The definition of the mission is considerably different from most quality policies that organizations put forth. The mission will be broad and universal, forming the core of the organization's very existence rather than simply the foundation of its quality system. A traditional quality policy probably won't provide the sort of guidance needed to drive the formation of strategy. Once a mission has been clearly defined, top management must develop the organization's strategy. The purpose of a strategy is to enable the achievement of the organization's mission, that is, to define the specific steps necessary to fulfill the broad goals of the mission.
Most organizations have strategic planning processes of some sort.
The differences exist in the degree to which the strategy is actually put into use and the degree to which anyone below the upper tier of management has exposure to it. For a strategy to be fully implemented, it must be put into practice on a daily basis and understood well throughout the organization. The organization's quality objectives will ultimately be the means for achieving both of these requirements. Mission and strategy are useful concepts, but they're often too abstract for people to use on a regular basis. What is needed is a set of tools that translates mission and strategy into concepts that can be measured and understood.