A Guide to Strategic Planning
by Marta Brockmeyer, Ph.D.
Good planning balances change and continuity. So the idea is not to discard the old for the new, but rather to systematically move from one to the other. In nonprofits and local governments, planning needs may range from community-based client services to small programs created by one person.
Because we all have different notions about change and planning, here is a more specific description of strategic planning: a disciplined, intentional process that produces the defining decisions and actions of an organization.
It’s all too easy to avoid this hard work. We can delay what needs to be accomplished, using such excuses as time and resources. Very often, the real reason is unspoken – we simply do not know how to do it. And sometimes, the benefits of planning are not understood, so the resource commitments are slow to come.
Planning results in many benefits to an organization. The shared organizational vision is sometimes fuzzy or missing entirely, especially when a group has undergone many changes over time. With planning, the “big picture” mission creates a collective sense of purpose that cuts across job descriptions. It is often difficult to set priorities when many tasks are occurring independently with little common ground. Planning allows people to define change rather than just react to it, so performance in enhanced. People work more effectively and efficiently when the desired work products are understood. Communication is also improved and may even result in increased political support. This is especially important in building community support for local initiatives.
Getting Started
The best way to approach planning is to kick back, put your feet up on your desk and let your mind wander. This initial bouncing around of ideas is just what you need to jump-start your brain. All too often we rush to outline work flow before we know what we’re doing or trying to do. Take time to ponder before making lists! Rather than viewing this as a waste of time, consider it a vital, integral part of the planning process.
Good planning starts with the goal – the desired outcome of the work. The easiest way to outline the planning steps is to think about what you want at the end of the process. Focus on what you want and where you're headed, then work backwards. While we may do this in a very general way, we may not consciously study or envision the end work product. It’s also good to realistically assess the planning environment by asking some key questions:
Time:
- Is the timing right?
- Are there certain times during the year when most people do planning?
- Is there a target date even if it’s an unusual time?
- Do you and others have the time to do a thorough job of planning?
- How much time is this likely to take?
- Are there external pressures that are speeding up the timing of this?
Resources:
- Is the required information available? Reports, interviews, etc.?
- Do you have the required, appropriate space?
- Are computer and software resources available?
- Will the budget support the planning?
Participants:
- Are there enough people to support what they help create?
- Is the staff available to do the planning?
- Are outside experts available?
- Will community members participate?
- Are you personally committed? To what extent?
- Is this a good planning team?
- Do we have the right mix of skills, roles, and communication styles?
Mission
Change and planning do not occur in a vacuum, of course. They must be considered with an eye toward an organization’s mission. A mission is a broad statement that captures the spirit of the organization. It reflects the core purpose for which a person, team, or organization is created. The mission should be a clear, inspiring statement that focuses attention on what an organization does. An example follows:
The mission of XYZ is to improve the lives of children in the greater metropolitan through interagency information exchange, shared resources, collaboration, and new approaches to capital equipment and skills acquisition.
A mission statement answers three basic questions:
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1.
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Why do we exist?
We meet what need in society?
What social or political needs do we fill?
We meet what need among stakeholders?
What is our purpose?
What added value do we give?
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2.
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Whom do we serve?
Who are the customers and stakeholders?
What geographic area do we cover?
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3.
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What do we produce?
What products and services do we deliver?
What do we do to respond to area social or political needs?
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We understand that mission is important to our work because it’s part of everything we do in local government and nonprofits. But sometimes, we need to think more creatively about what we’d like our governments to be or what we’d like our nonprofit projects to yield. For these kinds of thoughts, we need to turn to visioning.
Vision
Visioning brings people together around common dreams and hopes for the future. It lays a foundation for major improvements in an organization. A vision describes the desired future state of the organization, what an organization wants to be and do in the coming years. It brings to mind creative solutions, continual evolution, and learning. The process usually involves many people who offer a variety of ideas and suggestions, often brainstorming as a group.
Visioning includes three components:
1. Critical issues
These go to the heart of an organization’s ability to deal with the environment. These might include changes in the levels of service, funding, or organizational design.
Here are some sample critical issues:
- How can we maintain an effective, qualified staff?
- Should we create satellite offices in the community?
- How can we increase citizen participation in our meetings?
As you begin your planning, try to not include more than three or four critical issues.
2. Possible Limitations
These reflect issues that make it difficult to conduct visioning exercises. What might get in the way of good work? What kinds of things prevent clear thinking? Here are some sample limitations to visioning:
- The staff does not have the necessary skills to deliver services.
- Our culture does not value planning.
- It's the busiest time of the year and people are distracted.
3. Core values clarification
Core values are the principles that underlie and guide how an organization goes about fulfilling its mission. These are the most cherished beliefs and principles that guide planning and operations. They determine the norms and standards of acceptable behavior; they are enduring, consistent over time.
Core values examples follow:
- Completing projects on time
- Maintaining safety in the work environment
- Promoting continuing education for employees
Core values are used constantly throughout the organization – hiring processes through public relations. When a team’s or individual’s values vary form the norm, it’s difficult to foster enthusiasm and commitment for strategic planning.
Internal Strengths and Weaknesses
The easiest way to assess an organization is to look at strengths and weaknesses in light of external forces. While it’s always rewarding to think about the best qualities and practices, sometimes it’s necessary to focus on limitations to get a realistic picture of what is possible. Internal strengths are the resources and skills that help an organization accomplish its mission. Internal weaknesses are those deficient resources and skills that prevent an organization from accomplishing its mission. Strengths and weaknesses may cover a wide range of issues, depending on the project and the people conducting the assessment. For example, in a small organization particularly, staff members arriving on time each morning may be very important. For some planning efforts, an outdated information system might prevent any type of progress.
External Forces
Strengths and weaknesses are not meaningful in a vacuum, of course, so we must look at the planning environment to assess opportunities and threats. External opportunities are outside situations or factors that can positively affect your organization. External threats are outside situations or factors that can negatively affect your organization. It’s important to think about just what outside means before continuing. For community-wide planning efforts, external forces may include federal government regulations and the local Chamber of Commerce. But for some planning tasks, external forces may be in the same building. For example, if you are planning to purchase new software for your unit, you may be influenced by the needs of another department. Or, both departments may decide to wait until the next city council meeting because the agenda includes discussion of a new information system. Your situation will determine what constitutes an external threat or opportunity, but both must be factored into the planning equation.
Usually, this organizational assessment involves many people. Even for small planning efforts, it is unlikely that you would sit alone in your office and complete these reviews. The more people involved, the more honest and complete the product. We especially need outside feedback when we are thinking about what we'd like to improve.
Goals
Now that we understand mission and our vision, we can move on to setting goals.
Terms like goals and objectives are never defined the same way by two people and they lead to a great deal of miscommunication. For our purposes, the term goal refers to the higher level product of the work and objective refers to some of the steps in the process.
Two goal examples follow:
- Create a partnership with the district police staff.
- Evaluate infrastructure against organization's technology needs.
More specifically, a goal is a broad statement of what we want to accomplish. It’s the work product that takes us toward our vision and helps us accomplish our mission.
Think about three areas of focus for the year or your project. Then ask: what is the key issue and how does it relate to mission, vision, strengths, etc.? You might want to create a list and state them as questions. And always think about the consequences of not addressing these issues.
Objectives
Once we have our goals, let’s get more specific. Objectives are specific, measurable, time-bound statements that get at accountability and responsibility. They must be achievable within a period of time and allow the staff some flexibility.
Sample objectives for the above goals might be:
- Co-teach courses at police training academy.
- Hire an outside consultant to lead assessment process.
Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
CSFs are those three to five factors that must be right/go right in order for the organization to advance its mission. They make or break the planning effort. Therefore, the starting point for identifying the CSFs is the mission statement. To help identify these, try to focus on a few general guidelines.
- First, focus on what is truly fundamental to the work of the organization or project.
- Then think about factors that will remain critical for the life of the mission. In other words, try to think ahead for some time and ask whether the same factors will come into play then as well as now.
- Third, consider sources for ideas about what is critical to the mission. These might be city council minutes or notes from individual service plans.
When you’ve considered these three guidelines, ask two important questions:
- What must be right and go right in order to advance the mission?
- What, if it went wrong, would jeopardize the mission?
This review will probably go through several versions. Hopefully, you will be brainstorming with colleagues and your first lists may be quite long. As you talk further, you will probably see that many of the things listed can be grouped into broader issues. One approach is to have people list all of the possible issues, have each member individually select five issues in priority order, then tabulate the results. This is a natural, productive part of the process and it will lead to the key points that will determine your ability to deal with the environment.
The above process will move you along toward effective strategic planning. This design will reduce stress, conserve resources, and generate excitement from stakeholders. Enjoy the process!
Marta Brockmeyer, Ph.D., provides planning and organizational development consulting for nonprofits. She can be reached at 859.581.7089 or marta@martabrockmeyer.com.
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Copyright 2006 Marta Brockmeyer. All rights reserved. While you may copy this publication, its content may not be modified. You may, and are encouraged to, share the publication with others who may benefit from receiving it.
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