Strategic Planning Overview Public Version

Strategic …

Planning

Thinking

Questioning

Paralysis

Strategic PlanningDefined

Simply put, strategic planningdetermines where an organizationis going over the next year ormore, how it's going to get thereand how it'll know if it got thereor not. The focus of a strategicplan is usually on the entireorganization.

Types of Planning

• Operational Plan– Decisions primarily affect the day-to-day

implementation of strategic decisions

• Long Range– Generally considered to assume that

current knowledge about futureconditions is sufficiently reliable toensure the plan’s reliability over theduration of the plan

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

1

Types of Planning• Business Plan

– Includes not only strategies and goals butalso detailed projections for revenues andexpenses. Used to communicate withinvestors and lenders

• Emergency (Burning Platform)– Driven by the forces or environment

2

Types of Planning

• Organic– Takes it as it comes. Evaluate the

forces and opportunities in themoment

• Third Party– A funder, federation, National

Chapter or outside force makes thestrategic decisions for the primaryorganization

3

And Finally

• Generative Thinking– The generative work encourages

boards to be present at those timeswhen the organization tries to makesense of circumstances, tries tomake meaning of events.

4

So what is strategic planning?

• decision making

• chooses how to respond to thecircumstances of a dynamicenvironment

• systemic: Follows a process that isboth structured and data based

• chooses specific priorities• builds commitments• guides the acquisition and allocation

of resources

strategic planning is not

• prediction of the future

• does not substitute for leadership anddecision making

• rarely smooth• definitive• static• once every 3 years

Can you think of anyorganizations thatmight benefit fromstrategic planning?

Whathappenswhen onedecisionchanges

everything?

Twonewdams

Strategic Planning Models

The Traditional Model

Strategies

Goals & Objectives

Mission

Vision

Ann Cohen & Associates

5 PHASES

1. READINESS ASSESSMENT2. OPERATIVE ELEMENTS

3. STRATEGIC DEFINITION4. CLARIFY ACTION

5. MAKE IT REAL

Ann Cohen & Associates

Cycles of Planning

SHAPINGCHANGE

IMPLEMENTINGCHANGE

LEARNING FROM CHANGE

Ann Cohen & Associates

The Process

Get Ready

MissionVision

AssessSituation

Agree onPriorities

WritePlan

Implement EvaluateMonitor

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services

”…before this decade is out, land a manon the moon and return him safely to the

Earth."

Visionwhat will success look like

Missionwhy the organization exists

Valuesprinciples that guide the organization

HIGH MISSIONIMPACT/ LOW

VISBILITY

HIGH MISSIONIMPACT/ HIGH

VISIBLITY

LOW MISSIONIMPACT/ LOW

VISIBLITY

LOW MISSIONIMPACT/ HIGH

VISIBILITY

FINANCIAL VIABILITY

MIS

SIO

N I

MP

AC

T

COMPASSPOINT’S DUAL BOTTOM-LINE MATRIX

BESTIN THEWORLD

PASSIONATEDRIVES YOURRESOURCE ENGINE

JIM COLLINS: GOOD TO GREAT AND THE SOCIAL SECTOR

Common Elements

• Refresh mission & vision

• Assessment of current environment• Assumptions• Input from community• Research• Selection of priorities• Written plan

• Evaluation & Measurement

DecidersDeciders• Board leadership• Executive Director• Staff (Senior staff and more)• Board (depending on size)• Donors, foundations, supporters• Stakeholders (community, regional)• Volunteers• Partners (nonprofit and business)• National chapters• political officials

Motivations

• Clarity for the organization

• Organizational priorities selected forstaff work plans

• Programs & Services• Resource allocation• Communication• new 990 Tax Form

– www.stayexempt.org• Customers, Donors, Volunteers

considerations

• What conditions would cause youquit or release a strategy?

• How can you create a plan that isdynamic enough that it isunderstood by everyone?

• How does the plan become part ofyour organization’s culture?

• Resources

• The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution: Real Time Strategic planning in a Rapid-Response World by David La Piana

• Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations (2nd Edition): A PracticalGuide and Workbook by Michael Allison and Jude Kaye

• Driving Strategic Planning: A Nonprofit Executive’s Guide by Deborah Kocsisand Susan Waechter

• Present: Strategic Planning- Choosing the Right Methods for Your NonprofitOrganization by Michela Perrone and Janis Johnston

• Culture of Inquiry: Healthy Debate in the Boardroom by Nancy Axelrod

• Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organziations: A Practical Guide andWorkbook by Michael Allison and Jude Kaye

• Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards byRichard Chait, William Ryan and Barbara Taylor

• To Go Forward, Retreat: The Board Retreat Handbook Sandra Hughes

• The Nonprofit Dashboard: A Tool for Tracking Progress by Lawrence Butler

• The Secret of Successful Strategy Execution by Gary Neilson, Karla Martin,and Elizabeth Powers

• Generating Buzz: Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Boards by SallyPatterson

• Websites

• Idaho Nonprofit Center www.idahononprofits.org

• BoardSource www.boardsource.org

• Nonprofit Resource Center www.not-for-profit.org

• Free Management Library www.managementhelp.org

QUESTIONS

Thank You

Will Northrop

Wtfc@mac.com

208-761-7595

PO Box 2724Boise, ID 83701