A Strategic Plan’s greatest value is not on the day an organization adopts it.  Rather its greatest value comes from the moment it is ready to be replaced by a new strategic plan.  All along the strategic plan was a permission slip to think and act differently.  To consider the alternate routes, to head to the scenic overlooks and take in the landscapes, to reflect, and to decide on routes.  If you are using the plan as a road map, then consider it outdated and full of erroneous assumptions.  Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery had a few local guides and anecdotal information but the most accurate map they possessed was the one they created the day they returned to St. Louis at the culmination of their adventure.  Their purpose was their compass and the blank pages were permission to seek a route to the Pacific Ocean.

What does your strategic plan encourage you to discover?  Is your plan prescriptive or a permission slip?