You’ve seen the practice. A group of managers get together at a resort for two days to hammer out a “strategic plan.” Done and dusted, they all head home. But have they produced a plan with a strategy? Often, the answer is “no.” The most basic mix-up is between “objective,” “strategy,” and “action.” The essence of strategic planning is in positioning — in other words, describing how your firm will out-compete specific rivals. And putting a strategic plan together involves describing how the different parts of the business will coordinate with each other so that the organization as a whole can win. In essence, it’s system design. So yes, you can kick-start this process with a two-day retreat. But that’s really just the beginning of a long and winding journey.