AN INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC PLANNING

Planning is planning, right? Not really. In fact, there are all kinds of plans and all kinds of planning and planning approaches. All of these approaches and types may be in play at any one time within an organization. Any organization will have plans at different levels, from the five-year (or more) plan to the weekly plan for a project or program.

While working for the Department of Homeland Security, I once sent out a memorandum to department components requesting copies of their "plans." I received a call back from one component informing me that if I wanted all their "plans," I would need an extra building for storage. They had their five-year strategic plan, their annual plans (strategic and budget), operational plans, and tactical plans for specific long-term goals, with interim goals.

This handbook provides guidance for strategic planning in the public sector and advocates an approach that balances performance and financial measures. That doesn't mean that some of the practices discussed can't be adapted to other types of planning. They can be. As I advise later in this book, adapt, don't adopt. No concept or practice fits every organization perfectly, so always think about how to adapt a practice to your organization's specific culture and structure or to your specific planning needs.

WHAT IS STRATEGIC PLANNING?

Strategic planning is a process that defines an organization's long-term direction. The process includes a vision statement describing where and what the organization wants to be. The mission statement defines what the organization is mandated to do. The plan that results from this process and that moves the organization from where it is to where its vision statement wants it to be is a strategic plan. It can be broken down into shorter-term, more specific goals, usually with a one-year time frame. The strategic plan is revisited and re-evaluated on a rotational basis, annually or every few years, depending on the organization. Most strategic plans cover the next three to five years.

The strategic plan states where an organization is going, how it's going to get there, and how it will know if it got there. The way a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the leadership, the culture of the organization, and the structure and size of the organization. For example, a massive federal department will have multiple planning efforts by smaller organizations within it, resulting in a series of smaller plans that in turn result in a single departmental strategic plan. A smaller organization with a single focus, such as a local fire or police department, will have a