Do You Have a Strategy or a Plan?

Strategy vs. Plan: What’s Missing?

Why do so many projects fail, even when they seem to follow a perfectly executed plan? The answer lies in a common mistake: confusing strategies with plans. When teams rely solely on a plan, they often focus on outputs (what is produced) rather than outcomes (the results that deliver value). This usually leads to projects that fail to meet business objectives or solve real user problems.

To ensure success, it's essential to have a solid strategy, not just an action plan. An effective strategy is not a simple checklist of features or tasks; it’s a roadmap that connects long-term vision to achievable goals and helps teams focus on desired outcomes for both the business and its users.

What do you need to build a strong strategy?

• Vision: A long-term statement about your product or service's role in the market. Example: For Google’s search engine, it might be: “Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

• Challenge: A strategic challenge that bridges the vision with immediate product needs. Example: “Improve the accuracy of search results for local queries with real-time relevant answers.”

• Target Condition: A set of specific, measurable goals that break the challenge into manageable problems. Example: “Increase local query accuracy by 10% using artificial intelligence.”

• Current State: A quantitative assessment of the product's status before starting the work. Example: “Currently, the accuracy of local queries is 50%.”

Success in a project isn’t about strictly following a plan; it’s about building a robust strategy that bridges long-term vision with clear, measurable goals. This distinction between strategy and plan allows teams to focus on delivering outcomes that provide value to both the business and its users—a crucial first step toward success.