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2003 November Report of the Auditor General of Canada

November 2003 Report—Chapter 1

Insert 1.1—Elements of a strategic plan

A clear and thorough strategic plan is a critical element in planning complex, costly initiatives such as GOL. Typically, such a strategic plan would include the following:

• clearly stated vision that an organization or project should focus on achieving;
• clear definition of the stages for realizing the vision;
• specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited expected outcomes that provide a focus for working toward achieving particular results (managers use these to show what has been achieved for money spent);
• high-level direction or means to be pursued in achieving the expected outcomes; and
• the financial and people resources to be used to put the plan into effect.