Here is a brief excerpt of the conversation:
Q: Tell me, what is the board's involvement in strategic planning?
A: Oh, we are heavily involved in the strategic planning. At the annual planning meeting each January, we always review our goals from the last year to see how we did, and then decide what our goals will be for the next year. We always choose goals that have something to do with our mission.
On the surface this sounds good. And it is good. This level of structured and focused annual planning would serve most organizations very well. But an annual meeting where the past and upcoming years are reviewed in detail isn't the same as strategic planning
as it is known in the field of organizational development. The concept is attributed to works by Peter F. Drucker and defined as a plan that, "begins with mission and ends with action steps that lead the organization to results. The plan must convert intentions into action." According to Drucker's The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, when developing a strategic plan a board must the following questions:
But here's the catch (and why a faint alarm sounded in my head at the board member's response to the planning question): the agency was founded almost a decade ago. A strategic plan typically covers mid-range planning of approximately five years, depending upon the speed at which change is happening in and to the agency. For instance, if an agency accomplishes their original mission in just three years, then it's time to revise rather than wait.
How many of us are involved with agencies that started out very strong, with a solid strategic plan in place to serve the organization over the long-term and keep everyone mission-focused throughout? The problem is, like all entities, nonprofit agencies go through cycles and things will change - whether internally, externally or both. It's possible that unless there is a crisis, we may be plugging away year after year maintaining status quo without giving a second thought to whether or not the original strategic plan and subsequent mission/vision/goals are still as relevant as they could be to stakeholders and clients of the organization.
as it is known in the field of organizational development. The concept is attributed to works by Peter F. Drucker and defined as a plan that, "begins with mission and ends with action steps that lead the organization to results. The plan must convert intentions into action." According to Drucker's The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, when developing a strategic plan a board must the following questions:
The agency I was researching at the time of the interview already had a founding mission statement, as most do. Although the board does not currently seem to be involved in any strategic planning, the description of the planning meetings where attention is paid to the mission statement, goals and objectives, contains the tell-tale signs that the founding members likely went through a strategic planning process, and that the annual meetings are part of the execution of that strategic plan.
- What is our mission?
- Who is our customer?
- What does the customer value?
- What are our results?
- What is our plan?
But here's the catch (and why a faint alarm sounded in my head at the board member's response to the planning question): the agency was founded almost a decade ago. A strategic plan typically covers mid-range planning of approximately five years, depending upon the speed at which change is happening in and to the agency. For instance, if an agency accomplishes their original mission in just three years, then it's time to revise rather than wait.
How many of us are involved with agencies that started out very strong, with a solid strategic plan in place to serve the organization over the long-term and keep everyone mission-focused throughout? The problem is, like all entities, nonprofit agencies go through cycles and things will change - whether internally, externally or both. It's possible that unless there is a crisis, we may be plugging away year after year maintaining status quo without giving a second thought to whether or not the original strategic plan and subsequent mission/vision/goals are still as relevant as they could be to stakeholders and clients of the organization.
The strategic plan must be assigned an approximate term, or even given a specific end date, upon the expiration of which the board, executive director, stakeholders, etc. go through the process anew. Even if the new plan ends up looking similar to the old plan, it is important to go through the process and take stock of the organization and operating environment from the so-called "30,000-foot" perspective rather than relying solely on the outcomes of detailed annual planning. Annual planning can sustain for a while, but updating the strategic plan makes annual goal-setting and evaluation that much more meaningful, effective, and useful. It also ensures the agency has the flexibility to endure change.
How often does your organization create a strategic plan? How long has it been? What timeline seems to work best, and why?
How often does your organization create a strategic plan? How long has it been? What timeline seems to work best, and why?
No comments:
Post a Comment