To get there, you need to start somewhere. The many resources related to planning<\/a> are a great start. But even more specifically, you need a template that can help you plug in information, digest that information, and come up with a plan that everyone in the organization can follow.<\/p>\n What exactly that ideal template looks like depends on your needs and existing software. That\u2019s why in this guide, we\u2019re sharing our 10 favorite free strategic planning templates you can start using (almost) immediately.<\/p>\n A strategic planning template is a roadmap to your business roadmap. It provides business leaders with the exact steps needed to build a plan that can outline the near- and long-term future of the business.<\/p>\n At its best, the template is a measurable tool that everyone involved in the planning process can follow. It helps you solidify where you are, and where you want to go. <\/p>\n And, just as importantly, it helps you consolidate that information into an actionable, measurable, and easy-to-process strategic plan that everyone in the organization can use.<\/p>\n Of course, there is no simple\u00a0best<\/em> business strategy template. Just like a project plan<\/a> can differ from a product roadmap<\/a>, you\u2019ll need a template that matches the way you work and the type of planning you\u2019re doing. <\/p>\n That\u2019s why this guide highlights not just one, but 10 free planning templates to cover a variety of needs.<\/p>\n A good strategic planning template accomplishes a few key goals:<\/p>\n Most importantly, though, the strategic plan template streamlines the entire process. Whereas in processes like capacity planning<\/a>, details matter above all, business strategy planning should focus on a broader viewpoint that helps every stakeholder involved quickly gain an overview of the plan and its connection to the business.<\/p>\n If every strategic plan has the same goals, you might think that most of them are nearly identical. You\u2019d be surprised.<\/p>\n Much like project planning<\/a>, different templates can lead to very different outcomes. That\u2019s why it\u2019s best to consider a few free strategic planning templates before selecting the one that works best for your business and situation. To help you get started, these are our 10 favorites to use for your next strategic plan.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a basic template with potential power behind it. ClickUp\u2019s Strategic Roadmap List Template<\/a> helps you visualize how your organization can get through its strategic plam, with custom fields ranging from the duration of individual tasks to the progress of those tasks, their impact, and their ease of implementation.<\/p>\n Within ClickUp, you\u2019ll be able to view your Strategic Roadmap as a progress view. But, once tasks and deadlines are assigned to individual tasks, you\u2019ll also be able to see a timeline or even workload view to ensure continued progress. While it\u2019s a primarily list-based template, we especially enjoy the Gantt chart as a way to see how the individual tasks interact with each other regarding the larger timeline.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re thinking of your strategic planning<\/a> as basically bridging the gap between your company\u2019s present and desired future state, this is the template for you. It\u2019s more complex than the list-based template mentioned above, providing you with a more nuanced strategic roadmap once built.<\/p>\n ClickUp\u2019s Strategic Roadmap Timeline Template<\/a> defaults to a Gantt chart with sections for individual departments. From there, you can\u00a0view a progress board and outline your current capacity. Meanwhile, a number of custom fields help you better plan through each of these efforts:<\/p>\n It might not be the right template if you\u2019re just getting started with strategic planning. But for experienced leaders looking to take that planning process to the next level, it\u2019s just the right outline.<\/p>\n It\u2019s simple but beautiful. ClickUp\u2019s Grand Strategy Matrix Template<\/a> allows you to build a four-quadrant view of the strategic environment surrounding your organization, with a framework designed to help you understand what the path to your organization\u2019s future might look like.<\/p>\n How you get to that path, of course, is up to you. The quadrants can be used for a simple SWOT analysis or for more complex planning processes, like finding market growth niches and opportunities in a tight competitive environment. Some of these options are pre-built into the template, while others can be customized to match your exact marketing plan<\/a> or whatever else you need your strategic planning process to be.<\/p>\n For the visual thinkers among us, this ClickUp\u2019s Strategic Plan Whiteboard Template<\/a> is a perfect choice. Above all, it\u2019s a visual road map that easily shows not just what steps are necessary for strategic planning, but also how those steps can (and should) flow into each other in the context of the larger project.<\/p>\n Of course, you can still assign different tasks and stages to individual members of the team to keep responsibilities intact and obvious. But the template\u2019s flowchart nature and whiteboard feel also mean you can seamlessly adjust the process as needed. <\/p>\n The chart\u2019s color coding ensures that anyone working on it keeps a clear overview of what\u2019s needed and when.<\/p>\n A strategic plan isn\u2019t just relevant organization-wide. A solid business strategy is just as important for individual units, and this template shows just how those differences can manifest themselves.<\/p>\n Think of this ClickUp\u2019s Strategic Marketing Plan Template<\/a> as a more practical opportunity to plan your marketing efforts. The default list view is sorted by the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method, sorting tasks into defined overarching objectives for the larger marketing effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n But that\u2019s only the beginning. Custom fields allow you to define the channels through which you\u2019ll approach executing the plan, while the timeline view helps you keep track of progress. And of course, the Progress Board allows you to see how those stages you\u2019ve defined ultimately lead to achieving your strategic goals.<\/p>\n Planning an event is hard work, and countless tasks will need need to be accomplished to ensure its success. A strategic plan template for that event, on the other hand, can keep a clear overview of the tasks needed and accomplished, and how everything connects to achieve core goals.<\/p>\n ClickUp\u2019s Event Strategic Plan Template<\/a> accomplishes that through a wide range of custom fields, from channel to budget, hashtags, the voice used, and more. It\u2019s designed to plan multiple events at once, all overlapping to create an event-based strategy that helps to elevate your business or your marketing strategy.<\/p>\n Because of the complexities involved, we\u2019re especially fond of the board-based Event Status view. This strategic plan template has a simple overview of where all events stand, and what still needs to be done. <\/p>\n Of course, the list and calendar-based views can also be helpful to get into some of the deeper nuances of event planning.<\/p>\n Strategic planning is not universally liked, in part because it tends toward the theoretical. Goals and tasks alike tend to be lofty for a true business strategy, focusing on the 30,000-foot view rather than the on-the-ground needs of the organization or your business partners.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a major reason why we love ClickUp\u2019s Action Plan Template<\/a>. It\u2019s a note-based system that folds all necessary tasks to move your strategic plan forward into three sections:<\/p>\n Within that structure, tasks are separated into daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly reviews to account<\/a> for their varying complexities and timelines. The result is a simple overview of everything that needs to be done, which also does a great job highlighting existing successes and accomplished tasks for the entire team to see and celebrate. Now that\u2019s a strategic plan.<\/p>\n What if we told you that you can build a strategic plan entirely in MS Word? That\u2019s what this template seeks to accomplish, through easy-to-digest sections all designed to streamline the business strategy as much as possible:<\/p>\n Keep in mind that this plan is customizable to match your needs. It requires a bit more manual work than some of the other examples shared in this guide but can provide a nice overview of the plan you\u2019re building.<\/p>\n\n
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What is a Strategic Planning Template?<\/h2>\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ClickUp-Product-Roadmap.png\")
What Makes a Good Strategic Planning Template?<\/h2>\n
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10 Strategic Planning Templates to Use for Your Team<\/h2>\n
1. ClickUp Strategic Roadmap List Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ClickUp-Strategic-Roadmap-Template.png\")
<\/p>\n2. ClickUp Strategic Roadmap Timeline Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ClickUp-Business-Roadmap-Template.png\")
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3. ClickUp Grand Strategy Matrix Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ClickUp-Grand-Strategy-Matrix-Whiteboard-Template.png\")
<\/p>\n4. ClickUp Strategic Plan Whiteboard Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ClickUp-Strategic-Plan-Whiteboard-Template.png\")
<\/p>\n5. ClickUp Strategic Marketing Plan Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/ClickUp-Strategic-Marketing-Plan-Template.png\")
<\/p>\n6. ClickUp Event Strategic Plan Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ClickUp-Event-Strategic-Plan-Template.png\")
<\/p>\n7. ClickUp Action Plan Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ClickUp](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-603.png\")
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8. ProjectManager Strategic Planning Word Template<\/h3>\n
![\"ProjectManager](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ProjectManager-Strategic-Plan-Template-for-Word.png\")
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![\"Slide](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Slide-Team-Roadmap-Timeline-Template.jpeg\")
![\"Eloquens](\"https:\/\/clickup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Eloquens-Strategic-Planning-and-Performance-Measurement-Excel-Template.jpeg\")