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Strategic planning is among the most widely used and, often, abused management terms. This article attempts to show some of the misconceptions in the strategic planning process and to touch upon the strategic planning process in a corporate setting. It defines “strategic” and then presents a seven-part framework that practicing strategic planners can use to craft strategies for their organizations: 1) Get clarity on the boundary conditions and on the specific decision criteria upfront. 2) Conduct an industry analysis. 3) Conduct a status quo analysis to see where the firm might be in the near future in the absence of strategic planning. 4) Generate strategic options — often the most complicated step — by articulating the logic behind decisions without moving directly to the evaluation stage. 5) Assess and evaluate options using financial analysis and modern tools of sensitivity analysis and scenario planning. 6) Articulate a strategic roadmap, including goals, risks, returns, investments, etc. 7) Deploy the strategy, using a tool such as the Balanced Scorecard. The article finishes by explaining the difference between budgeting and strategic planning, terms often confused.

Before the 1990s, wealth and power in India was highly concentrated in a few business families, the License Raj system stifled growth, basic necessities were in short supply, and the nation verged on defaulting. However, India would soon eliminate the License Raj, shift to exports and more free-market policies, and boost its literacy. The massive size of India’s population — including a middle class of 390 million in 2009 — is now an asset. <br><br>India’s progress has seen the explosive growth of various industries. The information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services industry has grown to $100 billion in 2011 and India is the world’s largest player in offshore delivery. This growth was due to a labour cost advantage and a talented pool of human resources. However, the industry is maturing and climbing the value chain to higher margin services such as consulting and niche services. Similar to the IT industry in the 1990s, the telecommunications industry in India has grown exponentially in the new millennium. The prime engine of India’s economic growth, it boasts 800 million mobile phone subscribers and revenues of $68 billion. A key impediment to India’s growth is power scarcity, with more than 60 per cent of rural households lacking power. The government has launched an ambitious solar energy plan and the sector has been granted subsidies and access to bank financing. Different approaches to solar include village-owned power grids and pay-per-use models. Firms that embrace India’s rapid development will be able to create viable and scalable business models around its many opportunities.