Strategic Planning is Capacity-Building 101. A good nonprofit strategic plan means organization-wide focus, alignment between board, staff and internal departments, methods for managing ongoing performance, and effective ways to demonstrate outcomes and results. Or at least, it could – if you’ve got a great planning process in place.
Many nonprofits think that their “strategic plan” should be a zillion-page report in a binder, describing every single idea and tactic that came up at the retreat. Then that binder gathers dust until somebody remembers it. Here’s a sounder, more contemporary approach:
- The One-Page Strategic Plan: why build an encyclopedia, when one page will do? Only a few goals and a couple of objectives for the organization per year – more is too tough to follow!
- Managing On The Top Page: The Board holds the CEO accountable for high-level results.The CEO holds department executives accountable for departmental results; departmental executives hold their teams accountable for team results - and so on!
- Everything Is Measurable: You can’t manage it if you can’t measure it.
- The Plan’s The Boss: If it’s not on the plan, don’t do it - or at least make a great business case to add it to the plan! Don’t run down rat-holes, no matter how “urgent” they may seem!
- Board and Executive Meetings by Plan: The agenda follows performance against the Top Page depending on level. Anything else is extraneous!
We approach strategic planning the way we do fund development – make it concise, make it measurable, base metrics on desired results and not activity. And most important, review performance against plan regularly!
Dr. Rebecca S
taton-Reinstein heads our faculty's strategic planning practice. Dr. Staton-Reinstein is the author of several books on strategic planning, and is currently collaborating with Ellen Bristol on Success Planning: A "How-To" Guide for Strategic Planning in the Social Sector.