Core Strategy #3 Engage in accelerated strategic thinking and planning

In a previous post, I listed 10 key strategies here that need consideration in the strategic plans of nonprofit organizations. The first strategy described in that post is “Embed capacity building into the fabric of your nonprofit". The second strategy discussed in my last post is to "build an exceptional board".

The third strategy is to engage in accelerated strategic thinking and planning.

Sometimes strategic planning gets a bad rap -- and deservedly so -- when the process goes on for so long that leaders forget what the purpose and intended outcome was supposed to be in the first place. In today's changing environment, it has become even more important for nonprofits to respond to new opportunities fast -- really fast! There's really no choice. And this has helped to create the interest in accelerated strategic planning.

If organizations are going to effectively engage in accelerated strategic planning they need to increase their capacity to do so. Nonprofit leaders are looking for methods, approaches and processes that will speed up their strategic planning efforts. We can learn by doing. At the same time, several books and models have emerged offering guidance on how to speed things up:

• The well regarded new book by David La Piana, The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution.
• The One Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organizations by Jim Horan
• Question-Based Planning by Derrick Van Mell. Also see http://www.3goodquestions.com.
• and many others

In a recent workshop presentation I included a couple of tools for that can be used to design accelerated strategic planning sessions. Go to the presentation handout and take a look at pages 8 and 9. While you’re at it, review the Strategic Planning Resource Bibliography on page 10.


A couple of additional thoughts including a caveat:

Collaborative strategic planning. Today it's becoming increasingly common and more important for nonprofits to engage in collaborative strategic planning efforts in which the focus is on a shared customer/constituent base or pressing community issue rather than development of a strategic plan for one organization alone. I talked about this in an earlier post.

For some of the same reasons, such collaborative strategic planning efforts need to be accelerated as well.

Create opportunities for ongoing strategic thinking. Look for ways to incorporate strategic thinking activities in board and staff meetings now. Here's how: in board and staff meetings, make references to your nonprofit’s vision of future intended impact and strategic priorities as defined in your strategic plan. Use the vision and strategic priorities as a framework for board and staff deliberation and decision-making. Share trend and market information in meetings to provoke discussion and dialogue.

And one caveat. Accelerated strategic planning is a way to develop strategies and action plans in response to rapidly changing conditions and promising new opportunities for your nonprofit. It's not a substitute for the sometimes longer and more difficult work of defining the mission or fundamental purpose of an organization or crafting a new compelling vision of intended impact. And doing this work in a way that leads to excitement and commitment among board and staff leadership.

In thinking about accelerated strategic planning, a few of the laws of systems thinking may apply. First “Faster is slower”. Accelerated strategic planning makes great sense when we are clear about mission and vision and we are faced with an opportunity that clearly aligns with these governing ideas. But if, within your nonprofit, there are fundamental disagreements about organizational purpose and future direction, then an accelerated planning and decision-making process may make us feel like "take-charge leader of the year" but we run the great risk of taking the organization in the wrong direction. And we’ll pay for this later. It'll be back to the drawing board. Faster is slower. This is especially true if, in our haste, we didn't include enough key leadership in the process.

And this reminds me of one of the other laws of systems thinking -- "Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions".

Strategic Planning Gets Better

These continue to be exciting and challenging times for nonprofit organizations. There is increased understanding among nonprofit leaders about the importance of strategic thinking and planning. The practice of planning itself continues to evolve – and improve. Here are some of the important developments:

Accelerated Strategic Planning: Most nonprofits don’t need to be sold on the value of strategic planning and thinking. At the same time, leaders have no patience for a process that goes on too long. The key is designing a process that gives adequate attention to information gathering and analysis and identification of critical strategic issues, involvement of key stakeholders, and the formulation of strategies and action plans that effectively address identified issues – and at the same time, making the most effective use of the valuable time of the leadership. Related to the theme of accelerated planning, is the growing interest in planning tools and approaches that facilitate just-in-time strategy development on an ongoing basis – a rapid response to new developments and emerging market opportunities that can’t wait for a formal strategic planning process. See the publication that everyone is raving about (and rightly so) The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution by David La Piana.

Collaborative Approaches to Strategic Planning: Nonprofits are showing new interest in collaborative strategic planning efforts in which the focus is on a shared customer/constituent base or pressing community issue rather than development of a strategic plan for their organization alone. Examples of this approach include several youth and family serving organizations developing a collaborative strategic plan to offer new services to children with special needs in a region or neighborhood development groups of the needs board effective strategic planning focusing on affordable housing in city neighborhoods. Such a collaborative approach to strategic planning that involves multiple perspectives can lay the groundwork for new cross sector partnerships that will increase the impact of a nonprofit in the future. For many nonprofits – even those who see the importance of planning collaboratively – this will require a commitment to build capacity to engage in such a planning approach. Here’s a recent news account that describes one such collaborative approach to strategic planning involving the Healthy Communities Coalition and Lyon County Human Services near Reno Nevada.

Reviewing Program Design With Theory Of Change: Strategic planning can also be an opportunity to examine the basic approach being used by an organization to achieve mission impact. The terms "business model" and "theory of change" are terms increasingly in use. We can stimulate fresh strategic thinking by posing questions like: “What are our basic beliefs, assumptions, or paradigms about how things work in our part of the world – our service area, our region, our profession or field of endeavor “What are the root causes of the problem or issue our organization seeks to address?” “Does the organization base its work on a coherent theory of change? “What is that theory of change?” “Is it working?”. For more information about theory of change, go to: http://www.theoryofchange.org/index.html. The site introduces a process for developing a theory of change, gives examples of this process, and tackles several interesting advanced topics on putting the process into practice. Be sure to take a look at Theory Of Change As A Tool For Strategic Planning and Making Sense: Reviewing Program Design with Theory of Change.

Strategic Planning as an Opportunity for Board Leadership Development: The board of directors, as one of the clearest expressions of its governance responsibility, needs to play a leadership role in strategic planning. Sometimes, executive directors, concerned that the planning process can invite micromanaging on the part of the board, will seek to limit involvement of the board in strategic planning. The concern is understandable but if the board is already operating from a clear understanding of its roles and responsiblities, this is less likely to be a problem. Terrie Temkin, a consultant to nonprofit organizations, has written a series of excellent articles highlighting the role of the board as strategic thinkers. Some of them are listed here: Recruiting Strategic Thinkers, Orienting Board Members to their Responsibilities as Strategic Thinkers and Structuring Board Meetings to Maximize Strategic Thinking Boards.