Strategic Planning: The Core Substance of Planning Documents

Data are raw facts, symbols, or observations that describe events, conditions, or entities but have not yet been processed or interpreted. By themselves, data have limited meaning; however, when organized and analyzed, they become the fundamental input for information generation, performance measurement, and strategic decision-making.

Performance refers to the results achieved and the actions taken to accomplish assigned tasks and objectives. It reflects the degree of success in achieving predetermined goals and is influenced by the interaction of ability, motivation, and opportunity, encompassing both the quality and quantity of outcomes at individual, group, or organizational levels.

Work (or Activities) is a structured and purposeful set of actions carried out to achieve predetermined objectives. In strategic and performance-based planning, work translates strategy into operational activities by aligning resources, responsibilities, and methods to produce measurable outputs and outcomes.

Performance Indicators are variables or measures used to signal, reflect, or represent specific conditions or changes over time. They function as tools to assess progress, performance levels, and effectiveness, often serving as indirect measures when direct measurement is not possible.

Targets are predefined, specific, and measurable levels of performance that organizations aim to achieve within a certain timeframe. They translate strategic objectives into concrete benchmarks, guiding implementation, enabling monitoring, and supporting accountability in performance management.

Inputs, commonly framed through the 5M Framework, represent essential resources required to support effective planning and implementation. These include Man (human resources), Money (financial capacity), Method (policies and procedures), Machine (infrastructure and tools), and Material (core functions or substantive development content).

The original photo is available via the Shutterstock link
 for those who want to explore how visual structure reinforces planning and performance.

For example, this blueprint-style image represents strategic planning as the foundation of development. Just as a blueprint guides a building’s structure and direction, planning documents define the core substance—data, targets, indicators, and resources—that ensures performance and results are achieved systematically.

Quranic Insight:

“…And prepare for them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy…”
(Qur’an, Surah Al-Anfal 8:60)

This ayat invites us to reflect that every meaningful action begins with conscious preparation. In planning documents, preparation represents careful analysis, structured thinking, and clearly defined inputs. The phrase “whatever you are able” reminds us that planning must be realistic, grounded in actual capacity and available resources. Power and means symbolize the alignment of inputs, methods, and systems toward clear objectives. The emphasis is not on acting hastily, but on being ready with substance and clarity. Through this lens, the ayat teaches that strong outcomes emerge from thoughtful, well-prepared plans—forming the true core of strategic planning documents.