sethdford Strategic Planning
Define long-term direction by linking vision, measurable outcomes, and concrete initiatives. Strategy is choosing what not to do as much as what to do—a plan that never says no is not a strategy.
When to Use
- Setting direction for a product, team, or organization; annual or multi-year planning; aligning stakeholders on priorities and trade-offs.
- When goals feel vague, everything is “P0,” or execution lacks a coherent through-line from ambition to work.
Workflow
Clarify vision (where are we going?), mission (why?), objectives (what specifically?), key results (how will we measure?), and initiatives (what will we do?). Use an OKR shape: few objectives, measurable key results, time-bound. Map time horizons: ~10-year vision, ~3-year strategy, ~1-year plan, quarterly OKRs. List explicit nos (deprioritized bets). Revisit assumptions quarterly—markets, capacity, and constraints drift.
Examples
Example 1: A startup wants “to be the best” → define one north-star vision, 3–5 annual objectives with measurable KRs, and a roadmap that names 2–3 deferred initiatives with rationale.
Example 2: OKRs keep slipping → audit whether KRs are outcomes (not tasks), reduce parallel objectives, and add quarterly review of assumptions behind each objective.