What’s the Difference Between Strategic and Operational Planning

A strategic plan is developed to help an organization achieve its long-term vision.

Conversely, operating plans involve the process of deciding what needs to be done to achieve the tactical objectives of the business.

Operational planning is done to support strategic planning efforts. They’re the action plans and should help you run the day-to-day activities in the company as efficiently as possible.

Here are a couple ways to spot the items that need to be moved out of your strategic plan and into your operational plan.

Strategic plans are successful due to focused effort. It’s difficult to have your organization focus on hundreds of strategic items, so if the items are tactical and specific, move them into your operational plan.

As you begin to decide how to create new capabilities, you’ll develop a variety of projects that have a defined beginning and end. Once a project is done and you’ve created a new capability, move it into the operating plan.

If you have recurring items in your strategic plan, move them into the operating plan. These are usually the result of solid strategic plan execution, but once again, they’ve graduated into a different plan.

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