Building a Strategic Planning Template in SmartSuite

Executive overview

Most teams separate their strategy documents from the tools where work actually happens, resulting in plans nobody checks. Combining OKRs, SWOT analysis, and a custom strategic plan app inside one SmartSuite solution closes that gap. Vision stays visible, tasks are assigned, and accountability is built in.

The core insight: strategy and planning are not the same thing — your tool needs to hold both.

Setting up the OKR baseline

• Start with SmartSuite's OKR template (labelled "Objectives and Key Results") — it contains more than basic OKR tracking.
• The template ships with four apps: Company Story (mission, vision, values), Company Objectives, Individual Objectives, and Department Objectives.
• Key Results are a separate app, linked to objectives via SmartSuite's linked records feature.
• Each Key Result record includes: name, owner, current attainment (slider), status, due date, and risk level.
• A help text field on each record preserves the meaning of every field for future users.
• The CFRs app (Conversations, Feedback, Recognition) logs check-ins, discussion type, participants, progress notes, issues, and action tasks with assignees and due dates.

Making OKRs actionable via My Work

• Every field with an owner and due date automatically surfaces in that user's My Work dashboard.
• SmartSuite notifies owners when items are overdue — no need to hope people remember to check a separate doc.
• Tasks created inside CFR records appear in My Work alongside objectives and key results.

Adding SWOT analysis to the solution

• Strategy and planning require different inputs — the OKR template alone covers planning, not strategy.
• Load SmartSuite's standalone SWOT template, then move the SWOT app into the strategic planning solution using the Move function.
• The SWOT app becomes the ideation layer: use strengths and market trends together to generate new strategic directions.

Building the strategic plan app

• Create a new app from scratch inside the solution called "Strategic Plan."
• Delete the default fields and add fields that match your preferred strategic framework (e.g. Vivid Vision, Scaling Up, EOS, one-page strategic plan).
• Suggested fields: vision component name, status, target date, connection to SWOT records, narrative description, and a Logic section ("what must be true for this to be a reality").
• The Logic field bridges vision to OKRs — it forces identification of the enabling conditions behind each vision component.
• Once the record layout is saved, it becomes a reusable template for every future strategic planning entry.

Connecting the full solution

• The complete solution links: Company Story → SWOT → Strategic Plan → Objectives → Key Results → CFRs.
• One source of truth covers context, strategy, plan, and execution in a single shared workspace.
• Use SmartSuite automations or email triggers to notify the team when SWOT findings or strategy updates are made.
• Simplify by removing Individual or Department Objectives if that granularity isn't needed yet.