Summary:
Strategic planning can be used to determine mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc.
Answer:
Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool, period. As with any management
tool, it is used for one purpose only: to help an organization do a
better job – to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the
organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the
organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. In
short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental
decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what
it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. (Adapted from
Bryson’s Strategic Planning in Public and Nonprofit Organizations).
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1 response so far ↓
Ashley Kasprzak // November 4, 2008 at 7:29 pm |
The majority of this article on strategic planning is very sound, yet the lead sentence prompted me to respond. From my experience as a facilitator, the strategic planning process and
corresponding plan is much more valuable than a management tool. A conversation that I had today with Susan Jenson–the executive
director for Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA)–confirmed my thoughts. She said, “I have a success story to share with you.” For
the second before she continued talking, I expected to hear a heart-warming story about a youth participant. Instead, she surprised me by
referring to a DAVA board member who has been further engaged in DAVA. This is in part because of the strategic planning process that I
conducted last spring.
I did my best to ensure two engaging planning retreats that wrapped up with a concrete implementation plan. I wanted DAVA to have
a detailed plan that it could use for the next two to three years. I was thrilled to hear Susan’s feedback. She told me that the board member who agreed to “champion” the report has become empowered to lead the board in working the plan. I don’t know if I actually heard music, but my smile was quite big!
Not only does the DAVA board have a plan that it is following to achieve its vision, it has an enthusiastic board member who has taken
on a greater leadership role. The implementation plan is neither a report on a shelf, nor a simple management tool. It is a shared path that the DAVA leaders can travel together. In the coming months and
years, there are sure to be side trips that veer from the implementation plan, yet I am confident that DAVA’s strategic plan
will help the organization fulfill its vision.