What Needs to be Done? 
Exploring Options
Identifying the Aim of Your Plan
Once you have completed a realistic analysis of your current position, the next stage of the Planning Cycle is to decide what the aim of your plan is. Deciding and defining an aim sharpens the focus of your plan, and helps you to avoid wasting effort on irrelevant side issues.The aim is best expressed in a simple single sentence. This ensures that it is clear and sharp in your mind.
If you are having difficulty in deciding the aim of your plan, ask yourself:
- What do I want the future to be?
- What benefit do I want to give to my customers?
- What returns do I seek?
- What standards am I aiming for?
- What values do I and my organisation believe in?
By answering these questions you should be able to crystallise an aim. Asking yourself ethical questions further helps by establishing a framework within which you can respond to sudden opportunities without damaging integrity.
If you are working with other people who will be involved with the plan, this may be the time to ask their opinions. If they have influence on the direction of the plan at this stage, then they are more likely to feel committed to it and support it.
Vision and Mission Statements
The Aim of the Plan can be broken down into a Vision statement or a Mission Statement, depending on the level and type of the plan.The Vision Statement typically is the aim of the highest level plan for the organisation, and expresses the benefit which the organisation provides to its customers, or the organisation's ultimate aim. For example, Mind Tools vision statement is: 'To enrich the quality of our customers lives by giving them the tools to help them to use their minds in the most productive and effective way possible'.
A Mission statement gives concrete expression to the Vision statement, explaining how it is to be achieved. Mind Tools Site's mission statement is: 'To provide a well structured, accessible, concise survey of the best Mind Tools available'.
