There is an old Irish joke about the foreign tourist in the middle of the countryside who asks an elderly local how to get to Dingle. The old man lifts his cap and scratches his head, screws up his eyes and sinks deep into thought for several seconds. “Well now”, he eventually says, “if you want to get to Dingle I wouldn’t start from here”.

This tells us something about Strategic Management. If you don't know where to go, every way is right. But it is also true that you have to start from where you are, i.e. to build upon your resources and capabilities and consider the environment you are operating in to succeed. Therefore you need a vision (where to go), you must very clearly understand which specific business you are in (mission) and you have to have a plan for deployment and execute it properly (who does what when how?).