THE STRATEGIC PROCESS

This chapter discusses different aspects of strategic process. A vision statement should articulate the ideal future state of the organization. A mission statement describes what the organization is in business to do. The purpose and value of the vision statement is literally to ensure that everyone in an organization has the same view of what they want the future to look like. The five common elements to consider when developing a vision are finance, customer, process, technology, and people. The purpose for considering these issues is to frame view of what the ideal future would look like. The strategic assessment step is designed to identify the critical issues that will impact ability to get from current state to the state outlined in the vision and mission. The assessment can be done in a variety of ways, ranging from the use of simple brainstorming to utilizing a variety of complex analytical tools.