es not have a long-range plan, regardless of the nature and character of the annual business plan or operating budget, you are in a good position to learn while doing something valuable. If your colleagues and management do not appreciate the effort, you will be in a position to benefit your next employer when your current organization experiences its premature demise. The best place to start is with your organization's annual business plan and budget, roughly where we left off in Chapter 12. STRATEGIC PLAN: A DEFINITION Webster's New World Dictionary has several definitions of strategic, one of which simply says: "required for the effective conduct of war." During World War II, rubber was of strategic importance because it was used in tires, critical to the production and use of vehicles dependent on rubber tires, which in turn were critical to movement of troops and material in the conduct of the war. Today, certain materials used in the production and distribution of electronic circuits that get assembled into equipment used in communications networks are considered strategic by the US Department of Defense, SO much SO that it expends significant sums of money to maintain alternative sources of supply. Some organizations consider their communications networks strategic and arrange for access to and use of circuits, facilities, and services from more than one carrier. PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS Making a long-range strategic plan for an organization has its value, but if the plan is flawed or poorly implemented, the effect can be devastating. Long-range strategic plans should be made with care and deliberation. They should also be considered separately from and dovetailed with the annual business plan. Ideally, the long-range plan should be created, or if it exists, reviewed just before the start of the annual business plan and operating budget. One should be done while the other is relatively static. This view is based on the simple fact that when most organizations are cr