Strategic Plan: Mystical Art or Common Sense?

Is strategic planning a mystical art conjured over a cauldron to provide a vision of the future, or is it simply laying out the company’s values and vision, identifying risks and working out how to measure success? In other words, common sense?

This article takes a deep dive into why a strategic plan is a key requirement for any business, and why it is critical to developing a good ISO 9001 quality management system, or any ISO management system, for that matter.

Why do you need a strategic plan for ISO 9001?

Technically you don’t. Clause 4.1 of ISO 9001 doesn’t say you need one, but it does require an organisation to identify issues (both external and internal) that are relevant to its purpose and its strategic direction.

And 4.1 isn’t the only place ISO 9001 refers to strategic direction. It also appears at:

• ISO 9001 Clause 5.1: the quality policy and quality objectives must be compatible with the strategic direction of the organisation.
• ISO 9001 Clause 5.2: the quality policy must support the strategic direction of the organisation.
• ISO 9001 Clause 9.3: management review must ensure the suitability, adequacy, effectiveness and alignment of the quality management system with the strategic direction of the organisation.

To identify issues relevant to the strategic direction, it is assumed that the company knows what that strategic direction is. Yet often this is not the case.

So how do you establish a strategic direction? You document it. You develop a strategic plan!

A well-documented strategic plan is usually developed by the board or senior management team, and it should serve as the starting point for the organisation to build and develop the ISO management system. Your quality, safety, environmental, information security or AI management systems should all align with and support the delivery of the strategic plan. The management system should cascade down from the strat plan.

What you don’t want is a strat plan driving the organisation in one direction while the management system heads off in another, unrelated and not tied to the strategic plan.

“Of course we have a strategic plan. It’s in my head!”

Having a clearly documented strategic plan is something many businesses overlook. The answer we often get when we ask a director for their strategic plan is “of course we have a strategic plan. It’s in my head!”

Great, but if the person at the top is the only one who knows where the company is heading (i.e. it isn’t clearly communicated), then the management team and employees are basically flying blind. The strategic plan is extremely important because it clearly lays out the organisation’s values, vision, risks and restraining forces, and provides targets to measure success against: the achievement of the plan.

Like all things, strategic planning can be unnecessarily overcomplicated. Keep it short, concise and easy to understand. It should be available to all departments and personnel so the whole organisation knows which direction the company is heading.

Strategic plan template

Here is a strategic plan template. Download the PDF here. It is loosely modelled around the old adage of:

• Where are we now?
• Where do we want to be?
• What do we need to do to get there?

But it also includes:

• What do we stand for?
• What might get in our way?
• How do we know when we get there?

Company values

The first section of the template is company values, where an organisation sets the cultural tone by documenting what it stands for and the factors it sees as important. This is the “what do we stand for” section and may include something like:

• Customer focus: we will focus on the customer first; all else will follow.
• Quality: we will get it right the first time and continually pursue perfection.
• Enthusiasm: enthusiasm is the mother of effort; without it nothing great was ever achieved, and nothing is as contagious.
• Integrity and honesty: we will be impeccable with our words and speak with integrity and honesty.
• Accountability: we are accountable for our actions and never compromise our values.
• Patience and perseverance: we will use patience and perseverance to overcome obstacles without giving up.

Company vision

The company vision is the “where do we want to be?” statement. What are we trying to achieve? The vision statement may include strategic aims such as:

• Market share
• Market segments
• Products
• Workforce growth
• Workforce diversification
• Verticals
• Supply chains
• Certification
• Quality, safety, environment, information security and AI governance
• Financial growth

Methods

The methods column is the “how are we going to get there?” section. At a high level, work out what needs to happen to achieve each of the vision items.

This section isn’t meant to be an exhaustive action list, but a list of the key requirements that need to be completed to achieve the vision statement aims.

Obstacles and risks

The obstacles and risks column is the “what might get in our way?” part, where we identify the risks or restraining forces (if you are familiar with force-field analysis): the significant factors that may affect our ability to achieve the aims documented in the vision statement.

Note that the high-level risks should be incorporated into the organisation’s risk register and managed per the established risk management framework.

Objectives and targets

This section of the strat plan is the “how do we know when we get there?” How do we measure success? These objectives should be SMARTER, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluated and Reviewed.

See SMARTER ISO 9001 Quality Objectives for more information.

Objectives and targets should be measurable and typically use data and statistics such as market data, customer satisfaction and financial data.

Strategic plan review

Naturally, the strat plan should be reviewed regularly to ensure it is still current and the organisation is on track to achieving the objectives and targets and fulfilling the deliverables documented in the vision statement.

Where external or internal factors have influenced the strategic direction of the organisation, the strat plan may need to be updated to reflect the revised requirements.

Summary

Strategic planning isn’t a mystical art, nor is it rocket science. It is simply about establishing a clear but comprehensive plan to move the business forward.

A strategic plan is a great first step in developing any ISO management system. It gives all areas of the business insight into the vision senior management has for the company, and confirms that the organisation’s operations are working towards the strategic goals of the company.

For the next deep-dive article in our ISO 9001 series, see 4.2 Understanding the Needs and Expectations of Interested Parties.

How Streamline can help

Streamline ISO consultants can help develop strategic plans that meet ISO requirements and provide a framework to move your business ahead, whether your focus is quality, safety, environment, information security (ISO/IEC 27001:2022) or AI governance (ISO 42001).

Our systems are built to certify first time, and you work directly with an experienced ISO auditor. Certification is awarded by a JAS-ANZ accredited certification body.

Speak with an experienced ISO auditor

If you’d like more information, including ISO 9001 certification cost, or a quote, email hello@streamline.business, call Brisbane 07 3667 8280, Sydney 02 8315 7780 or Melbourne 03 9034 3990, or get in touch here. One of our consultants will respond within one business day.

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