As a strategic planning professional, I'm driven by these questions: How can I be a better strategic planner What's "state of the art" and "cutting edge" in strategic planning; What are significant strategic planning trends? What are the problems with strategic planning and how can they be addressed to improve planning use, process and outcomes? I've initiated discussions to try to get at these issues in three LinkedIn groups: Strategic Planning Xchange, Association for Strategic Planning and Strategic Planning Society. The discussions have been robust, offering great insight on planning issues and trends.

Strategies are the major planned steps that will move the organization across the strategic gap from where it is today and where it otherwise is heading to the brighter future offered by the organization's shared vision of success. Organizational success most always arises from crafting and executing strategies to move toward a vision.

Strategic planning occurs in a realm that can make operations, sales and other highly tactical, results-focused people very uncomfortable.  Taking a big step back, pushing thought laterally, entertaining other realities, trying to look over the horizon to see what is or will be there, gaming various futures and seeking strategies that will reroute or even upend the organization can be quite unnerving to people who are focused on winning the current battle being fought on the ground.Yet these people are to be celebrated, because they are the implementers.  Without implementing strategies, however elegant the strategic plan and resulting strategies are, the organization will go nowhere and certainly will not change for the better.

There's the idea...and then there's making it happen. I think we should be focusing on the "ideas versus execution" challenge. The idea is important, but the execution is more important.  Seeing the mountain and saying, "hey, let's climb it" is far different than actually climbing it.