| Contrary to what pundits, management | | | | when you arrive in three to five years. |
| consultants, or professional advisors will tell you, it | | | | 2. Mission - a simple statement of what it is you |
| is not necessary to have an externally procured | | | | do (make it specific and yet flexible enough to |
| individual or team come in to facilitate and develop | | | | capture your core competencies and reach your |
| a sound, strategic plan for your organization. It is | | | | stretch targets) |
| entirely possible, with a little bit of training and | | | | 3. Objectives - simple, short statements (a few) |
| initiative, for you to develop a sound, robust, | | | | that are specific; measurable; aggressive yet |
| comprehensive strategic plan yourself without | | | | attainable; realistic and reachable, and time-limited |
| taking a Masters level course in Strategic | | | | (usually beginning with the word "to") that will |
| Management. | | | | have direct correlative impacts on your vision. |
| If, on the other hand, you see an externally | | | | 4. Strategies - macro-approaches to achieving |
| facilitated strategic planning session as an | | | | your objectives. For instance, a not-for-profit |
| opportunity for the management team to get | | | | society may have the following strategies aligned |
| together, to bond and swap "war-stories" in a | | | | with a single objective: |
| team-building environment, then by all means | | | | Objective: To house 10% more abandoned teen |
| spend your money. However, for the majority of | | | | mothers over the next five years |
| businesses and business owners who indeed know | | | | Strategy 1: Fund-raise by developing five more |
| what their business is, who their competitors are, | | | | events this year than last; |
| and what the upside market potential is, | | | | Strategy 2: Begin planning and designing phases |
| outsourcing this imminently doable, in-house, job | | | | this year; |
| can be a waste of precious resources. | | | | Strategy 3: Lobby government agencies to |
| On the other hand, where consultants are | | | | cost-share staffing for three more houses |
| extremely useful are: | | | | Strategy 4: Add a Board member with significant |
| (1) where business parameters are vague, | | | | project development experience |
| (2) when little to no expertise exists internally to | | | | Strategy 5: Lobby the United Way and other |
| facilitate or accomplish strategic planning, | | | | macro-agencies for contributions |
| (3) where "turfism" reins supreme amongst senior | | | | 5. Tactics (action planning) |
| management, or | | | | Strategy 1: Fund-raise by developing five more |
| (4) where the business or organization is so | | | | charity events this year |
| complex that throwing a net over the entire | | | | Tactic 1: Meet with existing society managers and |
| operation or Strategic Business Unit (SBU) is next | | | | volunteers to brainstorm |
| to impossible. | | | | Tactic 2: Develop telephone soliciting campaign |
| In these and other similar instances, it is money | | | | Tactic 3: Mail out flyers and brochures to targeted |
| well spent to have your strategic planning | | | | contributors |
| outsourced with your input and involvement. This | | | | Tactic 4: Organize a celebrity dinner at $200 per |
| last point, i.e. your input and involvement, is critical | | | | plate |
| to successful strategic planning. | | | | Tactic 5: Involve the business community, meet |
| Whomever you bring in to facilitate the process | | | | with Chamber of Commerce |
| will have an idea of what your organization is | | | | 6. Implementation (execution) - take deliberate |
| about, but will not know the whole picture. | | | | action on each item identified on your tactics list. |
| Consultants will often convey that they know | | | | Keep on coordinating, managing, and taking action |
| much more than they actually do about your | | | | until you begin to see desired results. This is the |
| business. Many are so smooth and polished that | | | | most difficult phase and often the one that |
| you will find it difficult not to defer to them - | | | | organizations fall short on. Do not give up too |
| after all, they are the experts, or are they? | | | | early as success is quite often just a little further |
| Regardless of what you have been told and by | | | | down the road than most people are willing to |
| whom, you know more about your business than | | | | travel. Also, if you see you are not getting |
| the person you are contracting with - "university | | | | anywhere with your actions-tactics, you may wish |
| degrees and professional certification do not an | | | | to add, augment, or change approaches. Give it |
| expert make". | | | | time though and do not shift gears too soon. |
| On the other hand, before I receive hate mail | | | | Always make sure you continuously scan your |
| from qualified strategic planners, often individuals | | | | business environment and monitor whether your |
| with advanced degrees, certifications, and | | | | tactics are achieving your desired results. |
| business training are able to structure how you | | | | 7. Performance assessment - assessing if your |
| think about your challenges. Sometimes you are | | | | actions are getting the results you want. In |
| so close to the problem that it is not possible for | | | | addition to continuously monitoring your actions, |
| you to step back and take an objective look. This | | | | you will want to devise performance measures |
| is the advantage of external involvement. Ok, | | | | (commonly called metrics) to ascertain if your |
| now, back to DIY strategic planning. | | | | strategies are yielding successes. Your |
| Assuming you know your business, your market | | | | performance measures will need to correspond |
| and other aspects of your business environment, | | | | and be at least strongly correlated (r =.5 to 1.0) |
| strategic planning in-house is imminently doable. | | | | so there is a strong linkage between actions and |
| The list below numbered one through eight is | | | | outcomes. Clearly, the efficacy of performance |
| common to nearly every strategic plan (or should | | | | measures will be directly related to your |
| be). You can name the phases differently if you | | | | organization's success. |
| like, i.e., vision = strategic direction, for instance. | | | | 8. Refinements, updates, adjustments - this |
| Strategic planning is a fairly linear process. It is | | | | process should be done on both a discontinuous |
| designed that way to ascertain whether a given | | | | and continuous basis (e.g., frequently monitored |
| set of actions will yield measurable, traceable | | | | and at least once per year thorough review). You |
| results. Without some linearity, tracing results to | | | | may need to adjust your overall strategies or |
| actions and on up would be difficult. When you are | | | | even objectives if your organization is not |
| in your planning process, do not make the | | | | achieving its goals. |
| mistake of being rigidly linear or unbendingly | | | | One of the largest potential reasons of strategic |
| inflexible. Yes, it is important to maintain your | | | | failure is to arrogantly or dismissively neglect to |
| focus on your vision and mission, but if your | | | | revisit your vision and mission. If any or all of |
| objectives or strategies are not resulting in | | | | your objectives, strategies or tactics are not |
| movement toward your vision or mission over a | | | | contributing to the achievement of your overall |
| period of time, then you will need to at least think | | | | vision and/or mission, then you need to rethink |
| about re-thinking your approach. | | | | either your vision or your strategic objectives or |
| First, begin by assembling key individuals who will | | | | process. |
| contribute to the plan. Write up an agenda using | | | | So there you have it. Not so difficult, is it. If you |
| the headings provided below. Use brainstorming | | | | follow these simple steps and rules, you will be |
| techniques and discussions to elicit ideas from all | | | | well on your way to creating your own strategic |
| contributors. Write down everything without | | | | plan. Remember, strategic planning can be much |
| pre-judging contributions in order to demonstrate | | | | simpler than it is made out to be. Some of the |
| valuation of input. As a group, choose relevant, | | | | most profitable companies and most highly |
| clear statements which describe how your | | | | effective organizations have strategic plans that |
| business relates to the heading. Keep the | | | | state simply what business they are in and how |
| statements as short and poignant as possible. | | | | they plan on going after and creating success, i.e. |
| Move onto the next heading. Do not allow | | | | shareholder or stakeholder value. |
| individuals who have "been there done that" to | | | | One last word -whether you are small, medium, |
| short circuit or derail your process. Strategic | | | | or large organization make sure you develop a |
| planning is a critical business activity. Organizations | | | | strategic plan that is right for your organization. |
| who do not do this business process well run the | | | | Do not create a generic, meaningless document |
| risk of under-performing, or in extreme cases, | | | | that no one ever reads. Use it, refer to it often, |
| failing. | | | | and above all measure your success with and |
| In the main, the following list of strategic headings | | | | adjust your course in accordance to it. Finally, |
| will assist as a guide for you throughout your | | | | remember; if you fail to plan you have effectively |
| planning process. | | | | planned to fail. |
| 1. Vision - organizationally, a simple statement of | | | | Good luck! |
| where you want to be and what you will look like | | | | |