Medium-Term PlanningMedium-term planning is often overlooked in discussions of strategic objectives, but it is important because it brings together the clarity of shorter-term goals with the depth of longer-term planning. A short-term goal may be based on an immediate need and a long-term goal may be so broad that it is difficult to create measurable milestones. But a medium-term goal is close enough for you to project a specific targeted outcome, while also being distant enough to be meaningful for your longer-term vision. Medium-term planning generally covers a period of about three years. It may include plans to open a new store or enter a new market. It is a long enough time frame for you to see if you're achieving real results, yet it's a short enough period for you to pivot and change direction if your initial strategy isn't successful.What are medium-term business goals?It's important to understand medium-term business goals to get a full understanding of the differences between short-term and long-term planning. Medium-term business goals are those that help achieve short-term business goals but not on a permanent basis.Examples of medium-term business goalsMedium-term business goals come in many forms. For example, if your company is facing quality issues (short-term, high-priority problem), you may implement employee training courses. These courses remedy the issue for the time being, but you plan to come up with a more solid solution to ensure the quality issue doesn't present itself as a long-term problem. Solving the issue on a temporary basis is the medium-term business goal, and the training courses serve as the medium-term solution.Another example of a medium-term business goal is to repair a piece of broken equipment (short-term, high-priority problem). You have taken action (repaired the machine) to ensure you continue to achieve high levels of productivity. However, this doesn't permanently fix the problem. Instead, investing in a service contract serves as a long-term solution as it mitigates the likelihood of the machine breaking down again. The goal of medium-term planning is typically to temporarily eradicate the occurrence of short-term problems.Long-Term PlanningLong-term planning is rooted in your company's identity and purpose. It may have elements of specificity such as a goal to open a certain number of new stores over the next ten years. However, it is impossible to predict market conditions and current events over such an extended time frame. Because of this difficulty, even specific long-term plans are mainly concrete ways to express a larger vision such as eventually supplying work shoes to your entire region. Take your long-term planning very seriously, but adjust it over time as your medium-term situation unfolds.Hence, all short, middle and long term planning is essential to achieving both short- and long-term business goals. It helps you align resources to meet organizational objectives in the most efficient manner possible. Short- and long-term planning also ensure you reach the highest levels of customer satisfaction and ROI. Separating your business goals is a vital aspect of short- and long-term planning. Use our guide below to help you understand the important differences between short-term and long-term planning.