A strategic plan is a process of identifying where an
organization is headed, how it will get there, and how to evaluate what the
organization achieves at the end of the process. Strategic plans take time,
money, and buy in from your staff, board, and other stakeholders. This process,
however, is worth it according to Mathew Siegel at Forbes
who explains a strategic plan will “keep things on track with clearly
articulated objectives and performance metrics.” Without a strategic plan your
organization has no road map to get to where it hopes to be in 1, 5, or 10
years. When strategic plans are done right they lay out manageable steps for
the success you plan to achieve and ways to measure that success.
Although the strategic planning process looks differently
for each organization that undertakes it there are overarching ideas all organizations
should explore. An example of strategic planning processes and details on each
step can be found in the Jossey-Bass
Handbook.
Often organizations dive into a strategic plan several steps
in, immediately examining issues they hope to tackle without doing the
background work of the strategic plan. This setup stage is crucial and this
blog will focus on the importance of the first three steps to strategic
planning.
Step one: Examine your mission. How does your mission inform
your strategic planning process? Your strategic planning process should be a
tool to further (or if needed evaluate) your organization’s mission. According
to Greg Satell on Forbes
“great businesses [and nonprofits] are built by passion. Strategies come and
go, but the mission of enterprise is fundamental to directing action.” Without
a strong mission and understanding of this mission your strategic plan will
have no guiding principle.
Step two: Once you understand your organization’s mission
and how it will inform your strategic plan you should examine your internal
environment. This can include looking at the strengths and weaknesses of your
organization. You can assess aspects like the financial, human, and structural
side of your organization.
Step three: In addition to understanding your internal
environment you need to understand your external environment. According to Josey-Bass
it is crucial to emphasize external trends and forces (230). Without this understanding your planning
process may be derailed by political and environmental forces you did not
consider. This is commonly referred to as an exercise in understanding the
opportunities and threats that exist for your organization.
Once you have laid the groundwork for your strategic plan or
as Jossey-Bass
describes “a clear statement that focuses solely on identifying and linking the
existing or needed competencies and distinctive competencies to the nonprofit
organization’s mission and goals” (240) you can dive into the core of your
strategic plan and begin to tackle issues, strategies, and plans. When you dive
in you’ll be prepared knowing what your strengths are and what potential
obstacles you may face.
