Steps in Strategic Planning

Steps in Strategic trainingStrategic grooming ModelMany books and articles describe how best to do strategicalal proviso, and some go to much giganticer lengths than this fancyning response sheet, alone our decl be oneself here is to present the fundamental locomote that must(prenominal) be interpreted in the strategic planning performance. Below is a brief verbal description of the five steps in the process. These steps atomic number 18 a recommendation, but not the only recipe for creating a strategic plan former(a) sources whitethorn recommend entirely unalike steps or variations of these steps. How perpetu wholey, the steps knocked out(p)lined below describe the basic shit that needs to be done and the typical products of the process. Thoughtful and creative planners pass on add gaminess to the mix or elegance to the presentation in order to fall apart a strategic plan that best suits their government activityStep unrivalled Getting ReadyTo get fudge for strategic planning, an fundamental law must first assess if it is ready. While a number of issues must be addressed in assessing readiness, the determination essentially comes d receive to whether an administrations leaders ar truly committed to the effort, and whether they are able to devote the necessary solicitude to the big picture. For example, if a funding crisis looms, the founder is about to depart, or the surroundings is turbulent, then it does not make sense to condition period out for strategic planning effort at that measure.An organization that determines it is indeed ready to begin strategic planning must perform five t involves to surface the way for an organized processidentify specific issues or choices that the planning process should addressclarify roles (who does what in the process)create a supply Committeedevelop an organizational profileidentify the culture that must be collected to help make sound decisions.The product demonstrable at the end of the Step One is a Workplan.Step 2 Articulating Mission and VisionA legation narration is like an anterior paragraph it lets the reader know where the writer is going, and it also shows that the writer knows where he or she is going. Likewise, a mission rehearsal must communicates the essence of an organization to the reader. An organizations ability to articulate its mission indicates its focus and purposefulness. A mission reconcilement typically describes an organization in terms of itsPurpose why the organization costs, and what it seeks to accomplishBusiness the main method or activity by means of which the organization tries it fulfill this purposeValues the principles or beliefs that guide an organizations members as they pursue the organizations purposeWhereas the mission statement summarizes the what, how, and why of an organizations bring in, a survey statement presents an image of what success give look like. For example, the mission statement of the Suppor t Centers of the States is as followsThe mission of the Support Centers of America is to ontogeny the effectiveness of the nonprofit sector by providing management consulting, training and research. Our point principles are promote client independence, expand cultural proficiency, collaborate with others, ascertain our own competence, act as one organization.We en pile an ever change magnitude global movement to restore and revitalize the character reference of life in local communities. The Support Centers of America will be a recognise contributor and leader in that movement.With mission and spate statements in hand, an organization has taken an eventful step towards creating a divided up, coherent appraisal of what it is strategically planning for.At the end of Step Two, a draft mission statement and a draft vision statement is developed.Step trinity Assessing the Situation at once an organization has committed to why it exists and what it does, it must take a clear-ey ed look at its current situation. Remember, that part of strategic planning, thinking, and management is an awareness of resources and an eye to the future environment, so that an organization tush successfully respond to changes in the environment. Situation assessment, therefore, means obtaining current information about the organizations strengths, weaknesses, and performance information that will highlight the critical issues that the organization faces and that its strategic plan must address. These could include a variety of primary winding concerns, such as funding issues, new program opportunities, changing regulations or changing needs in the client population, and so on. The point is to bring the most important issues to address. The Planning Committee should agree on no to a greater extent(prenominal) than five to ten critical issues around which to organize the strategic plan.The products of Step Three include a data base of quality information that can be used to m ake decisions and a bring up of critical issues which demand a response from the organization the most important issues the organization needs to deal with.Step Four Developing Strategies, Goals, and ObjectivesOnce an organizations mission has been affirmed and its critical issues identified, it is time to figure out what to do about them the broad approaches to be taken (strategies), and the general and specific results to be sought (the goals and objectives). Strategies, goals, and objectives may come from individual inspiration, group word, formal decision-making techniques, and so on but the bottom line is that, in the end, the leadership agrees on how to address the critical issues.This can take considerable time and flexibility discussions at this stage frequently will require additional information or a reevaluation of conclusions reached during the situation assessment. It is even attainable that new insights will emerge which change the thrust of the mission statemen t. It is important that planners are not afraid to go back to an earlier step in the process and take advantage of available information to create the best possible plan.The product of Step Four is an outline of the organizations strategic directions the general strategies, long-range goals, and specific objectives of its response to critical issues.Step Five Completing the create verbally PlanThe mission has been articulated, the critical issues identified, and the goals and strategies agreed upon. This step essentially involves lay all that down on paper. Usually one member of the Planning Committee, the executive director, or even a planning consultant will draft a final planning document and submit it for check out to all key decision makers (usually the shape up and senior round). This is also the time to consult with senior staff to determine whether the document can be translated into operating plans (the subsequent detailed litigate plans for accomplishing the goals proposed by the strategic plan) and to hold that the plan answers key questions about priorities and directions in sufficient detail to manage as a guide. Revisions should not be dragged out for months, but action should be taken to answer any important questions that are increase at this step. It would certainly be a mistake to bury competitiveness at this step just to wrap up the process more quickly, because the conflict, if serious, will inevitably undermine the potency of the strategic directions chosen by the planning committee.The product of Step Five is a strategic planWhats in a vision statement?From http//www.allianceonline.org/faqs.htmlMartin Luther King, Jr. said, I gather in a dream, and what followed was a vision that changed a nation. That famous speech is a dramatic example of the power that can be generated by a person who communicates a compelling vision of the future.Management author tom Peters identified a clear vision of the desired future state of the or ganization as an essential component of high performance.Widely-read organizational organic evolution author Warren Bennis identified a handful of traits that made great leaders great. Among them is the ability to create a vision.So, What Is a Vision and How Do I Get One?A vision is a directive image of success formed in terms of a part to society. If a strategic plan is the blueprint for an organizations work, then the vision is the artists displacement of the carry throughment of that plan. It is a description in words that conjures up a similar picture for each member of the group of the destination of the groups work together.There is one universal rule of planning You will neer be greater than the vision that guides you. No Olympic athlete ever got to the Olympics by mistake a compelling vision of his or her starring(p) performance inevitably guides all the sweat and tears for many years. The vision statement should require the organizations members to stretch their expec tations, aspirations, and performance. Without that powerful, attractive, valuable vision, why bother?How a Vision is UsedJohn Bryson, the author of Strategic Planning for common and Nonprofit Organizations, states that typically, a vision is more important as a guide to implementing strategy than it is to formulating it. This is because the development of strategy is driven by what you are trying to accomplish, your organizations purposes. A mission statement answers the questions Why does our organization exist? What business are we in? What values will guide us? A vision, however, is more encompassing. It answers the question, What will success look like? It is the credit line of this image of success that really motivates nation to work together.A vision statement should be realistic and credible, well articulated and easily understood, appropriate, ambitious, and reactive to change. It should orient the groups energies and serve as a guide to action. It should be agreeable with the organizations values. In short, a vision should challenge and inspire the group to achieve its mission.The Impact of VisionJohn F. Kennedy did not live to see the action of his vision for NASA, but he set it in motion when he said, By the end of the decade, we will put a man on the moon. That night, when the moon came out, we could all look out the window and imagine And when it came time to appropriate the enormous funds necessary to accomplish this vision, Congress did not hesitate. Why? Because this vision spoke powerfully to values Americans held dear America as a pioneer and America as world leader.In an amazing longitudinal study on goal setting, Yale University surveyed the graduating class of 1953 on commencement day, to determine if they had written goals for what they wanted their lives to become. Only three percentage had such a vision. In 1973, the surviving members of the class of 1953 were surveyed again. The three percent who had a vision for what they wi shed their lives would become had accumulated greater wealth than the other 97 percent combined.Great wealth, a man on the moon, fellow and sisterhood among the races of the globe what is your organizations vision?Shared VisionTo a leader, the propagation of the dream is unimportant. The great leader is the servant of the dream, the bearer of the myth, the story teller. It is the idea (vision) that unites people in the common effort, not the charisma of the leader, writes Robert Greenleaf in leaders Crisis. He goes on to writeOptimal performance rests on the earthly concern of a powerful shared vision that evolves through wide troth to which the key leader contributes, but which the use of authority cannot shape. The test of vastness of a dream is that it has the energy to lift people out of their dead(a) ways to a level of being and relating from which the future can be faced with more hope than most of us can beat up today.The Process for Creating a VisionLike much of strate gic planning, creating a vision begins with and relies heavily on intuition and dreaming.As part of the process, you may brainstorm with your staff or your board what you would like to accomplish in the future. Talk about and write down the values that you share in pursuing that vision. Different ideas do not pretend to be a problem. People can spur each other on to more daring and valuable dreams and visions dreams of changing the world that they are willing to work hard for.The vision may evolve throughout a strategic planning process. Or, it may form in one persons head in the shower one morning The important point is that members of an organization without a vision may toil, but they cannot possibly be creative in finding new and better ways to get closer to a vision without that vision formally in place. Nonprofit organizations, with many of their staff and board members actively looking for ways to achieve a vision, have a powerful competitive and strategic advantage over or ganizations that lease without a vision.Perceptions of Ideal Futures An Exercise in Forming VisionThis section outlines an crop you may employ to assist your organization in defining its own vision. By using this exercise to develop your organizational vision, you may be better assured that the vision statement that is developed is a shared vision.At a retreat, or even at a board meeting or staff meeting, take an hour to explore your vision. break of serve into small groups helps increase participation and generate creativity. Agree on a rough time frame, say five to ten years. take people to think about the following questions How do you want your community to be different? What role do you want your organization to play in your community? What will success look like?Then ask each group to come up with a metaphor for your organization, and to go past a picture of success Our organization is like a mariachi lap all playing the same music together, or like a train pulling im portant cargo and laying the track as we go, or . The value of metaphors is that people get to stretch their minds and experiment with different ways of thinking about what success means to them.Finally, have all the groups share their pictures of success with each other. One person should facilitate the discussion and help the group discuss what they mean and what they hope for. Look for areas of agreement, as well as different ideas that emerge. The goal is to find language and imaginativeness that your organizations members can relate to as their vision for success.Caution Do not try to write a vision statement with a group. (Groups are great for many things, but writing is not one of them). Ask one or two people to try drafting a vision statement based on the groups discussion, bring it back to the group, and rewrite it until you have something that your members can agree on and that your leaders share with enthusiasm.