Plan to have a strategy Is strategy just a fancy word for a plan? I believe there is a real difference between the two. How you communicate depends upon understanding the differences. While all strategies qualify as plans, not all plans are strategies. The biggest difference is which one sees the big picture. A plan could simply be a list of steps or a randomly brainstormed list of ideas. In most cases, a plan outlines steps to take to accomplish a goal. A strategy involves a higher level of thinking and is based upon knowing what you are trying to achieve. It considers the context for decisions and looks at all the relevant choices and resources that are available. The tools chosen to implement the strategy are carefully selected based upon their own merits but also by how they work together and support one or more of the other tools. Seeing the big picture and how all the supporting pieces help achieve success is a distinguishing characteristic of a strategy. A strategy comes with built in flexibility. While the whole point of having a strategy is to stick by it and implement it, no strategy can see into the future and anticipate every curve thrown at you or new opportunities. The structure of the strategy and the thought process to create it, can be used to determine when changes are necessary or if a new opportunity can be incorporated into what you are already implementing. Another difference is that anyone