We have all heard strategic plans can catapult an organization towards success, yet so many fall short. Here are top excuses (ah hem), top reasons that refrain people from strategic planning and expert tips on how to do strategic planning right.
1. “We do just fine without a strategic plan.”
While this may be true, you may be missing an opportunity to know for sure. Strategic planning is a great way to gain honest input from internal and external stakeholders on strengths and challenges. Engaging stakeholders early in the process builds a stronger relation as well as increases buy-in on the plan. Without a strategic plan, you run the risk of being reactive and feeling like you’re constantly responding to what’s urgent vs. important. Having a strategic plan gives everyone a clear road map for where you’re headed and how you’ll get there. Leaders, this allows you to delegate vs. micromanage and have confidence your team is proactively rowing in the same direction.
2. “We don’t have time for strategic planning.”
If you don’t have time for strategic planning, that is precisely when you need to take some time for planning. Planning will help you prioritize what is most important to your organization and what critical issues need to be addressed to stabilize your organization and position it for future success. A sound strategic plan will help you and your team understand how to allocate your valuable and limited time and resources to meet your most important strategic goals. It will also provide you with guide rails to help the team understand what to say “no” to. Planning also doesn’t need to be done overnight, often it takes 6 to 9 months, to allow for broad stakeholder input and time to carefully consider your strategic options before putting together a sound strategic plan.
3. “We don’t have funding for strategic planning.”
Hiring a strategic planning consultant may seem like a big investment, but donors and funders want to know that you’re working smart. So having a strategic plan can be an opportunity to refine your organization strategy and make a more compelling case for clients, donors, funders, and partners. Don’t be afraid to ask your current donors and funders to help fund all or some of your strategic planning process. Most plans should last you 3 to 4 years, as long as your organization is relatively stable. If your organization is truly strapped for time, funding, consider starting with a shorter planning process to develop a shorter-term plan. No matter the duration, make sure you engage your team, clarify goals, and have an implementation plan.
4. “Our last strategic planning process didn’t go anywhere.”
This one hurts the most. To see organizations go through a planning process and walk away without much benefit from it. What is often missing is a thorough process that engages diverse internal and external stakeholders (ie. Board, staff, clients, funders, partners, etc.), paired with a strong facilitator to navigate strategic options and guide a group to consensus. Finally, many plans lack an implementation plan and instead put the burden on staff to figure out how to execute the plan. important to build out an implementation . A sound implementation plan should be considerate of the organization’s capacity to achieve the plan. This will allow you to real-size your plan and set realistic timelines and benchmarks.
5. “We have a strategic framework but are not sure what to do with it.”
This happens when the planning process ends too soon. Too many strategy retreats end on a high note, but then staff and some board members feel daunted on where to start. Don’t worry, not all is lost! It’s good to have a strategic framework, but now it’s time to engage internal and external stakeholders to work together to build out an implementation plan. Ideally the plan outlines key strategies to meet strategic priorities, complete with annual benchmarks and key persons responsible. If your organization isn’t ready to plan for 3 years out, go ahead and just start with a 1 year strategic implementation plan. What you’re doing is teaching your team how to do planning. This is a great way to reinvigorate the team to collectively meet their strategic goals.
One of the biggest benefits of strategic planning is not the actual plan itself. The real value is in the planning process, where a range of voices are engaged and excited for the strategic future of the organization. Your plan can be a living document that you can review quarterly and update annually as needed. If there’s one thing we know for sure, change is inevitable. At least strategic plans can give everyone a sense of clarity and shared goals. This will help your team work smarter and be a more effective and sustainable organization in the long run.
If you want to learn more about putting strategy into action, join us for a 2-day workshop with Nonprofit Learning Lab. This workshop will focus on operationalizing strategy to meet organizational goals. Gain concrete tools for goals setting, benchmark mapping, and building out metrics for success. We’ll cover organizational planning, as well as program, marketing, and fundraising to help you build a well-rounded, strategic organization. Learn more and RSVP at: https://www.nonprofitlearninglab.org/ot/buildingsystems
If you’re interested in working with a consultant to support you in the strategic planning process, reach out to us at www.leadershipsavvy.com. We can help you with a full strategy process or elements of the process. Wherever you are in the process, we can help.
