At least once a week, I speak with a CEO or board member interested in building a strategic plan. I ask questions to gauge the team's and organization's readiness to take on the complex, transformational work of strategy. At the end of many of these conversations, the leader decides to pause and do some prep work before engaging a consultant to build a new strategy.
Are you ready for the work of strategic planning?
To help you before making that first call, follow along in our three-part blog series about strategy readiness. In this series, we frame three questions to consider before beginning strategy work:
What "jobs" will a strategy do for you?
When should you commit to the creation of a strategy?
How can you prepare your team and board for this work?
First things first.
What is strategic planning anyway?
As someone who has worked in business and nonprofit strategy for two decades, I am a "super user." A big part of my work is educating people about what strategy is and is not and the difference between strategy and strategic planning.
Let's start with a definition:
Strategic Planning is a disciplined effort for organizations to decide who they serve, what they do, and why they do it, focusing on the future.
How about a short quiz to test your strategic planning savvy? Answer True or False
You can build a successful strategy in a day by facilitating a team or board offsite.
The most significant value a strategy consultant can provide is to help your org set goals.
Your strategy can remain unchanged despite current marketplace or funding threats or shifts. You can 'refresh' what you have.
Strategy should be driven exclusively top-down - from the CEO or board - and then passed to the operating team for implementation.
The most significant investment in a strategy happens at the beginning when the strategy is being designed, rather than in the follow-through and implementation.
Strategy is about solving complex problems with the biggest brains you can find; it doesn't require front-line or customer-facing staff involvement.
If you answered “false” to all the statements above, you are more ready than you think. Strategy is a discipline, not an event. For successful outcomes and buy-in, plan for a collaborative approach with a wide range of folks in a wide range of roles.
Getting ready for your strategic plan
Question 1: Ask yourself, "What jobs will a strategy do for my organization?"
You may recognize the term "jobs" - from Clayton Christensen's jobs to be done framework. People don't just buy and use products and services; they 'hire' them to get a job done or solve a problem. Christiansen intends to go beyond feature and function - to understand the social and emotional motivation behind decisions.
As you plan your strategic plan, ask yourself, "What job will a strategy do for my organization? "
Five typical jobs a strategy can do for you
1 - Define unique value or position in a marketplace. Many clients hire strategies to clarify their uniqueness in a crowded or changing market. They use the strategic planning opportunity to re-commit to a unique position and get to the root of what they are and are not.
Hire your strategy to revisit and map your marketplace today. Understand your future-facing role and value vs others in the space - and double down on it.
2 - Guide your response to external shifts. The strategy cycle continues to shrink! Goodbye to 10-year planning cycles and hello to two-to-three-year strategies. Your organization is likely facing the threat of new entrants vying for revenue or share, technology disruption, and economic shifts. On the flip side, you may see an abundance of emerging opportunities, untapped strengths, and paths to growth.
Hire your strategy to define your most significant threats and opportunities, then build a disciplined plan to mitigate risks and realize opportunities.
3 - Clarify the from/to relationship between your present and future. One powerful strategy tool captures the from (today) to (future vision). If you are prepping for strategy, write down what IS today…and your HOPE for the future. Some simple shifts that many organizations express are from reactive to proactive or from siloed and independent To integrated and cohesive.
Hire your strategy to define the fundamental shifts you want your organization to make.
4 - Make an investment case. Now, finally, we are ready to talk about money!! I love the expression, "No good idea goes unfunded." Let's get honest about the tremendous value of building a strategic plan - to paint a compelling picture of your organization's future. I spent decades making cases for investment in my corporate career. Today, I work with many nonprofits - vying for scarce resources. A well-written strategy connects the dots for donors and investors to see where their investment is going in one, two, or ten years. Organizations whose "strategy" is a collection of tactical goals will lose out every time to a team with an inspiring, impactful, persuasive strategy that tells a story.
Hire your strategy to tell an inspiring story that connects investment to results.
5 - Marry long-term intentions with tangible action. Some strategies err on the side of vision with no substance. Others are a set of tactics in search of strategy. Does your team need to find the sweet spot between bold vision and daily actions? You may have one, but not the other. Strategy efforts are wasted without disciplined behaviors to bring plans to life. I liken it to an architect drafting plans for a new home. Without a general contractor, the drafts will remain forever on paper and never realized.
Hire your strategy to strike a balance between bold vision and daily behaviors.
As you prepare for strategic planning, spend time on this step: Does your strategy need to Align an organization in discord, make a tough decision you've been delaying, or finally attract the funding you need to take off?
Up next, we'll talk about:
Question 2: When should you commit to the work of strategy?
Are you getting ready for a strategic plan? We'd love to talk about your situation and help you prepare!
