Guide to Strategic Planning
I’ve been working with nonprofit organizations as a consultant since 2013. One of the services I provide is strategic planning. I have been talking with folks about strategic planning for all this time and realized I hadn’t written a guide yet, so here it is.
A few words on my approach to strategic planning:
I do planning work to help organizations move forward. I am motivated by progress. I like helping people get unstuck. Planning work is hard work, but I enjoy it when it matters.
I work with organizations that are doing good work. I’ve not yet worked with an organization that had a mission I don’t care about.
Most often we put together a plan for the next two to three years. A one year plan is usually a work plan, not a strategic plan. A five year plan is usually no longer relevant as it approaches the five year mark.
I use people-focused, consensus-based, participatory methods. Everyone involved has a stake and a voice.
Strategic planning is kind of feeling like an outdated term. It’s familiar and recognizable so I still use it. I’ll update this post when we all come up with something better.
A strategic planning process is certainly worthwhile, but sometimes can be boring or uncomfortable. I like strategic planning and hope I can find a way to help you like it too.
Here are 10 tips for a meaningful and effective strategic planning process:
GET CLEAR ON WHY YOU NEED A STRATEGIC PLAN
Don’t develop a strategic plan just because you think you’re supposed to. Figure out what question you want to have answered at the close of your strategic planning process. I call this the big question or the focus question. Identify what you want as a tangible product and how you want people to feel when you’ve completed your strategic planning. Design your process around this focus question, the product, and the feelings. [Yep, there are lots of feelings associated with strategic planning.]
DETERMINE WHO WILL BE INVOLVED
If we’re talking about a nonprofit, then strategic planning must include the board of directors. The board has a responsibility to set the strategic direction of the organization. That’s that. I believe it’s essential to involve staff, and staff are often driving the process in terms of hiring a consultant, communicating, logistics, scheduling, etc. Finally, I believe it’s wise to engage other stakeholders such as volunteers, community members, and when applicable, clients or program participants. Organizations may establish a committee or work group to make decisions, keep the process moving, and work with consultants.
DEVELOP A TIMELINE
A strategic planning process has a starting point and a finish line. I think there is a happy medium, somewhere between three to nine months. Shorter than that isn’t enough time and longer than that means you’re dragging it out. So let’s say five to six months is ideal. I think a firm deadline helps keep the process moving. This could be a special board meeting, an event where you are going to announce the new plan, or a time commitment to your supporters. Whatever it is, figure out when you need to have your plan in place and work back from there to determine your timeline.
GET OUTSIDE HELP (IF NEEDED)
I’m a consultant, right? So of course I think getting outside help can be a good idea. However, I also firmly believe that people can do strategic planning themselves. I’ll say it again: you can do your planning yourselves. For whatever reasons, nonprofits have gotten into the habit of using an external consultant for strategic planning and are willing to budget time and resources for this. Works for me. Check out this Guide to Hiring a Consultant.
Steps 5-10 describe my approach to strategic planning.
REFINE YOUR PLANNING PROCESS
Even if you laid out a process and timeline, revisit it before you get started. You may need to make adjustments along the way. Things may have changed, different people may now be involved, and it’s a good practice to allow yourselves to shift. Just make sure you communicate changes clearly and directly to all involved.
REVIEW WHAT ALREADY EXISTS
Do you have a strategic plan in place and you’re coming up on the date that you thought this plan would “expire?” Take a look at it carefully and see how it may still be relevant. Build off of it if it’s still useful. And if it’s not, then allow yourselves to start fresh. If no strategic plan exists, review what else you might have that could inform the plan such as work plans, reports to funders, other communications, etc.
CONDUCT AN ASSESSMENT
I use the term assessment. Others may use the words discovery, environmental scan, audit—you get the picture. The purpose of the assessment is to gain an understanding of the strengths, challenges, and opportunities for the organization, keeping in mind the big question you’ve already determined. When conducting an assessment, I engage a mix of internal and external stakeholders. I try to use methods that work best for the people involved, such as individual conversations, group conversations, story-telling, electronic surveys, and more. Once qualitative and quantitative data are collected and assembled, I analyze the data for themes. I sometimes use software and sometimes do this by hand. A report is written that describes the emerging themes, highlights the strengths, challenges, and opportunities, and notes anything surprising or especially unique to the organization.
HOLD PLANNING SESSIONS
The purpose of planning sessions vary. Perhaps you need to take time to get to know each other and develop a shared commitment to the work. You’ll likely review the current status of your organization and the themes from an assessment.
Planning sessions can be used to develop mission, vision, and values statements. You might be using your planning sessions to develop high level goals and strategies. You might need time with your group to determine very specific next steps.
I recommend at least two planning sessions that occur on separate days. I believe four hours of planning work plus some extra time for relationship building, breaks, and determining next steps is an ideal amount of time for one day. I recommend against a planning session that extends beyond five hours in one day.
DRAFT THE STRATEGIC PLAN
Once you have reviewed what you already have in place, you’ve conducted an assessment, and held your planning sessions, you’re ready to write your strategic plan. A well-facilitated set of planning sessions should have already moved you along the way toward having your plan drafted. As an outside consultant, I document all of this work and then put together the first draft of a strategic plan. I believe it’s a good practice to have determine a small group of people to review this draft and make edits. A nonprofit organization’s strategic plan should go back to the full board of directors for approval. If you have the skills or resources, have a designer put your strategic plan into a format that is visually pleasing, extends your brand, and conveys additional meaning.
WORK THE PLAN!
Use the strategic plan to guide your organization’s work. Communicate the strategic plan to all stakeholders. Engage your board and staff teams so that they use the strategic plan to guide their work plans. Revisit the plan regularly and make adjustments along the way.
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