Strategic Planning Long & Short Term Not everyone’s favorite activity Most people don’t do it because They don’t like it They had a bad experience Don’t know how to do it There are a lot of people who think this is not necessary because we all know what we believe & why we do what we do I DISAGREE and there is too much evidence that we are not all pulling in the same direction to make me change my mind

What’s the Why? This is really the fundamental question of strategic planning Why are you doing any of the things you are doing as an organization?

“In order to anticipate, adjust, and adapt to changes in the environment, leaders plan strategically. . . . Internal change is necessary to adapt the changes that are already occurring externally .” Ebener & Smith Our world is constantly changing - especially since 2011 Effective internal change requires a “BIG PICTURE” view Hindsight - have to be intentionally reflective about the past & be honest; hindsight is not always 20/20 Insight - about the present - from all angles, not just what you want to see Foresight - about what is going to happen - be predictive

Long Term Planning Creating a full strategic plan Set up an interactive process Complete an environmental assessment Establish a mission and core values Create a vision Develop strategic goals and objectives Takes time - have to be willing to dedicate the time Full strategic plans include the mission, vision, and values either because you have them or because you don’t have time right now Short term planning will skip mission, vision, and valuebecause Implement & evaluate your plan

It’s also a dialogue, not a monologue It’s a Process It’s also a dialogue, not a monologue Process is often a dreaded word Lots of people don’t like process You need to involve people that understand HOW to process - not just people who LIKE process Liking process ≠ being good at process Monologue vs. Dialogue Can’t be top down Can’t be a directive from leadership or staff Need the owernship of your members

“Shared visions emerge from personal visions “Shared visions emerge from personal visions. This is how they derive their energy and how they foster commitment...if people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's. The result is compliance, never commitment.” -- Peter Senge The Fifth Discipline noted from Data, Data Everywhere by Victoria L. Bernhardt, Ph.D. Shared vision - we can’t all pull in the same direction if we don’t SHARE ownership for the goal It requires conversations between ALL groups (leaders, members . . . ) about the DIRECTION an organization needs to take Creates a COMMON goal

Set the Stage It must be an interactive process The more people you have involved, the more they will take ownership Involve the right people Be inclusive - engage as many “stakeholders” as possible Use a facilitator Internal vs. external facilitators Identify any mandates More mandates = less creativity The right people People who will interact in the process People who volunteer People would can see the big picture People who are open-minded People who are GOOD at process People who represent all aspects of your organization Engagement = having a say in the process; not everyone who is engaged is on the planning team Facilitator is the key to this process Doesn’t participate Challenges thinking sees the big picture Knows how to process Able to prevent members from going down a rabbit hole and able to bring them back out of a rabbit hole Internal facilitator Knows your organization / landscape / players Has something at stake - May be difficult to separate their own experiences from the big picture May not be able to challenge thinking/push back Have a tendency to try to participate rather than facilitate Pre-existing relationships can cause problems - “it doesn’t work; we tried it External Facilitator Doesn’t know the organization / landscape / players Only knows as much as s/he is told Doesn’t have anything at stake Can push back / challenge thinking Doesn’t have to worry about relationships Easier to keep group focused Mandates - issues that must be confronted and ideas that are off limits - if determines the limits of the process; set by leadership Seek problems to solve

Self-Assess Be honest about your organization Conduct a SWOT Analysis Consider your frames & identify your biases Takes steps to overcome your biases Gather intelligence Focus groups, surveys, interviews . . . from all available sources Frames The lens through which you see yoru world Can limit what you do unless you confront your biases & take steps to overcome them Expand your frame - seek & consider the assessment of others The right “data” can become intelligence & intelligence can determine/direct your action steps Intelligence -- relevant information that will be used for decision-making Make yourself UNCOMFORTABLE - gather data that disagrees with yoru personal fram Comes from both inside and outside of the organization (members, potential members, allies, community organizations . . .)

Develop a mission & core values Why you exist & what you believe in Establish your mission Why does your organization exist? Internal & external Core values Why do you do what you do? Core value statements What do your values mean? I believe you should start with core values first Have to know what you believe in to be able to define why you exist (mission) Value statements define a common understanding for each of your values If you don’t know what yoru values mean, how can they inform yoru actions & how do you know fi you are taking the right actions? Values & Mission describe your culture

Create a vision What is the ideal? It describes a future that can be accomplished Internal vision Describes what the organization will look like if the organization succeeds External vision Describes how the world will be a better place if the organization succeeds

Strategic Goals, Objectives & Action Steps Why you exist & what you believe in Action Steps Strategic Goals Strategic Objectives Top strategic priorities that need to be addressed Develop themes that relate to answer the questions of your strategic goals Specific actions that help you accomplish the objectives Turn them into questions Include: what to do who will do it by when it will be completed Strategic Goals = what you want to accomplish Strategic Objectives = how you will move toward the goal not specific or measureable specific topics that address the goal Answer “How can we . . . .address the goal?”

3x3x3

Implement and Evaluate Be accountable Meet quarterly Take blame out of the process Check progress on action steps Is it completed? Next steps? Change or delete? What is the impact of changing/deleting?

What about right now?

Short Term Planning If your needs are more immediate Set up an interactive process Complete an environmental assessment Develop strategic goals and objectives Implement & evaluate the plan Proceed with caution If you are SKIPPING the mission, vision, and values BE CAREFUL - How do you know these are the right actions to take

3x3x3

Other Considerations when planning action steps What resources do you need and who can help? Local, region, state, national organizations Who can get involved? How will you reach out to them?

“Strategy drives the change that is at the core of leadership “Strategy drives the change that is at the core of leadership. It moves the organization toward the common goal or shared vision upon which leadership is based. . . . Strategic leadership is the combination of strategic planning and strategic thinking. ” -- Ebener & Smith

Resource The material in this presentation is based on the following resource: Ebener, Dan R., and Frederick L. Smith. Strategic Planning: an Interactive Process for Leaders. Paulist Press, 2015.

Thanks! Any questions? You can reach me at: 1uniongirl@gmail.com

Organizational Assessment PEST & SWOT Analyses