Understanding Strategic Framework – Strategic Framework vs Strategic Plan

What is Strategic Framework?

To clarify, a strategic framework is a structure (or skeleton) by which an organization plans to achieve its objectives, particularly over the short term.

It does this by identifying what needs to be achieve and what strategic measures will be deployed to accomplish it. This process often results in the development of strategies, which are specific methods for implementing the framework.

Strategic framework functions as a tool for collecting and analyzing data about what an organization is currently doing, its resources, and how it is performing in relation to its targeted definition of “success” for the specific project or initiative.

It enables organizations such as Nike, Skittles, and Kilwins to deduce how well they are performing now (short-term) in order to identify areas where improvement may be required in order to achieve future objectives and projects.

While a strategic framework may be used for developing strategies to achieve targets, it is unable to determine which strategies are most appropriate for any given situation.

What is Strategic Plan?

A strategic plan is a way to achieve a company objective and make decisions about what to do when immediate action isn't needed, or yet clear. It is intended to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity, rather than maintain the status quo, typically reflecting the operational direction of an organization and is focused on how it plans to achieve its objectives.

Strategic plans contain less detail than a strategic framework and may be used to guide operational processes, policies, and decisions over the long term.

It may include the "how" and the "when" of how tasks will be completed, as well as a timescale for completion..

Strategic Framework vs Strategic Plan: What's the Difference?

The strategic framework describes how an organization intends on achieving its mission statement, vision, and goals (MVG) through the work done, while the strategic plan describes what will be done and why it must be done.

This means that a strategic framework serves as a road map for meeting organizational objectives whereas a strategic plan contains specific actions necessary to meet these goals—usually including schedules, budgets, and resource requirements.

Each component of an effective strategic framework should be associated with specific strategies that will ultimately lead to achieving long-term business goals within predefined timeframes.

Both are tools that help guide company decision-makers regarding resource allocation for a company's goals to become reality. However, strategic framework isn't meant to provide specific details regarding what needs to happen for a plan to succeed - it's meant as a high-level blueprint that states overall intentions and offers guidelines regarding how this task will be accomplished.

Knowing the difference between the strategic framework and strategic plan allows leadership to better understand how their activities contribute towards achieving organizational goals and gives them the information they need in order to properly allocate resources to avoid any unnecessary pitfalls.

While both can be used as effective tools in figuring out how best to direct an organization towards its objectives, a strategic framework is meant as a high-level guide, whereas a strategic plan provides clear information regarding what needs to be done and when it must be completed for certain targets to be achieved.

Why do Businesses Need Strategic Framework?

An established strategic framework helps an organization to focus its activities on achieving clear objectives while minimizing wastage of resources.

The strategic framework process is designed to provide an opportunity for key company employees to collaborate in planning and help them understand how their efforts contribute towards achieving the initiative based on MVG factors.

An effective strategic framework can help ensure that resources are allocated to internal destinations that will produce optimal benefits.

A strategic framework provides a set of reference points against which progress can be monitored, and external factors affecting performance identified—allowing corrective and preventative actions (CAPAs) to be taken, if necessary.

To reiterate, the strategic framework is more of a structural oversight and less detailed than strategic plans.

In further illustration, strategic framework doesn't specifically address how much funds will be invested in each project or initiative, where development efforts should be focused, what new resources are needed, which distribution channels are best suited for various objectives, or when specific performance milestones should be achieved by the organization—those factors occur at the strategic planning level.

Therefore, companies employ strategic frameworks instead of using strategic plans in order to prevent wrong decision-making as it takes time for researching and harvesting relevant data before taking any planned actions.

How do Businesses use Strategic Frameworks?

Strategic framework should always come first, never after any strategic plan.

The objective of a strategic framework is to provide relevant stakeholders with information about an organization's future direction and the issues it needs to address.

Depending on its size and complexity, an organization can develop a strategic framework on either an enterprise-wide or business-division level; it is well advised for companies with multiple business divisions to have different strategies in place for each operating business division.

An effective strategic framework provides organizations with two main benefits:

1. Priorities are established based on the achievement of specific organizational objectives.

2. A framework is put in place so key stakeholders—company execs, teammates, clients—can clearly see how it will benefit them.

Who uses Strategic Plans?

Strategic plans are used by all types of businesses, from global corporations to small businesses and not-for-profit groups. On the other hand, strategic frameworks tend to be used primarily by larger, more heavily matrixed, companies that want to achieve major goals by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable components.

Typically, strategic plans are used in conjunction with budgets, serving as guidelines for how much money will be spent on various project plans throughout the course of a specified fiscal year.

What are the Benefits of Strategic Framework?

Strategic frameworks allow company leadership to establish priorities based on achieving specific organizational objectives.

An effective strategic framework also helps key stakeholders better understand how their buy-in relates to the company's overall strategy—leading them to clarity, increased fulfillment, and a significant increase in commitment towards their contribution(s).

Further, it allows for project survivability when changes in management occurs—new ideas and ways of thinking will be inserted into the well-defined framework formula and synthesize a new project or initiative that

Final Thought

Strategic plans are usually created by an organization’s senior management team, while strategic frameworks are designed by c-suite leadership. That said, I’m of the belief that every organization—that places a premium on clarity and sustainability—should establish a framework first, and once finalized, then deploy the strategic planning phase. This tends to be the opposite of organizations putting the “cart before the horse.”