What is it called when you know where you want your organization to go and the steps to get there?

Do you know where you're headed? How do you define success? How do know when you've arrived at your destination? 

You might have great clarity around the answers to these questions, but the problem is your board may not. And the bigger problem is that your staff doesn't either! 

I'm working with chamber teams all over the US and Canada and it's pretty clear to me who has a clear mission and who is unclear. Some new folks come into this work and see a mission statement without a strategic plan as an invitation to change the mission. That's when we lose continuity in the chamber. 

If I'm a board member of your chamber, I don't go to one more board meeting unless you provide me with the strategic plan that outlines how we answer the questions I've asked you. 

Where are we headed? How do we measure progress? Who is in charge of what? 

Now when I mentioned strategic plan just now, did you roll you eyes at me? Some people do back flips over the idea of a strategic plan, but other people may get out the razor blades... But your strategic plan doesn't have to be an 80-page document in a binder on a shelf in a storage room across the parking lot. 

It can be a destination on a map. It can be a one-page document. A strategic plan will keep you and your team from chasing squirrels. It can help you build racehorses that get you to your destination faster. So let's get to work on your strategic plan. 

In the comments below, answer me this... If you don't have a strategic plan, what's keeping you from having one? and If you do have one, when the last time you updated it? And