In order to create a strategy, it is common for a company to identify its mission (expressed as a mission statement) and its values. These help the company to set specific goals and plan a strategy to achieve them.

We say that a company adopts or pursues a particular strategy, which may be long-term or short-term. Focusing only on short-term benefits is known as short-termism.

Often a company’s strategy is to develop or maintain its competitive advantage over its competitors. A company’s competitive advantage is based on the areas in which it is more effective than its competitors. These areas are called core competences.