Strategic planning is a management tool, period. As with any management tool, it is used for the following purpose only: to help an organization do a better job to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. In short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. A word by word dissection of this definition provides the key elements that underlie the meaning and success of a strategic planning process:

The process is strategic because it involves preparing the best way to respond to the circumstances of the organization's environment, whether or not its circumstances are known in advance; nonprofits often must respond to dynamic and even hostile environments.

Strategic simply means being clear about the organization's objectives, being aware of the organization's resources, and incorporating both into being consciously responsive to a dynamic environment.

The process is about planning because it involves intentionally goals setting (i.e., choosing a desired future) and developing an approach to achieving those goals.

What are the key concepts and definitions in strategic planning?

• Strategic Planning and Long-Range Planning
• Strategic Thinking and Strategic Management
• What Strategic Planning Is Not
• What is the difference between strategic planning and long range planning
• In planning lingo, what is the difference between purpose, mission, and vision
• The Role of an External Consultant

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