Strategic intent

ISO 9001:2015 only mention “strategic direction” in clauses:

• 4.1 – organizations must determine internal and external issues that are relevant to their strategic direction. Different strategies make some issues relevant or not and positive or negative. For example, an organization that serve premium segment customers sees a downturn in the economy differently than an organization in the same economic sector but serving low-price customers
• 5.1.1 and 5.2.1 – the quality policy must be aligned with the strategic orientation. For example, an organization that competes on price has different priorities and concerns than an organization that competes on product innovation
• 9.3.1 – management review must evaluate if the system is aligned with the strategic direction

Neither ISO 9001:2015 nor ISO 9000:2015 define what is strategic direction. Also, it is not mandatory, according to ISO 9001:2015, to have a document about the strategic direction. Please check this article - List of mandatory documents required by ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/knowledgebase/list-of-mandatory-documents-required-by-iso-90012015/ - where you can see the mandatory documents and records according to ISO 9001:2015.

According to ISO 9001:2015, one can draw a model of how an organization works based on the process approach. For example:

If an organization competes on cost, this may be the critical processes:

If an organization competes on customization/service, this may be the critical processes:

If an organization competes on innovation, this may be the critical processes:

Different strategies, different priorities, different motivations, different indicators.

As an auditor, I do not expect to see a document, but I expect some consistency between priorities in the quality policy and what top management considers its strategic direction.