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January, 2005 -by Peter C.
Brinckerhoff
This Month's topic:
Strategic Planning
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Blog!
Problem: There is so
much going on in our field that a once-a-month communication doesn't seem
adequate.
Solution: The Mission-Based Management
Blog. I am trying to post every day with something of value to
nonprofit board, staff, volunteers, and funders.
Check it out, see if
you find things that can help you. My postings are in no particular order, just
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| This Month's Topic: Strategic Planning |
Each month, this area provides with a
number of my favorite and most helpful sites regarding the topic of the month.
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Management
Tip of the Month
Each issue, I start with a discussion
of my management perspective on the month's topic, and give you a few hands-on
ideas to consider. |
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Recommended Publications
Here, I provide you with my
recommendations on the best printed materials available that can help you
become more mission-capable in the area of strategic
planning. |
Technology
I provide you with some good ideas for
uses of tech to better your organization in the area of strategic
planning.
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Marketing
Tip
So much to say, so little space to say
it.....
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Next
Issue
In February, we'll examine an old issue
through new eyes. How do you go about being a better leader? I'll give
you a lot of ideas on this crucial issue. |
Websites of the
Month
This section includes websites of interest on this
month's topic, Strategic Planning. There is so much on-line in this
area, the problem was winnowing it down to the best of the best!
Back to
Top
Management Tip of the Month
Strategic Planning - or: "If you don't
know where you're going, you'll wind up someplace else."
The quote above is from that famous American
philosopher, Yogi Berra. And he's right. Think about it: would you go on a trip
out of town without a plan of how to get there? Or on a vacation? Would you
load up your stuff and go to the first intersection and say..."Hmmm, which
way?", and then make a choice at that intersection, and the next, and the next,
and the next, without a larger plan? Of course not. You might wind up going in
circles, or even wind up in some very dangerous places.
So why isn't planning done regularly and everywhere?
Because people resist planning for a number of (frankly) lame, but
understandable, reasons:
I don't have the time. Yes, you do. You
have 24 hours like the rest of us each day. And planning is a key part of good
stewardship. It focuses your organization, sets priorities, gives you the
rationales to pursue one area of service while avoiding others. Good planning
is good mission development.
Plans are never used. Only if you design
the process that way, or use an outsider to write your plan. The more inclusive
you are in the process, bringing in ideas from board, staff and community, the
more ownership there will be in actually implementing the plan. The more you
hold yourself accountable for the plan's goals and objectives (in board and
staff meeting reviews) the more likely they are to come to fruition.
Plans are restrictive. What if things
change? That's just the point. Things will change, and a plan helps
you set priorities and a focus on what you do best for the people who need you
the most. Of course, plans need flexibility, but they should be designed to be
adaptable to change, and not need to be
abandoned.
Understand that when I talk about planning, I'm not
just talking about the document. The plan itself is just part of the outcome
here: the process is key as well. It can bring senior staff and board members
together for full-fledged discussions about issues, trends, core competencies,
and outside influences in a setting and with a depth that will not happen at
any other time. This breeds a deeper understanding of the various perspectives
around the table.
Planning is work, but very, very valuable work. Take
a look at the books and websites listed here to get you started. Having a
long-term focus is good stewardship.
If you found this hint helpful, there are
lots more management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas"
section at www.missionbased.com.
Check them out--they're free.
And, remember to take a look at the
Mission-Based Management
Blog.
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Top
Print Resources
My recommendations in
Strategic Planningare shown below. You can also find chapters on
Strategic Planning in two of my books, Mission-Based
Management and the newly released Nonprofit
Stewardship.
If you want more information on these
recommendations, click on the cover image. You will go the page about the book
on Amazon.com. There, you can look at more info about the book, and read some
reviews before you decide whether or not to purchase or look for this book at
your local library.
Note: If you want more
recommendations on publications in a wide variety of areas, including
strategic planning, go to the publications section of my website:
http://www.missionbased.com/publications.htm
Again, If you don't find enough choices there, type
"strategic planning" at Amazon.com and you'll have more choices than you
probably want!
Back to
Top
Technology Ideas .
Technology and strategic planning? You'd
be surprised.
Can tech help your planning? Of course. Tech can be an
accelerator of just about every management task it you let it. Here are some
uses.
1. Keeping everyone informed. The
strategic planning process is long, with lots of steps, lots of meetings, lots
of stress. Using your intranet, or email, or posting information on your staff
and board sections of your website can help keep everyone informed of your
progress, what's next, when people will be involved at what lever. Email makes
it easy for you to quickly test ideas for goals and objectives with groups of
board, staff, and outsiders, or to put out a query for a particular piece of
data you need. One of the first organizational steps in your planning
administration is to develop email lists of everyone involved in the process,
and to announce the process on your website.
Remember: Don't let tech
substitute for person to person interaction, but rather to help supplement the
face time you need. And, don't neglect people in your group who may not have,
or use, email.
2. Tracking and Reporting Planning Data. One key
part of the planning process is to develop data streams that can be used by the
planning committee for the first and for subsequent plans. Uses of databases,
spreadsheets, financial tracking software and the like can really help planning
committee members get a grip on difficult to grasp concepts. Make sure you use
the graphing function on spreadsheets to put the numbers into pictures as well.
Note: Remember before you use charts, means, medians, and graphs to
convince anyone of anything to read my favorite book on this subject How
To Lie With Statistics. It's a farce, of course, but reminds us to be
fair and forthright in how we display data. I'll also guarantee you that after
reading this short (142 pages) book, you will never look at the
graphs, charts, means and medians that are in the press the same way
again.
3. Monitoring implementation. A simple set of
Gantt Charts can monitor
implementation as you report to your management team and board regularly. The
charts, along with a text display can help keep the implementation pressure on,
which is a good thing, since the idea of the plan is to get it
implemented!
One more issue to touch on: planning software. I
have looked at a ton of business planning software over the years (not
truly strategic planning software, but close) and I really like the product
lines from PaloAlto Software. Their
BusinessPlan Pro and
Marketing Plan Pro are the best
out there. Check them out....and no, I don't get a finders fee, or own
stock!
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Top
Training
Schedule for Peter Brinckerhoff
Below you'll see the date, location, and topics
of training I'm scheduled to do in the first few months of 2005. For more
information on a particular speaking engagement, get in touch with the contact
person listed in the right hand column, or
email me.
For more information on my availability throughout
the next 12-18 months, available topics, sample agendas, and fees go to
www.missionbased.com/training.htm
Marketing Tip
Marketing and strategic planning-- where's
the fit?
There is so much that planning can do for your
marketing and vice versa. First and foremost, planning should use the
information you've gathered in your marketing efforts about who your key
markets are and what they want. Make sure that you regularly assess your
marketing impact, ask customers what they want, and regularly gauge their
satisfaction with your services and your organization. This data will be
crucial in your planning.
Second, your plan will help you focus on how to
better serve and satisfy your key markets. You'll discuss changes in the
environment, including the always changing expectations of funders, volunteers,
donors, and people you serve. Planning will help you assess the impact of
accommodating to those changes, and evaluate whether or not it is possible to
accomplish it while keeping quality of service high.
Finally, the planning document itself is a wonderful
marketing tool for funders, donors, and community members. It lets them know
where you are taking the organization, and shows that you are exhibiting good
stewardship of organizational resources.
If you want to see more about this in detail, take
a look at more about my book
Mission-Based Marketing; Second
Edition
If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more
management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at
www.missionbased.com. Check them
out--they're free.
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Top
Future Topics in 2005
for the Mission-Based Management Newsletter....
| February |
Leadership |
| March |
Core
Competencies |
| April |
Expanding to New
Markets |
| May |
Endowments |
| June |
Mission Uses of
Technology |
| July |
Sustainability |
| August |
Ethical Employee
Benefits |
| Send me
your topic suggestions at peter@missionbased.com |
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You asked, so here they are:
Past Single-Topic Issues of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter...
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Copyright 2006,
Corporate Alternatives, inc. |
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