are on the letterhead of your stationary), people
learn about your organization without having to work hard for the information. Then, those with
common interests can take the time necessary to learn more. This efficiency is very helpful when
you are recruiting other people and organizations to join your effort.
Finally, vision and mission statements focus members on their common purpose . Not only do the
statements themselves serve as a constant reminder of what is important to your organization, the
process of developing them allows people to see the organization as "theirs”. Creating these
statements builds motivation as members will believe in something more completely if they had a
hand in developing it.
Having a clear and compelling vision statement has other advantages, such as:

 Drawing people to common work

 Giving hope for a better future
 Inspiring community members to realize their dreams through positive, effective action
 Providing a basis for developing the other aspects of your action planning process: your mission,
objectives, strategies, and action plans

Having a clear and compelling mission statement also has more advantages, such as:

 Converting the broad dreams of your vision into more specific, action-oriented terms
 Explaining your goals to interested parties in a clear and concise manner
 Enhancing your organization's image as being competent and professional, thus reassuring funding
sources that their investment was (or would be!) a smart choice

HOW DO YOU CREATE VI SION AND MISSION

STATEMENTS?
Now having a better understanding of vision and mission statements, your organization has the
tools to develop your unique statements. If your group has already developed vision and mission
statements, you might wish to look at them in light of the criteria we discussed above. If members of
your organization feel your current statements could be improved, this process can be easily used to
modify them. Let’s begin.
LEARN WHAT IS IMPORT ANT TO PEOPLE IN YOU R COMMUNITY
As developing your vision and mission statements is the first step in creating your action plan, it is
especially important that these first steps are well grounded in community beliefs and values.
Awareness of the important issues in your community is critical for the development of a strong,
effective, and enduring action group.
Therefore, one of the first steps you should take when developing the vision and mission of your
organization is to define the issue(s) that matter most to people in your community. How do you go
about doing so?
There are many different ways you can gather this information, including:
Conducting "public forums" or "listening sessions" with members of the community to gather
ideas, thoughts, and opinions about how they would like to see the community transformed.
In public forums or listening sessions, people gather from throughout the community to talk about
what is important to them. These meetings are usually led by facilitators, who guide a discussion of
what people perceive to be the community's strengths and problems, and what people wish the
community was like. Someone typically records these meetings, and a transcript of what is said
provides a basis for subsequent planning.
Holding focus groups with the people interested in addressing the issue(s), including
community leaders, people most affected by the issues, businesses, church leaders, teachers,
etc.
Focus groups are similar to public forums and listening sessions, but they are smaller and more
intimate. Generally speaking, they are comprised of small groups of people with similar
backgrounds, so they will feel comfortable talking openly about what concerns them. For example,
the group members are generally about the same age, are of the same ethnic group, or have another
common identity and/or experience. Focus groups function like public forums, and also use
facilitators and recorders to focus and document discussion.
Your organization may hold focus groups with several different groups of people to get the most
holistic view of the issue at hand. For example, if your organization is involved in child health, you
might have one focus group with health care providers, another with parents or children, and still
another with teachers. Once you have a rough mission statement, you might again hold a focus
group for feedback.
Obtaining interviews with people in leadership and service positions, including such
individuals as local politicians, school administrators, hospital and social service agency
staff, about what problems or needs they believe exist in your community.
Often, these individuals will have both facts and experiences to back up their perspectives. If so, this
data can be used later if and when you apply for funding, or when you request community support
to address the issues. More information on this topic can be found in Chapter 3, Section 12:
Conducting Interviews.
It’s important to realize that these different ways of gathering information from your community
are not mutually exclusive. In fact, if you have the resources, it is recommended to do all of the
above: to have some time for the community at large to respond, then spend more time in focus
groups with the people you believe might contribute greatly to (or be most affected by) some of the
issues brought up in the public forum. And finally, some one-on-one time with community leaders
can strengthen your knowledge and purpose; remember, there are community members who have
been wrestling with the same issues you are now looking at for a long time. Take advantage of that
experience so you don’t waste time on something that’s already been done.
DECIDE WHAT TO ASK
No matter if you are talking to one person or a crowd, your purpose is the same: to learn what
matters in your community. Here's a list of questions you might use to focus your discussions with
community members. These questions may be used for individual interviews, focus groups, public
forums, or in any other way you choose to gather information.

 What is your dream/vision for our community?

 What would you like to see change?
 What kind of community (or program, policy, school, neighborhood, etc.) do we want to create?
 What do you see as the community's (or school's, neighborhood's, etc.) major issues or problems?
 What do you see as the community's major strengths and assets?
 What do you think should be the purpose of this organization (or effort)?
 Why should these issues be addressed?
  What would success look like?

When your organization is gathering input, the facilitator should encourage everyone to share their
most idealistic, hopeful, and positive ideas. Don't worry right now about what's practical and what's
not - this can be narrowed down later. Encourage everyone to be bold and participate, and to
remember that you are trying to articulate a vision of a better community.
DECIDE ON THE GENERA L FOCUS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION
Once members of your organization have heard what the community has to say, it's time to decide
the general focus of your organization or initiative. First of all, what topic is most important to your
organization and your community? For example, will you tackle urban development or public health
issues? Racism or economic opportunity?
A second question to answer is at what level will your organization work. Will your organization
begin only in one school, or in one neighborhood, or in your city? Or will your initiative's focus be
broader, working on a state, national, or even international level?
These are questions for which there are no easy answers. Your organization will need to consider
lessons learned from the community and decide through thoughtful discussion the best direction for
your organization. We suggest you open this discussion up to everyone in your organization to
obtain the best results.
However, if your organization is receiving grant money or major funding from a particular agency,
the grant maker may specify what the general goal of your group should be. For example, if your
group accepts a grant to reduce child hunger, at least part of its mission will be devoted to this
purpose. Even in these circumstances, however, the community should determine the ultimate
vision and mission that will best advance what matters to local people.
DEVELOP YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMEN TS
Now that your organization has a clearer understanding of what the group will do and why, you are
in a prime position to develop the statements that will capture your ideas.
As you are looking at potential statements, remember to keep them broad and enduring. Vision and
mission statements wide in scope allow for a sense of continuity with a community's history,
traditions, and broad purposes. Additionally, vision and mission statements that are built to last will
guide efforts both today and tomorrow.
Vision Statements
First of all, remind members of your organization that it often takes several vision statements to
fully capture the dreams of those involved in a community improvement effort. You don't need - or
even want - just one "perfect" phrase. Encourage people to suggest all of their ideas and write them
down, possibly on poster paper at the front of the room, so people can be further inspired by the
ideas of others. As you do this, remind the group of:

 What you have learned from your discussions with community members
 What your organization has decided will be your focus
 What you learned about vision statements at the beginning of this section
If you have a hard time getting started, you might wish to check out some of the vision statements in
this section's Examples. You might ask yourself how well they meet the above suggestions.
After you have brainstormed a list of suggestions, your group can discuss critically the different
ideas. Oftentimes, some of the vision statements will jump out at you - someone will suggest it, and
people will just instantly think, "That's it!"
If it’s more complicated than that, you should ask yourselves the following questions:

 Will it draw people to common work?

 Does it give hope for a better future?
 Will it inspire community members to realize their dreams through positive, effective action?
 Does it provide a basis for developing the other aspects of your action planning process?

A final caution: try not to get caught up in having a certain number of vision statements for your
organization. Whether you ultimately end up with two vision statements or ten, what is most
important is that the statements together provide a holistic view of your organization’s vision.
Mission Statements
The process of writing your mission statement is similar to developing your vision statements. The
same brainstorming process can help you develop possibilities for your mission statement.
Remember, though, that unlike vision statements, you will want to develop a single mission
statement for your work. After brainstorming possible statements, you will want to answer
questions for each one:

 Does it describe what your organization will do and why it will do it?
 Is it concise (one sentence)?
 Is it outcome oriented?
 Is it inclusive of the goals and people who may become involved in the organization?

Together, your organization can decide on a statement that best meets these criteria.
OBTAIN CONSENSUS ON YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
Once members of your organization have developed your vision and mission statements, your next
step might be to learn what other community members think of them before you use the statements
regularly.
To do this, you could talk to the same community leaders or focus group members you spoke to
originally. First of all, this can help you ensure that they don't find the statements offensive in any
way. For example, an initiative that wants to include young men more fully in its teen pregnancy
prevention project might have "Young men in Asheville are the best informed" as one of their vision
statements. But taken out of context, some people community members might believe this
statement means young men are given better information or education than young women, thus
offending another group of people.
Second, you will want to ensure that community members agree that the statements together
capture the spirit of what they believe and desire. Your organization might find it has omitted
something very important by mistake.
DECIDE HOW YOU WILL USE YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
Finally, it's important to remember that while developing the statements is a huge step for your
organization worth celebration, there is more work to be done. Next, you have to decide how to use
these statements. Otherwise, all of your hard work would lead to nothing. The point is to get the
message across.
There are many ways in which your organization may choose to spread its vision and mission
statements. To name just a few examples, you might:

 Add them to your letterhead or stationary

 Use them on your website
 Give away T-shirts, or bookmarks, or other small gifts with them
 Add them to your press kit
 Use them when you give interviews
 Display them on the cover of your annual report

...and so on. Again, this is a step that will use all of your creativity.

IN SUMMARY
Developing effective vision and mission statements are two of the most important tasks your
organization will tackle because almost everything else you do is affected by these statements. We
hope that this section has allowed you to feel more confident in your group's ability to create
successful and inspiring vision and mission statements. Remember, think broadly and boldly! Good
luck!

Contributor
Jenette Nagy
Stephen B. Fawcett

Online Resources
Coalition Vision, Mission, and Goals defines SWOT Analysis, coalition vision and mission
statements, and goals and strategies.
Print Resources
Barry, B. (1982). Strategic planning workbook for non-profit organizations. St. Paul, MN:
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
Bryson, J. (1988). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Coover, V., et al. (1985). Resource manual for a living revolution: a handbook of skills & tools for
social change activists. Philadelphia: New Society Publisher.
Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K. P., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Harris, K., Winter, K., in
collaboration with Bradley, B. & Copple, J. (1992). Preventing adolescent substance abuse: an
action planning guide for community -based initiatives. Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health
Promotion and Community Development, University of Kansas.
Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Harris, K., Williams, E., & Fischer, J., in
collaboration with Vincent, M., & Johnson, C. (1992). Preventing adolescent pregnancy: an action
planning guide for community-based initiatives. Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion
and Community Development, University of Kansas.
Kansas Health Foundation. VMOSA: An approach to strategic planning. Wichita, KS: Kansas
Health Foundation.
Lord, R. (1989). The non-profit problem solver: A management guide. New York, NY: Praeger
Publishers.
Olenick, J., & Olenick, R. (1991). A non-profit organization operating manual: planning for
survival and growth. New York, NY: Foundation Center.
Stonich, P. (1982). Implementing strategy: making strategy happen. Cambridge: Ballinger
Publishing Company.
Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations. New
York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.
Wolff, T. (1990). Managing a non-profit organization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall Press.
Organizations
American Planning Association
1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 872-0611
FAX: (202) 872-0643
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Strategic Management & Strategic Planning Process

Ovidijus Jurevicius | February 13, 2013 Print

A set of icons illustrating a process.

Definition
Strategic management process

is a method by which managers conceive of and implement a strategy that can lead to a
sustainable competitive advantage.
[1]
Strategic planning process

is a systematic or emerged way of performing strategic planning in the organization through

initial assessment, thorough analysis, strategy formulation, its implementation and evaluation.

What is that strategic planning process?

The process of strategic management lists what steps the managers should take to create a
complete strategy and how to implement that strategy successfully in the company. It might
comprise from 7 to nearly 30 steps[4] and tends to be more formal in well-established
organizations.

The ways that strategies are created and realized differ. Thus, there are many different models of
the process. The models vary between companies depending upon:

 Organization’s culture.
 Leadership style.
 The experience the firm has in creating successful strategies.

All the examples of the process in this article represent top-down approach and belong to the
‘design school’.

Components of strategic planning process

There are many components of the process which are spread throughout strategic planning
stages. Most often, the strategic planning process has 4 common phases: strategic analysis,
strategy formulation, implementation and monitoring (David[5], Johnson, Scholes &
Whittington[6], Rothaermel[1], Thompson and Martin[2]). For clearer understanding, this article
represents 5 stages of strategic planning process:

 Initial Assessment
 Situation Analysis
 Strategy Formulation
 Strategy Implementation
 Strategy Monitoring

Initial Assessment

Components: Vision statement & Mission statement

Tools used: Creating a Vision and Mission statements.
The starting point of the process is initial assessment of the firm. At this phase managers must
clearly identify the company’s vision and mission statements.

Business' vision answers the question: What does an organization want to become? Without
visualizing the company’s future, managers wouldn’t know where they want to go and what they
have to achieve. Vision is the ultimate goal for the firm and the direction for its employees.

In addition, mission describes company’s business. It informs organization’s stakeholders about

the products, customers, markets, values, concern for public image and employees of the
organization (David, p. 93)[5]. Thorough mission statement acts as guidance for managers in
making appropriate (Rothaermel, p. 34)[1] daily decisions.

Situation Analysis

Components: Internal environment analysis, External environment analysis and Competitor

analysis
Tools used: PEST, SWOT, Core Competencies, Critical Success Factors, Unique Selling
Proposition, Porter's 5 Forces, Competitor Profile Matrix, External Factor Evaluation Matrix,
Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix, Benchmarking, Financial Ratios, Scenarios Forecasting,
Market Segmentation, Value Chain Analysis, VRIO Framework

When the company identifies its vision and mission it must assess its current situation in the
market. This includes evaluating an organization’s external and internal environments and
analyzing its competitors.

During an external environment analysis managers look into the key external forces: macro &
micro environments and competition. PEST or PESTEL frameworks represent all the macro
environment factors that influence the organization in the global environment. Micro
environment affects the company in its industry. It is analyzed using Porter’s 5 Forces
Framework.

Competition is another uncontrollable external force that influences the company. A good
example of this was when Apple released its IPod and shook the mp3 players industry, including
its leading performer Sony. Firms assess their competitors using competitors profile matrix and
benchmarking to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses and level of performance.

Internal analysis includes the assessment of the company’s resources, core competencies and
activities. An organization holds both tangible resources: capital, land, equipment, and intangible
resources: culture, brand equity, knowledge, patents, copyrights and trademarks (Rothaermel, p.
90)[1]. A firm’s core competencies may be superior skills in customer relationship or efficient
supply chain management. When analyzing the company’s activities managers look into the
value chain and the whole production process.
As a result, situation analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the
organization and reveals a clear picture of company’s situation in the market.

Strategy Formulation

Components: Objectives, Business level, Corporate level and Global Strategy Selection
Tools used: Scenario Planning, SPACE Matrix, Boston Consulting Group Matrix, GE-McKinsey
Matrix, Porter’s Generic Strategies, Bowman’s Strategy Clock, Porter’s Diamond, Game Theory,
QSP Matrix.

Successful situation analysis is followed by creation of long-term objectives. Long-term

objectives indicate goals that could improve the company’s competitive position in the long run.
They act as directions for specific strategy selection. In an organization, strategies are chosen at
3 different levels:

 Business level strategy. This type of strategy is used when strategic business units (SBU),
divisions or small and medium enterprises select strategies for only one product that is sold in
only one market. The example of business level strategy is well illustrated by Royal Enfield firms.
They sell their Bullet motorcycle (one product) in United Kingdom and India (different markets)
but focus on different market segments and sell at very different prices (different strategies).
Firms may select between Porter’s 3 generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation and
focus strategies. Alternatively strategies from Bowman’s strategy clock may be chosen (Johnson,
Scholes, & Whittington, p. 224[6]).
 Corporate level strategy. At this level, executives at top parent companies choose which
products to sell, which market to enter and whether to acquire a competitor or merge with it.
They select between integration, intensive, diversification and defensive strategies.
 Global/International strategy. The main questions to answer: Which new markets to develop
and how to enter them? How far to diversify? (Thompson and Martin, p. 557[2], Johnson,
Scholes, & Whittington, p. 294[6])

Managers may choose between many strategic alternatives. That depends on a company’s
objectives, results of situation analysis and the level for which the strategy is selected.

Strategy Implementation

Components: Annual Objectives, Policies, Resource Allocation, Change Management,

Organizational chart, Linking Performance and Reward
Tools used: Policies, Motivation, Resistance management, Leadership, Stakeholder Impact
Analysis, Changing organizational structure, Performance management

Even the best strategic plans must be implemented and only well executed strategies
create competitive advantage for a company.
At this stage managerial skills are more important than using analysis. Communication in
strategy implementation is essential as new strategies must get support all over organization for
effective implementation. The example of the strategy implementation that is used here is taken
from David’s book, chapter 7 on implementation[5]. It consists of the following 6 steps:

 Setting annual objectives;

 Revising policies to meet the objectives;
 Allocating resources to strategically important areas;
 Changing organizational structure to meet new strategy;
 Managing resistance to change;
 Introducing new reward system for performance results if needed.

The first point in strategy implementation is setting annual objectives for the company’s
functional areas. These smaller objectives are specifically designed to achieve financial,
marketing, operations, human resources and other functional goals. To meet these goals
managers revise existing policies and introduce new ones which act as the directions for
successful objectives implementation.

The other very important part of strategy implementation is changing an organizational chart. For
example, a product diversification strategy may require new SBU to be incorporated into the
existing organizational chart. Or market development strategy may require an additional division
to be added to the company. Every new strategy changes the organizational structure and
requires reallocation of resources. It also redistributes responsibilities and powers between
managers. Managers may be moved from one functional area to another or asked to manage a
new team. This creates resistance to change, which has to be managed in an appropriate way or it
could ruin excellent strategy implementation.

Strategy Monitoring

Components: Internal and External Factors Review, Measuring Company’s Performance

Tools used: Strategy Evaluation Framework, Balanced Scorecard, Benchmarking

Implementation must be monitored to be successful. Due to constantly changing external and

internal conditions managers must continuously review both environments as new strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats may arise. If new circumstances affect the company,
managers must take corrective actions as soon as possible.

Usually, tactics rather than strategies are changed to meet the new conditions, unless firms are
faced with such severe external changes as the 2007 credit crunch.

Measuring performance is another important activity in strategy monitoring. Performance has to

be measurable and comparable. Managers have to compare their actual results with estimated
results and see if they are successful in achieving their objectives. If objectives are not met
managers should:
  Change the reward system.
 Introduce new or revise existing policies.

The key element in strategy monitoring is to get the relevant and timely information on changing
environment and the company’s performance and if necessary take corrective actions.

Different models of the process

There is no universal model of the strategic management process. The one, which was described
in this article, is just one more version of so many models that are established by other authors.
In this section we will illustrate and comment on 3 more well-known frameworks presented by
recognized scholars in the strategic management field. More about these models can be found in
the authors’ books.

Figure 1. David’s Model of the Strategic Management’s Process

Source: David (p. 46)

Stages

 Strategy Formulation
 Strategy Implementation
 Strategy Evaluation

Steps

1. Develop vision and mission

2. External environment analysis
3. Internal environment analysis
4. Establish long-term objectives
5. Generate, evaluate and choose strategies
6. Implement strategies
7. Measure and evaluate performance

Benefits

 Indicates all the major steps that have to be met during the process.
 Illustrates that the process is a continuous activity.
 Arrows show the two way process. This means that companies may sometimes go a step or two
back in the process rather than having to complete the process and start it all over from the
beginning. For example, if in the implementation stage the company finds out that the strategy
 it chose is not viable, it can simply go back to the strategy selection point instead of continuing
to the monitoring stage and starting the process from the beginning.

Drawbacks

 Represents only strategy formulation stage and does separate situation analysis from strategy
selection stages.
 Confuses strategy evaluation with strategy monitoring stage.

Figure 2. Rothaermel’s The Analysis-Formulation-Implementation (AFI) Strategy Framework

Source: Rothaermel (p. 20)

Stages

 Analysis
 Formulation
 Implementation

Steps

1. Initial analysis
2. External and internal analysis
3. Business or corporate strategy formulation
4. Implementation

Benefits

 Shows that the process is a continuous activity.

 Separates initial analysis (in this articles it’s called initial assessment) from internal/external
analysis.
 Emphasizes the main focus of strategic management: “Gain and sustain competitive advantage”.

Drawbacks

 Does not include strategy monitoring stage.

 Arrows indicate only one way process. For example, after the strategy formulation the process
continues to the implementation stage while this is not always the truth. Companies may go
back and reassess their environments if some conditions had changed.

Figure 3. Thompson’s and Martin’s Strategic Management Framework

Source: Thompson and Martin (p.36)

Stages

 Where are we?

 Where are we going?
 How are we getting there?
 How are we doing?

Steps

1. Situation appraisal: review of corporate objectives

2. Situation assessment
3. Clarification of objectives
4. Corporate and competitive strategies
5. Strategic decisions
6. Implementation
7. Monitor progress

Benefits

 Indicates all the major steps that have to be met during the process.
 Shows that the process is a continuous activity.
 The model is supplemented by 4 fundamental strategic management questions.

Drawbacks

 Arrows indicate only one way process.

Limitations

It is rare that the company will be able to follow the process from the first to the last step.
Producing a quality strategic plan requires time, during which many external and even internal
conditions may change. This results in the flawed strategic plan which has to be revised, hence
requiring even more time to finish.

On the other hand, when implementing the strategic plan, the actual results do not meet the
requirements of the strategic plan so the plan has to be altered or better methods for the
implementation have to be discovered. This means that some parts of strategic management
process have to be done simultaneously, which makes the whole process more complex.
Sources

1. Rothaermel, F. T. (2012). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, p. 20,

32-45, 90
2. Thompson, J. and Martin, F. (2010). Strategic Management: Awareness & Change. 6th ed.
Cengage Learning EMEA, p. 34, 557, 790
3. Clark, D. N. (1997). Strategic management tool usage: a comparative study. Strategic Change
Vol. 6, pp. 417-427
4. David, F.R. (2009). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. 12th ed. FT Prentice Hall, p. 36-
37, 45-47, 93
5. Johnson, G, Scholes, K. Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy. 8th ed. FT Prentice
Hall, p. 11-13, 224, 294
6. Virtual Strategist (2012). Overview of the Strategic Planning Process (VIDEO). Available
at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU3FLxnDv_A

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About Ovidijus Jurevicius

Ovidijus is the founder of SM Insight and the lead writer since 2013. His interest and studies in strategic
management turned into SM Insight project, the No.1 source on the subject online.
He's been using his knowledge on strategic management and swot analysis to analyze the businesses for
the last 5 years. His work is published in many publications, including three books.

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