January 2007
 |
|
Visit WebsiteStay in Touch Share a ReferralContact UsSubscribers: ForwardSubscribeUnsubscribe |
January 2007: od180 eNews #12
New Year… New Plans?
Dear Friends:
We have now turned the corner on the new year and with it may come a mix of anxiety and excitement about what it will bring for ourselves and our organizations. Every year has its pleasant surprises and satisfactions and its disappointments and frustrations.
To tip the odds in favor of the former, most of us recognize that doing some planning about where we want to go or what we want to achieve will help. Yet, for many of us, the term “strategic planning” brings to mind elaborate processes and obfuscating jargon that hinders more than helps.
… But strategic planning does not have to be a mysterious rite performed by management gurus only to mute the harangues of the “business types” on our boards of directors. It really can be a means by which we make some progress toward the future we would prefer to have.
So, this month I share with you a little primer on strategic planning. What I delineate below are not hard-and-fast definitions and rules. (Ultimately, strategic planning is as much art as science.) Rather, they are guidelines intended to provide some basic guidance and bolster your confidence in your ability to plan effectively.
Strategic Planning: An Overview
The essential purpose of strategic planning is to answer a basic question: Where do you want to go as an organization? Another way to put it is: What do you want to see happen? That question begs another: How are you going to get there? This points to how strategies will be implemented, referred to as tactics.
Strategies derive from an organization’s mission, i.e., its stated purpose, and its vision, i.e., its preferred future or most cherished hope. They must also be consistent with the group’s values. They are typically articulated in two overlapping ways. A goal is a general statement of intention that is consistent with the organization’s mission and typically is oriented toward one or more target groups. (Example: Improve staff morale.) An objective is an action that serves the purpose of attaining a goal, occurring within a specific timeframe and usually capable of being measured in a quantitative manner. (Example: Conduct annual training for supervisors.) Often, a goal may be achieved through multiple objectives.
A well-designed strategic plan guides the actions of organizational leaders in such a way that the organization fulfills its mission more fully, effectively, and efficiently. Strategic plans may address a single functional area – program, development, or administration. Alternatively, comprehensive plans will address all three. They also vary by level of impact and length of timeframe (detailed in the accompanying tables).
In all cases, the planning process is fundamentally similar. Data gathering is followed by a sifting of options and setting of priorities which, in turn, is followed by the establishment of a means to guide action-steps and monitor progress. Action-steps and monitoring guidelines are usually embodied in a companion piece to a strategic plan known as an implementation plan. An implementation plan delineates the parties who will be responsible for each objective and sets a timetable by which actions (tactics) pertaining to the objective will commence and conclude. A thorough implementation plan will also involve budgeting.
Levels of Strategic Planning
Low Level Strategic Plan (Short Term) Timeframe: One year, based on either the fiscal year or the program calendar
Middle Level Strategic Plan (Mid-Term) Timeframe: Two to four years, according to what constitutes a “natural” cycle. For example, a church denomination which holds a triennial convention has a natural cycle of three years; a college offering a bachelor’s degree, a four year cycle.
High Level Strategic Plan (Long Range) Timeframe: Five to ten years, spanning two or more natural cycles |
Rebranding a
|
|
