The Importance of Strategic Planning
If I asked you where you see yourself in five years, could you give me a good answer? Or any answer at all?
Do you have a clear vision for your personal growth and the goals necessary to make it happen?
If the answer is no, don’t panic. It’s not the end of the world. But you do need to take the time to rectify that mistake and embrace strategic planning if you want to be in a different place going forward.
Many people think about personal visions and goals, but very few actually have them. Yet if you have one and focus on it often, you will ultimately steer your life toward obtaining it.
For years, I floated around with no real direction. I said I wanted to advance my career, get in shape, and be happier – but had no concrete plans to do so. That all changed, however, when I started doing intentional strategic planning for my life. Mapping out my vision, mission, and goals transformed everything for me personally. And the same can and should be true for organizations.
Without strategic planning, it’s far too easy to drift along aimlessly. But with a clear strategic plan, your business or nonprofit can thrive like never before. In this post, I’ll show what a total game-changer it is for both personal and organizational success.
So let’s dive in!
Let Yourself Dig Deep
Think of your vision as your compass, your GPS, or, my personal favorite metaphor, a lighthouse at the beach designed to lead you through the storms, past the rocky ocean waves toward your final destination. Regardless, it all begins with a basic but crucial question.
“What do I want?”
And don’t stop at a surface-level answer. Don’t go easy on yourself. What do you really, really, truly want for yourself? If you could have the kind of life that would make your heart sing, what would it look like?
At this point, your heart may be beating a bit faster at the very idea. And the doubts might be rising up fast. Can you really have that kind of life?
I believe you can. I’ve done it myself, and I’ve helped an ever-expanding number of clients lead passionate and fulfilling lives as well. Could you be the exception? Maybe. But you’ll never know if you don’t try. And, in my opinion, the rewards of success overwhelmingly outweigh the risks.
The Goals to Get There
Now let’s talk goals – the steps you need to take to get where you want to go, as outlined in your vision. As an example, here are some parts of my growth vision in the past, all in a given year:
- Start a business that will assist organizations in achieving high performance through their HR practices.
- Finish and publish another book.
- Grow my social media presence by 20%.
- Manage time more effectively to end my workday by 6 p.m. in order to spend more time with my wife.
- Spend quality time with my wife by planning two weekends away together.
- Do a five-night backpacking trip.
- Attend at least one in-person seminar or conference to further hone my skills or personal growth.
- Expand my prayer life by surrounding myself with prayer experts.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of where to start. If needed – and if nothing pops into your head right away – set aside time to dream about your ideal life. Even if you spend just five to 10 minutes a day on this project, ask yourself:
- What is my true relationship with God? Have I put my full trust in Him?
- If I could have more of something in my life, what would it be?
- What could I eliminate from my life for good?
- Which relationships do I need to nurture and/or which ones should I release?
- What is my relationship to money?
- What is my secret passion or dream?
- What am I most afraid of?
- What habits should I quit?
- What can I do to bring more joy into my daily life?
- What am I grateful for?
These questions are just a starting point. There are plenty of others to choose from. Take into account all major aspects of your life – your friends and family (both immediate and extended), church, charity work and, of course, fun and recreation. Also, examine your honest thoughts and assessments of your daily career, activities, spending habits, personal wellness and fitness, spirituality and, last but not least, your spouse.
Whatever goals you come to, you’ll want to like them. Really like them, in fact, since you’re going to be doing a lot of them!
This is particularly true about work-oriented goals. According to statistics from research firm Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the average American works 1,788 hours per year. Over 40 years, that adds up to over 71,000 hours!
Take a moment to let that staggering number sink in. It means you probably spend more time working than sleeping, eating, or participating in your favorite recreational activities throughout your life!
As such, I have to assume you’d prefer to enjoy the company you work for, no matter how long you’re with it. Longevity for employees is now increasing, with recent statistics showing people stay at their jobs an average of 4.6 years. While that’s nothing compared to the kind of commitment workers showed 50 years ago, it’s still a sizable fraction of an adult life.
This is why it’s so important to know exactly what you want to do before you start doing it: so you can end up in the most ideal situation possible. Beginning a career in a field you love and sticking with it can make all the difference in your future.
Let’s Talk About Your Voice
Now, in order to enjoy a career you love, you need to have, know, and exert your voice. A voice shapes the culture of an organization and serves as a guide to employees and management. All successful companies have one, and successful workers do as well.
Organizations with a well-thought-out voice have direction, purpose, and achievement in the workplace. They know where they want to be (the big picture) and do the appropriate things (the details) to get there. And every step of the way, employees who align with that voice enthusiastically project that message to customers, vendors, and their local communities. Otherwise, it’s impossible to align their goals and objectives to create success.
A person or organization’s voice is a combination of their personal mission, vision, and values. Values, of course, are the principles or standards you believe should be most upheld. But let’s dig into the other two more closely.
An organization’s (or person’s) mission statement is a concise, meaningful sentence or two that represents its purpose: the goal it strives to embody or provide for its consumers. Mission statements are often action-based, explaining the central objective at hand. For instance:
- LinkedIn: “to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”
- Amazon’s is to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company, Earth’s best employer, and Earth’s safest place to work.”
- Nike’s is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
If you’re an individual, your personal mission statement would be similar in its straightforward style. It should define who you are as a person and identify your purpose, whether that’s on the job or simply in life. It’s supposed to explain where you see yourself in the future, how you plan to pursue that future, and why it matters so much to you.
Like an organizational mission statement, a personal mission statement should be clear and concise – a soundbite or quick elevator pitch, if you will. Something, perhaps, along the lines of: “To use my writing skills to inspire and educate others around the world to make a change.”
An organizational vision, meanwhile, is an ideal or model statement. While a mission statement defines the strategy for reaching a final goal, an organizational vision is that goal. It’s the world the company envisions for the future. Tesla, for instance, uses this: “To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.”
Lastly, an organizational value statement defines what is important to a company and its employees. For instance: “We believe food has the power to change the world. We do it by being real.” Or, if a person was writing one, it would define the values most important to him or her, such as: “To be a respectable employee, friend, and member of the community, and to make a positive impact on others by being honest, fair, and reliable.”
Some other notable value statements to inspire you include Hobby Lobby’s, which reads: “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating in a manner consistent with Biblical principles. Offering customers exceptional selection and value. Serving our employees and their families by establishing a work environment and company policies that build character, strengthen individuals and nurture families.”
And Interstate Batteries goes like this: “LOVE. Treat others like you’d want to be treated. SERVANT’S HEART. Lead with what people need. EXCELLENCE. Do great things with the gifts you’ve been given. COURAGE. Learn, improve and boldly drive change that matters. FUN. Work hard, laugh often. TEAM. Together, we’re better. INTEGRITY. Be who you are and live up to your commitments.”
All put together, your voice – composed of your mission, vision, and values – tells the world WHO you are, WHAT you believe, and WHERE you want to go. And though I’m emphasizing certain words in that last sentence, the “you” is equally important. No two people share the exact same voice.
Your voice is unique only to YOU.
As an organization, you can impress future customers by fine tuning this voice. As an individual, you can impress future employers. Either way, the intent should be to let recipients see who you are and what you want.
If this sounds intimidating to put together, fret not. You can begin by grabbing a piece of scratch paper and writing out your thoughts. Maybe start out scribbling a few adjectives that describe you best. Then think about what you value most.
Is it integrity? Reliability? Honesty? A combination of the three or something entirely different?
Lastly, determine what it is you really want and how you plan to get there. Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
Don’t worry if you don’t have it all figured out, but this exercise can get you a lot further than you otherwise would be. By perfecting your unique voice, you will set yourself apart from the rest when it comes to competitive opportunities, big or small. After all, confident people and entities who truly understand themselves have a tendency of standing out in all the best ways.
Once you come up with your full voice, start reciting it to your friends and loved ones. Say it with confidence and a smile. By the time you land an interview at your desired company or find yourself in a boardroom convincing potential clients, you’ll have it down pat!
My Personal Strategic Planning Journey
If this all sounds like something you figured out a long time ago and therefore don’t need to do again, I hope you’ll take a moment to reconsider. Remember that you’re not the same man or woman you were 10 years ago or even 10 months ago. You’re changing, hopefully in good ways but sometimes negatively too, perhaps weighed down by past disappointments.
Therefore, reminding yourself of what you really care about can be exceptionally helpful.
Not long ago, I know I felt stuck. I wanted to make changes but didn’t know where to start. I had big dreams but no strategy to get there… until I rediscovered strategic planning. That changed everything!
Here are the steps that put me on an amazing new path:
- I wrote down my life vision. This captured where I wanted to be in five to 10 years. It was the dream-future state I envisioned. Defining this vision gave me hope and inspiration.
- I clarified my mission. This one-sentence personal mission statement explained my core purpose. It helped me make decisions aligned with my values. Now, my mission keeps me focused on what matters most.
- I set SMART goals. Using the methodology on this graphic for a S.M.A.R.T. framework, I set specific, measurable goals in key areas like career, health, and relationships. Breaking the vision down into concrete objectives was crucial.
- I documented plans and resources. For each goal, I wrote down how I’d achieve it and what resources I needed. Putting the plans on paper held me accountable.
- I told others. Sharing my plan with family and friends generated encouragement. Their support has been invaluable.
- I reviewed and adapted. I now make sure to revisit my strategic plan – often – to update and adjust it as needed. Regular reviews keep me on track.
In all of this, I take inspiration from Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NIV), which reads:
“Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.”
God says to write things down on tablets. Writing goals is doing just that.
The results in my life have been nothing short of life changing. I’m healthier, happier, and feel much more fulfilled. I’m closer to my wife, advancing in my career, and making a bigger impact on the world.
For instance, prior to setting goals, I had never been on a mission trip. Since putting it down in clear, concise writing, I’ve traveled the world over, sharing Christ’s love through business and personal trips. I’ve been blessed to have served in Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, India (from top to bottom!), Nepal, and Ukraine.
My fitness has also increased dramatically, allowing me to:
- Climb to the Mt. Everest Base Camp (17,598 ft)
- Climb Mt. Baldy in California (4,193 ft)
- Climb to the top of Mt. Bierstadt in Colorado (14,065 ft)
- Lead a team to summit Mt. Washington in New Hampshire (6,288 ft )
- Compete in a Sprint Triathlon.
And it doesn’t stop there. At the time of this writing, I’m planning to tackle Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft) in the spring of 2025.
Look what God has inspired me to do because I was willing to tap into who He created me to be! Moreover, in the midst of these accomplishments, I have an even bigger one to celebrate. My beautiful wife and I will be celebrating 40 years of marriage in 2026. Forty years since we said, “I do.”
It’s been an amazing journey, to say the least.
How did we do it? Well, I won’t go into all the details for brevity’s sake. But I can tell you the past decade has been especially momentous since we started setting goals together, and achieving them! We’ve been disciplined in maintaining that focus, making time for each other in both big and small ways for our benefit, the benefit of our children, and now our grandchildren as well.
All in all, strategic planning gave me a blueprint to get unstuck and live with purpose. And while I knew it would be worthwhile, the results have been better than I imagined, both in personal ways and in my career.
Energizing Teams Through Vision
I’ve been on both the employee side of the business equation and the employer side. And I can attest that it’s often hard to see the other’s perspective either way due to misunderstandings, miscommunications (or lack of any communication at all), and oversights.
Imagine you’re an employee showing up to work each day. You complete tasks as told but don’t know how it’s contributing to any larger goal or vision. Before long, boredom and disengagement set in, and you feel adrift in the organizational sea.
Unfortunately, this is the reality for too many workers. And it most often happens when their leaders haven’t mapped out an inspiring vision and steps to achieve it. It’s not until organizations engage in strategic planning that amazing things start to happen…
- Employees feel energized and motivated.
- They understand how their role builds up to big goals.
- They feel purpose and direction in their daily work.
“Research shows [that] organizations with a clear strategic vision have 29% higher employee engagement,” according to Business Insights, Why Is Strategic Planning Important? | HBS Online. By articulating an exciting vision of the future, leaders ignite their teams’ passion and performance.
Strategic planning also allows you to infuse the organization’s values into the planning process itself. This ensures alignment between actions and principles, and fosters a flourishing culture.
Long-term success of your organization depends on how engaged your employees are. A highly engaged staff can boost profitability by 21%, claims research firm Gallup. Or, as Kate Gibson writes in her Harvard Business Review article, The Role Core Values Play In Strategy Execution, “Core values are vital to strategy execution because they guide your organization and employees’ behavior.”
Essentially, people love being part of something bigger than a paycheck. And strategic planning provides greater meaning through an energizing vision and values-driven goals. When executed thoughtfully, it catalyzes your people’s purpose and potential, bringing them together.
By this, I mean that leaders can incorporate their teams into the strategic planning process instead of dictating plans in isolation. When a broad group participates, they take ownership of the plan together, giving them a shared enthusiasm and devotion to the collective mission.
Everyone emotionally buys in because they co-created the plan. It’s theirs to support instead of something foisted on them from the top.
Setting Your Eyes on Achievable Goals
Once you have all of this established, your next step should be to set goals. RASM goals, to be precise, where you make them:
- Realistic – Acknowledge constraints in areas like resources and capacity
- Achievable – Make sure you have the capability and commitment necessary.
- Strategic – The goal in question should always ladder up to your core strategy and mission.
- Measurable – Make sure you track progress quantitatively or qualitatively against the goal.
I often add a T to this acronym for Timebound. By assigning a specific timeline to each goal, you can prevent them from dragging on indefinitely. But even without that extra consideration, research confirms that organizations with strategic RASM planning are far more successful. The discipline to focus on concrete, achievable goals pays dividends.
So set aside fantasies of instant 10x growth or dominating the universe. Effective strategic planning grounds you in reality, which then helps you get to the next level you really want to reach.
Driving Efficiency through Prioritization
Speaking of fantasies, the unfortunate truth is that there are always more great opportunities than bandwidth and resources to pursue them. That’s why one of the most powerful benefits of strategic planning is the prioritization of what matters most.
Leaders must make tough choices about what not to pursue. Saying no to less critical initiatives and collectively agreeing on 3-5 goals that will have maximum impact frees up resources to achieve strategic goals. It:
- Directs funding, talent, and technology to enable those priorities
- Aligns the whole organization around the priorities
- Executes relentlessly on the strategic goals.
In Strategic Planning, S. Ghosal writes, “Research shows organizations that take this focused approach improve efficiency. Doing less but better is my point. By keeping the team focused and avoiding the “rabbit trail” projects that tend to pop up at every organization, you’re sure to accomplish so much more in the end.”
Of course, leaders must still consider other opportunities and challenges that inevitably emerge. But a clear strategic plan provides the filter to determine what deserves resources and what can wait.
The result is an empowering sense of focus and a rapid boost in productivity.
Enabling Clear Communication
All of this inspiration, productivity, and team spirit can only endure, however, if communication remains strong after planning concludes. Fortunately, strategic planning, done right, is supposed to handle this aspect as well, serving as a living document that drives ongoing alignment.
By clearly capturing goals, roles and responsibilities, assumptions, and progress, it reduces ambiguity and enables crisp communication and transparency around what matters most. It provides a single source of truth that keeps everyone aligned. And even as plans evolve, updated documentation maintains that unity of purpose and action.
Effective communication throughout the strategic planning lifecycle boosts organizational performance by 20%. Assuming communication occurs without documentation is a recipe for misalignment. So invest in it throughout and even after the strategic planning process. Keep the plan top of mind through constant reinforcement.
This pays enormous dividends – both in the moment and further down your organizational road. It’s not just the current project that gets impacted. Strategic planning is supposed to have lasting effects on everyone and every part of a business or non-profit. It helps align leadership and team members around the same priorities and resources, allowing them to act more quickly, rationally, and efficiently when conditions shift.
Moreover, it allows everyone involved to better anticipate future needs and help organizations get ahead of the curve with early hiring, budgeting, and capacity expansions.
Harvard Business Review writer Roger L. Martin, a former dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and strategy adviser to CEOs, advises that developing strategy means going outside of an organization’s comfort zone while still:
- Keeping the strategy statement simple
- Recognizing that strategy isn’t about perfection
- Making the logic explicit.
You will run into problems eventually. Those are inevitable. But you can make yourself stronger and smarter at handling those when you have your strategic plan properly thought out and in place.
Give It Time – and Commitment – to Make It Work
Whether you’re a corporation or individual, strategic planning can bring purpose and gravity back into your life. But you only reap those rewards if you approach the process with complete commitment.
The results are long-lasting but can also take a long time, a lot of effort, and even significant money to accomplish, especially in the beginning. We’ve examined why strategic planning is such an effective means of getting organizations where they want to go. But it’s also important to acknowledge that designing and implementing a strategic plan can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve never been through the exercise before.
Fortunately, if you work step by step, you can develop a robust strategic planning process that will last for years. Even decades! So let’s move on now to those all-important first steps for structuring your strategic planning journey.
I’ll show you how to make the process incredibly doable. In our next post we will be navigating bringing the strategic planning process to your organization, and the steps you will need to take to achieve high performance at your organization.
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