Organizations can be torn about the idea of dedicating time to plan for the future. When business is going well and the company is making huge profits, it might be tempting to say, "Let's take advantage of these good times and make as much money as we can. We'll plan later." On the flip side, when the business isn't doing quite so well and money is tight, there's a tendency to say, "We can't afford to plan right now. We need to go out and make money."

Bottom line, businesses need to find time to plan during the good times and bad—and everything in-between. The future of their organization depends on it. Companies must understand their customer, their market, and their competition.

One component to strategic planning is identifying the mission, vision, and values of the organization. Even when a company has an established mission, vision, and values, this is a good time to review and confirm the purpose of the company.