Introduction

Benjamin Franklin is accredited for the saying “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Winston Churchill is accredited for saying "He who fails to plan is planning to fail." Both are correct and relevant in today’s business environment. Planning is the cornerstone of any successful business. Today’s planning is governed by two leading processes, strategic and operational planning. I will review the attributes that both plans embody with relations to SWOT analysis conducted on Liberty Global Inc.

Strategic and Operational plans for Liberty Global Inc.
Strategic planning is a top-down approach provided by top management that defines; goals, objectives, and direction of the organizations for the next three to five years (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). It lays the foundations for growth, improving productivity, and to improve return on investment for the organization’s investors.
Operational planning details how the organization will accomplish the goals, objectives, and strategies outlined in the strategic plan. Operational planning is a bottom-up approach that addresses the needs and performance of the organization in the short-term, one-year and under. It addresses the question, what are we going to do this year and how. The operational plan should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it is on target.
Liberty Global is the leading international cable operator. The company operates in 13 countries across Europe and in Chile. The company has more than 22,000 employees globally with revenues exceeding $10 Billion in 2012 ("Liberty Global," 2013).
In the analysis conducted on the company, I have identified the following strategic goal; achieving superior organic growth. Liberty Global has 19.8 Million unique subscribers (pre Virgin media acquisition) through its operations in 13 countries. The company has managed to achieve an