Strategic planning is an essential part of any managerial activity, and the ability to perform it defines the quality of a leader. Strategic planning, in my vision, consists of setting priorities for the longer prospect and defining which operations the team should put their focus and energy on. However, there are common misconceptions about strategies since this process is somewhat fluid and unclear, yet it should not be mistaken for business planning.
A distinguished scholar and author, Roger L. Martin, described his understanding of a good strategy. He stated that it should not be formed through long and careful research but should appear naturally through the «rough and ready» process, as only this way will the strategy exist outside the comfort zone. Although I agree with the second part of this statement, I believe that the research, modeling, and planning stages should not be excluded from strategic planning. The ability to foresee the execution and results of a project is not a natural human characteristic but one a person can learn. Consequently, at the beginning of their career, one inevitably needs to take a thorough approach to their decisions so that later they could expand their talent and act fast.
Another crucial thing to remember is that strategic planning is not the same thing as business planning. Instead, these operations are separate parts of a bigger process. As Hauk (n.d.) states in her article, while the business plan describes what the company provides, how it does that, and who the customer is, the strategic plan explains the actions needed to achieve those goals. In other words, business planning involves imagining and setting goals, while strategic planning implies executing those goals and fitting that into the desirable timeline.
To summarize, a strategic plan is a well-designed set of priorities and instructions needed to achieve the company’s goals. Strategic planning needs to exist outside the comfort zone, but the manager needs to study before he could perform it easily and quickly. Strategic planning is closely connected to business planning since these two build, structure, and execute everything stated in the global business idea.