Strategic Planning: The Roadmap to a Successful Future EXECUTIVE PLANNING

2 Where do we want to go? How will we get there? What do our customers want from us? Fire service leaders who see the need to create a vision, and anticipate the future needs of their organizations and customers, will have to answer those questions and many more. Strategic planning offers the means by which to answer those questions. The problem that prompted this project was that the Range Complex Fire Department does not have a strategic plan for the future. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the perceptions of rank and file personnel and senior officers on strategic planning, mission and vision statements, and to determine if a strategic plan is necessary for the future of the department. The descriptive and evaluative research methodologies were used. The research questions were: 1. Are personnel familiar with the department’s mission statement? 2. Do fire department personnel feel that a vision statement would provide a sense of direction for the department and themselves? 3. Do senior officers feel that a strategic plan is necessary for the future of the department? 4. Would rank and file personnel be willing to participate in the planning process