Strategic Planning A to Z · •We need grounding, lest we stray (Values) ... Review the interview data. Extract any issues, challenges or opportunities 2) Review the S.W.O.T., Financials,

Strategic Planning A to Z


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• Clear direction

• Alignment for the whole organization

• Specific, measurable outcomes

• Learn – Gather the right information

• Issues – Identify the issues, challenges and opportunities

• Grounding – Ensure your values are aligned

• Heading – Establish a vision and a mission statement

• Today – Add everything already underway

• Sort – Categorize your issues

• Abandon – Leave behind the distractions

• Build – Establish goals, objectives and strategies

• Resource – plan budgets and human resources needed

• Execute – Make your plan a reality

THE RIGHT STUFF

HAVE A PLAN

4 THINGS…

THE RIGHT TOOL

10%

30%

91%

60%

Still Working on this!!!











• Humans don’t naturally think strategically

• We think in terms of immediate needs

• Once our minds are “empty”, we can move on

to thinking at a strategic level











• We need a direction in which to travel

(Vision & Mission)

• We need grounding, lest we stray (Values)











• You MUST add your current projects (Today)

• Leaving these off will be disastrous!!!

• Sort and prioritize them with everything else











• You need “buckets” to be able to think clearly

• One huge list is confusing at best











• You have too much stuff – guaranteed.

• Prioritize for impact and by ease of execution

• “Abandon” everything else (but save for later)











• Place your issues, challenges and

opportunities into your buckets

• Right-size your goals, objectives and strategies











• Budget for people-hours, and for dollars

• Reduce and eliminate if necessary!!!











• Don’t build an expensive paperweight.

• Get out there and do it.

• Interviews

• Surveys

• Research

• Porter’s Five

Forces

• Financials

• Customers

• Processes

• Learn & Grow

1) What's going well for the organization?

2) What could be going better?

3) Tell me about the relationships here...

4) What do you like about your position here?

5) What are the biggest issues facing the organization?

6) How are the leaders doing here?

7) What systems and processes do you use? How well are they working? What do you

need that you don't have?

8) If you had a magic wand, and could instantly change three things, what would they be?

9) What strategic direction would you like to see for the organization?

10) What have we not discussed that's important for me to know?

Depth Tools and Questions

RESTATE or PARAPHRASE

“Tell me more…”

“Can take me back to …..?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Can you help me to understand that better?”

“What does that mean for you (personally)?”

“What implications does that have?”

“What does that look like in detail?”

“How does that feel?”

“Does that cause other issues?”

“Why is that a struggle?”

“What have you tried to do about that?”

“How long has that been an issue?”

“How does that affect other things here?”

Interview the person next to you. Ask them:

“What are the biggest challenges in your chapter right now?”

Try…

RESTATE or PARAPHRASE “Tell me more…”

“Can take me back to …..?” “What do you mean by that?”

“Can you help me to understand that better?” “How does that feel?”

“What does that mean for you (personally)?” “Why is that a struggle?”

“What implications does that have?” “Does that cause other issues?”

“What does that look like in detail?” “How long has that been an issue?”

“How does that affect other things here?” “What have you tried to do about that?”

Some Considerations before Strategic Planning

1) Financial – What do the revenues, expenses, P&L, and balance sheet tell us?

2) Customers – What are the customers telling us (or not telling us) through words and

actions? What are the trends that customers are following? Voice of the customer?

3) Process – What systems, processes, and technology are we using? Is it the most

effective way to do things?

4) Learn & Grow – Where do we need to learn more? Where do we need internal growth?

5) SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Threats

6) New Ventures – Are there new lines of business we should consider? Is there an

acquisition we should make? A divestiture? New product or service?

7) Stakeholders – Are we involving all of the stakeholders?

8) Team – Who should be building the plan?

9) Resources – Do we have what we need to build and execute the plan?

Live Planning Session STEP #1

Either together, or in small groups…

Extract the ISSUES, CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES

1) Review the interview data. Extract any issues, challenges or opportunities

2) Review the S.W.O.T., Financials, etc. Extract any issues, challenges or opportunities

Rules:

Place each issue, challenge, or opportunity on a sticky note.

Only ONE idea per note.

Write clearly and in a black sharpie. (You can’t write too much that way)

Before you start:

Values, Mission and Vision are all visceral, feeling

components. They are not logical. When you get them right,

they should feel right, and inspire positive and motivating

thoughts.

“Real values have courage. They do not change in the

face of threats, trials, fear, or promise. They hold fast

when the winds blow, and stand proud when the

winds change.”

Values are the unchanging principles to which you always adhere.

Establish 3 to 5 Values or Guiding Principles.

Use single words, or short phrases instead of long sentences.

Optional Method: Small Groups make a list, combine, vote.

Vision – Your picture of the ideal future. If you write it well, you’ll

always be able to pursue it.

“The shoes of choice for the dance professional”

“The easiest solution for difficult loans”

“The future of primary health care – today.”

Poster Exercise

Research and Re-apply

Craft and select parts, re-craft

Do NOT get stuck over word-smithing. Get it right; don’t get stuck.

“Our organizational mission statement is to pontificate extraneous loquaciousness for

the benefit of individuals, companies, corporations, non-profits and other organizations

and or entities of any kind to deliberately and purposefully add unnecessary verbiage,

thereby creating run-on sentences that continue needlessly so that we can include the

opinions of every member of the executive team, the board of directors, the steering

committee, and others who replied to an email. Furthermore, we strive in every way to

add additional purposes, missions, and perhaps visions, while repeating and changing

our values and guiding principles, or at least restating them, whenever there is an

opportunity to do so as we repeat our efforts at run-on sentence structure, and squeeze

in one more idea at the end.”

Mission – What you do, for whom you do it, and the benefit.

“We set the mission-writing standard to ease the path for mission-

writers everywhere.”

Identify each component, and build as in your vision statement.

Do NOT get stuck over word-smithing. Get it right; don’t get stuck.











Add your current initiatives,

to weigh them with your new ones!

Place each current issue, challenge, or opportunity on a sticky note.

Only ONE idea per note.

Write clearly and in a black sharpie. (You can’t write too much that way)

Your scores of sticky notes should fall naturally into 3-5

categories. Here are some I see often:

MAXIMIZE PROFITABLILITY ENHANCE OUR SERVICES / PRODUCTS

STRENGTHEN THE TEAM EXPAND OUR REACH

INNOVATE REDUCE COSTS

IMPROVE OUR PROCESSES

The absolute BIGGEST mistake made in Strategic Planning is to Plan too much.

Rank order your initiatives – I use a 5 X 5 method for impact and ease

Decide what you can really handle

Abandon and publish the rest

Target

Owner

Due Date

Description

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody,

Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done

and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody

could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about

that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought

Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t

do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when

Nobody did what Anybody could have.

People Hours

Dollars

TOP SECRETS OF EXECUTION

1) Build it Right

2) Never Miss a Meeting – I recommend monthly for businesses, quarterly for volunteers

3) Hold each other accountable – don’t be polite and let it slide, ask for corrective action

4) Use one central system to track it

5) Annual Reset – verify Mission, Vision, Values, Goals, and re-fill the rest


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Documents

Strategic Planning A to Z · •We need grounding, lest we stray (Values) ... Review the interview data. Extract any issues, challenges or opportunities 2) Review the S.W.O.T., Financials,