12 Essential Business Planning Models for Success

1. BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): A long-term, ambitious goal that inspires significant achievements.

2. MTP (Massive Transformative Purpose): A clear purpose that drives significant impact in society or an industry.

3. Vision Statements: Define the organization’s long-term goals.

4. Mission Statements: Clarify present actions and purpose.

5. CSR Strategy: Focus on ethical practices and social impact.

6. Blue Ocean Strategy: Create uncontested market space.

7. Porter’s Generic Strategies: Compete via cost leadership, differentiation, or focus.

8. Balanced Scorecard: Align financial goals with customer, internal, and learning perspectives.

9. Core Competency Strategy: Leverage unique expertise for competitive advantage.

10. Agile Strategic Planning: Adapt quickly in dynamic markets.

11. Corporate Growth Strategy (Ansoff Matrix): Guide expansion and market entry.

12. Corporate Culture Strategy: Build a culture that aligns with business success.

BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)

What it is: A bold, long-term visionary goal that challenges an organization to pursue a goal far beyond its current capabilities. A BHAG is ambitious, often taking 10-30 years to achieve, and designed to inspire and unify the organization around a transformative vision. Popularized by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in "Built to Last", a BHAG drives organizations to dream big and make significant leaps.

Where/When to use: Use when you need to set a long-term, inspiring target that can mobilize your entire organization toward radical change or industry disruption. It’s particularly effective when seeking to transform the company’s future, break away from incremental progress, or disrupt your industry. BHAGs are often used by companies looking to achieve market leadership, fundamental innovation, or to rally their teams around a common, bold vision.

Example: SpaceX's BHAG: "To make human life multi-planetary by colonizing Mars."This ambitious goal inspires the company to work on breakthrough technologies for space travel and pushes boundaries far beyond what’s immediately achievable.

MTP (Massive Transformative Purpose)

What it is: A purpose-driven, visionary mission that forms the core of an organization’s strategy. An MTP is about pursuing a fundamental, large-scale societal change or addressing a massive global challenge. Introduced in Salim Ismail's "Exponential Organizations", it’s designed to inspire exponential growth by aligning the company around a grand, transformative mission that goes beyond financial success and aims for significant societal or industry impact.

Where/When to use: Use when your organization is focused on disrupting industries, achieving exponential growth, or aiming for global impact. MTPs are particularly suited for startups or tech-driven organizations aiming to scale rapidly and solve massive, real-world problems. It’s ideal when the company needs a purpose that can attract top talent, drive innovation, and set the foundation for transformational growth over the long term.

Example: Google’s MTP: "To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."This purpose drives Google’s innovations in search, AI, cloud computing, and more, all aimed at transforming how people access and use information globally.

Vision & Mission Statements

Vision Statements

What it is: A vision statement articulates the long-term aspirations of the organization and provides a clear sense of direction. It’s designed to inspire and guide both internal stakeholders and external audiences.

Where/When to use: Use when you need to define and communicate the overarching purpose and desired future of the organization.

Example: "To be the global leader in sustainable energy solutions."

Mission Statements

What it is: A mission statement defines an organization's core purpose, its key activities, and who it serves. Unlike vision statements, which are future-oriented, mission statements focus on the present actions and goals.

Where/When to use: Use when you need to clarify the core activities and values of the company and provide a guiding purpose for decision-making.

Example: "To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more" (Microsoft’s mission).

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy

What it is: A CSR strategy focuses on the organization's commitment to ethical practices, sustainability, and positive societal impact. It extends beyond profit-making and looks at how the company can positively contribute to the community and environment.

Where/When to use: Use when building a long-term commitment to sustainability, ethical business practices, and social impact is a priority for the organization.

Example: Patagonia’s commitment to environmental activism and ethical manufacturing.

Blue Ocean Strategy

What it is: This strategy involves creating new, uncontested market spaces rather than competing in existing markets. The idea is to pursue differentiation and value innovation, offering unique products or services that create new demand.

Where/When to use: Use when you want to escape a competitive, saturated market and create a new niche or market where competition is irrelevant.

Example: Cirque du Soleil, which reinvented the circus industry by blending acrobatics, theater, and music.

Porter’s Generic Strategies

What it is: Developed by Michael Porter, this framework outlines three potential competitive strategies: Cost Leadership (offering products at the lowest cost), Differentiation (offering unique products that justify a premium price), and Focus Strategy (niche market domination).

Where/When to use: Use when defining your competitive approach in an established market, deciding whether to focus on price, differentiation, or a specific customer segment.

Example: Ikea employs a cost leadership strategy by offering affordable, flat-packed furniture.

Balanced Scorecard

What it is: A strategic planning and management system that looks at organizational performance from multiple perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth. It ensures that companies not only focus on financial outcomes but also on the drivers of future performance.

Where/When to use: Use when you need a comprehensive strategy that aligns financial outcomes with customer satisfaction, internal efficiencies, and innovation.

Example: Companies use this method to balance short-term financial results with long-term strategic goals.

Core Competency Strategy

What it is: Focuses on leveraging the organization's unique capabilities or expertise that competitors cannot easily replicate. These core competencies allow the business to achieve competitive advantage.

Where/When to use: Use when you want to build a strategy around what you do best to distinguish yourself in the market.

Example: Apple’s ability to seamlessly integrate hardware, software, and services for a superior user experience.

Agile Strategic Planning

What it is: An iterative, flexible approach to strategy, typically used in fast-moving industries like technology. Rather than sticking to a rigid, long-term plan, agile strategy focuses on quick iterations, learning from feedback, and adapting to change.

Where/When to use: Use when operating in highly dynamic environments where adaptability and rapid response to changes are critical to success.

Example: Spotify’s organizational model, which allows for agile adaptation through autonomous teams called squads.

Corporate Growth Strategy (Ansoff Matrix)

What it is: The Ansoff Matrix helps companies define growth strategies by looking at existing vs. new products and existing vs. new markets. The four quadrants are Market Penetration, Product Development, Market Development, and Diversification.

Where/When to use: Use when defining a top-level strategy for expansion, innovation, or new market entry.

Example: Netflix’s transition from DVD rental to streaming and eventually content creation (diversification).

Corporate Culture Strategy

What it is: A top-level strategy focused on building and nurturing a strong organizational culture that aligns with the company’s values and goals. This helps in attracting and retaining talent, improving internal communication, and increasing overall employee engagement.

Where/When to use: Use when company culture is key to competitive advantage and when a unified, empowered workforce is central to business success.

Example: Zappos’ focus on customer service excellence, backed by a fun and engaging workplace culture.

Business Planning Model Table