Strategic Planning Considerations

We have been working with a non profit organization on their strategic planning. Thought this subset from the list of considerations /guidelines we came up with, is a good one for anyone starting on a strategic plan for the first time, or renewing a strategic planning process like our client is:

• What is driving your need to prepare a Strategic Plan now ?
• What is the scope of the plan ? Is it for the entire organization or only parts of it ?
• Plan the planning
• Have a plan for updating the plan
• When coming up with strategic issues, focus on the root causes of problems you address. Often, it is helpful to look forward by first looking backward
• Distinguish between strategic and operational issues. There is no precise test; use your judgement on whether the issue is major or minor, the risk of not addressing and impact
• While strategy is about the big picture, don’t sacrifice depth in analysis. Evaluate alternatives, potential barriers
• Brainstorm before editing and driving towards a consensus; more so when it comes to narratives such as vision
• Break problems down to individual pieces. Detail and abstraction feed on each other. Dive deeper to understand nuances
• And finally …. how a strategy is formulated is less important than how good the strategies are and how well they are implemented ! Focus on Strategic Thinking & Learning