In all my years as being a business consultant, and having had consulted companies large and small, there always seems to be one thing in common, the great companies had a strategic plan.  You could almost separate each company into two categories before you even asked whether the company had created a strategic plan.  It is one of the most important things when starting a business and can help you get through the tough times and stay on track.  

A strategic plan is the blue print for goals of a company.  It helps lay out the foundation to where the company is going and what it strives to achieve.  Having the strategic plan is crucial to the future success of a company.  It allows for future growth and can help get all segments of the business get on the same page.    

Looking back on all the companies I have come across and from speaking to many of my colleagues, there always seems to be an underlying theme to failed companies.  Not having a strategic plan can cause different segments of the business to bump heads and impede growth.    

In order to develop a sound strategic plan the owners or managers of a company will need to allow innovative thought to develop and rely on feedback from colleagues and clients.  Developing the strategic plan also allows for better communication with in the company and may allow for ideas to flourish that may not have had a setting to develop in.    

Once the framework for a strategic plan has been hatched it is necessary to bounce it off other experts.  Getting this useful feed back will help keep goals necessary and reasonable.  This will also allow for more time to be spent on the long term growth prospects of the company.