Book Description

Strategic Planning: Shaping Direction
Building Strategic Vision, Choices, and Priorities

Strategic planning is not simply the preparation of a plan, nor does it end with the production of a strategic document. It is an intellectual and organizational process for shaping direction, defining what an organization aspires to become, determining where it should go, and making deliberate choices about its priorities in light of its current reality and future ambitions.

This book presents an integrated perspective on strategic planning, focusing on the substance of the strategic process: building vision, understanding the current reality, anticipating the future, making strategic choices, setting priorities, and translating strategic direction into actionable objectives and initiatives.

Combining conceptual depth with practical application, the book challenges approaches that reduce strategic planning to the production of plans and documents. Instead, it presents strategic planning as a framework for informed decision-making, resource direction, and purposeful organizational development.

The book is intended for leaders, strategic planners, consultants, researchers, and practitioners across government, public, private, community, and academic organizations, as well as anyone who believes that strategy should be more than a document—it should provide clear direction, deliberate choices, and meaningful priorities that guide action toward the future.