Strategic Planning on a ShoestringDeKalb County

Nonprofit Partnership

Alicia SchattemanFebruary 6, 2013

Workshop Goals

• What are you goals for this workshop?• What key things do you want to make sure we

talk about today?• What do you want to walk away with today?

Statistics

• Just over half of all municipal governments have a current strategic plan

• About 20% of all nonprofits have one

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what your goal for planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you

want to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips

1.Know what you’re talking about

2. Know what your goal for planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

1. Know what you’re talking about

Strategic Planning vs. Strategic Plans •Process to establish priorities on what you will accomplish in the future• Forces you to make choices on what you will do and what you will not do• Pulls the entire organization together around a single game plan for execution• Broad outline on where resources will get allocated“A disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization (or other entity) is, what is does, and why it does it.”

Bryson, 2004, p. 6.

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about

2. Know what the purpose of planning is

3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

2. Know what the purpose of planning is

Possible goals of strategic planning:• make the Board happy• meet accreditation deadline• check the box on a funding application• want to improve your organizational

performance• want to move the organization to longer-term

thinking rather than focus on short-term demands• Effectively communicate to staff and other

stakeholders about organization’s goalsMaybe all of the above!

A Good Strategic Plan should . . .

• Address critical performance issues• Create the right balance between what the

organization is capable of doing vs. what the organization would like to do

• Cover a sufficient time period to close the performance gap (3-5 years reasonable time)

• Visionary – convey a desired future end state• Flexible – allow and accommodate change• Guide decision-making at lower levels –

operational, tactical, individual

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is

3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do

4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

Strategic planning is not• A substitute for strategic thinking, acting, and

learning• A substitute for leadership

The Importance of Leadership• Well-led and managed organizations are good at

dealing with both developmental and non-developmental issues

• Good leadership at all levels is key, with appropriate attention given to:– Vision and goals– Strategy formulation – Strategic programming– Process management and process improvement

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do

4. Strategic planning flows from mission

5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want

to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

Mission

Visionstatement is a description of what success

would look like

Analyze your Mission– Does the mission use correct, current language?– Does the mission describe adequately who we serve?

(demographics)– Does the mission describe adequately where we work? (geographics)– Does the mission show focus?– Does the mission excite us?– Can we get our mission down to 25 to 35 words?– Do we need a vision associated with our mission?– Do we need to write down a statement of values along with our

mission?– Ask the staff to discuss not just the mission statement wording, but

what it means to them.– Meet with the board and staff, discuss your findings, and talk about

necessary changes.

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission

5. Share your strategic planning work with others

6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

5. Share your SP stories with others

• Needed to incorporate outcomes-based goals in new strategic plan, meet requirements of accreditation organization and Board• Strategic Planning committee was made up of six of the eight

senior staff; larger organizational committee was other senior and middle managers• Work began with the board in spring 2011

• Board identified 14 strategic issues• Vetted by staff and prioritized• Worked on converting strategic issues into

outcome goals, reduced to five• Identified action steps, output measures and

outcome measures• Continue to follow up to see how they were

doing on outcome goals; still needed support to measure outputs and outcomes

Lessons

• Originally envisioned a new strategic plan in place in six months; took much longer to develop framework for identifying goals, coming up with action steps, output and outcome goals; had to change their timeline

• Goals cut across departments; need to figure out where strategic organizational goals fit in terms of management oversight and resource allocation

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others

6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want

to go9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

• They are the fundamental policy choices or challenges facing the organization.

• Focus on top 3-5 for a reasonable chance of accomplishing them

What are strategic issues?

6. Focus, focus, focus

• They are something the organization can do something about, although it may not be easy

• They typically are:– Boundary crossing– Resource intensive– Politically loaded– Highly consequential

• In general, it is useful to think that issues (and ideas) drive politics. They strongly influence:– How people interpret their interests– How people assess costs and benefits of

proposed strategies– The nature of winning and losing arguments

• Much of the front end of a strategic planning process is designed to keep people from jumping to conclusions about what the issues are.

Strategic Planning ModelA B C D E

• Environmental Scan

Assessment

• Background Information

• Situational Analysis

• SWOT – Strength’s, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

• Situation – Past, Present and Future

• Significant Issues

• Align / Fit with Capabilities

• Mission & Vision

• Values / Guiding Principles

• Major Goals

• Specific Objectives

• Performance Measurement

• Targets / Standards of Performance

• Initiatives and Projects

Baseline Components

• Performance Management

• Review Progress – Balanced Scorecard

• Take Corrective Actions

Down to Specifics Evaluate

Where we are Where we want to be How we will do it How are we doing

• Gaps • Action Plans • Feedback upstream – revise plans

Elements of Strategic Planning

Phase• Internal/External

Assessment• Mission and Vision• Goals and Objectives• Action Plans• Performance

Measurement• Monitoring and

Tracking

Activity• SWOT analysis

• Board retreat• Goals/Action plans

• Performance measurement

• Implementation• Reporting and feedback

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Major Components of the Strategic Plan

Components

Mission

Vision

Goals

Objectives

Measures

Why we exist

What we want to be

Indicators and Monitors of success

Desired level of performance and timelines

Planned Actions to Achieve Objectives

O1 O2

AI1 AI2 AI3

M1 M2 M3

T1 T1 T1

Specific outcomes expressed in measurable terms (NOT activities)

Strategic Plan

Action Plans

Evaluate Progress

Targets

Initiatives

What we must achieve to be successful

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus

7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)

8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go

9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

7. Trade services with other organizations

Stakeholder Analysis• “A stakeholder is any person, group or

organization that can place a claim on an organization’s attention, resources, or output, or is affected by that output.”

John M. Bryson, Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, Revised Edition (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005, p. 35).

Strength’s Assessment

• Strength’s – Those things that you do well, the high value or performance points• Strengths can be tangible: Loyal customers, efficient distribution channels, very high quality products, excellent financial condition• Strengths can be intangible: Good leadership, strategic insights, customer intelligence, solid reputation, high skilled workforce• Often considered “Core Competencies” – Best leverage points for growth without draining your resources

Weaknesses Assessment

• Weaknesses – Those things that prevent you from doing what you really need to do• Since weaknesses are internal, they are within your control• Weaknesses include: Bad leadership, unskilled workforce, insufficient resources, poor product quality, slow distribution and delivery channels, outdated technologies, lack of planning, . . .

Opportunities Assessment

• Opportunities – Potential areas for growth and higher performance• External in nature – marketplace, unhappy customers with competitor’s, better economic conditions, more open trading policies, . . • Internal opportunities should be classified as Strength’s • Timing may be important for capitalizing on opportunities

Threats Assessment

• Threats – Challenges confronting the organization, external in nature• Threats can take a wide range – bad press coverage, shifts in consumer behavior, substitute products, new regulations, . . . • May be useful to classify or assign probabilities to threats• The more accurate you are in identifying threats, the better position you are for dealing with the “sudden ripples” of change

Individual Exercise

• Thinking about your organization, write down 3-5 most important strengths and most important weaknesses

• Then if you could change anything or things about your organization, what would it/they be?

Strategic goals should

• Build on strengths -- and especially “distinctive competencies”

• Take advantage of opportunities• Minimize or overcome weaknesses and

challenges or threats• Further the mission• Meet the mandates• Create public value

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)

8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go

9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

8. You need to know where you are now to know where you

want to go• Why measure your results?• Measuring your progress against your goals• Making sure goals line up with mission/vision

• How and what do you measure now?• Baseline information• Administrative data, secondary data and primary

data collection• What do you need to measure? • Gaps in data/knowledge• How do you get this information

Shifting Perspectives

• Outcome thinking is a new way of thinking and a new way of managing

• Shift in accent from activity to results• The level of activity an organization may achieve is no

indication of impact; not just reporting what we did• Outcome thinking looks to bring about, measure, and

assess change; away from activity toward a focus on results

• Services are not results, they are outputs

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If the program is what we do, and the output is the produce of what we do, the outcome is what happens

because of that product.

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How good is “good”?

• Need to decide what level of performance defines success or what is your target?– Minimum or acceptable level (basic performance

standards)– Challenge level (not expected to be achieved right

away, sometimes performance standards of excellence)

– Better than before (compared to the last period of measurement)

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Evaluating Outcomes:Common Types of Change

– New knowledge– Increased skills– Changed attitudes, opinions, or values– Changed motivation or aspirations – Modified behavior– Changed decisions– Changed policies– Changed conditions

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Moving to Outcomes-Based Goals

Key QuestionsA. What do you currently do

(activities/programs/services)?B. Why do you do these things? C. How do you know if you’re doing it well and how

do you currently measure this?D. What are your performance expectations?E. How could you measure these performance

expectations?

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Example of a Logic Model

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Goals Components

• Describes a future end-state – desired outcome that is supportive of the mission and vision.• Shapes the way ahead in actionable terms.• Best applied where there are clear choices about the future.• Puts strategic focus into the organization – specific ownership of the goal should be assigned to someone within the organization. • May not work well where things are changing fast – goals tend to be long-term for environments that have limited choices about the future.

Developing Goals Components

• Cascade from the top of the Strategic Plan – Mission, Vision, Guiding Principles.• Look at your strategic analysis – SWOT, Environmental Scan, Past Performance, Gaps . . • Limit to a critical few – such as five to eight goals.• Broad participation in the development of goals: Consensus from above – buy-in at the execution level.• Should drive higher levels of performance and close a critical performance gap.

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want

to go

9. Need to move goals to action plans10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

9. Move goals to Action Plans• The Action Plan identifies the specific steps that will be

taken to achieve the initiatives and strategic objectives – where the rubber meets the road

• Each Initiative has a supporting Action Plan(s) attached to it

• Action Plans are geared toward operations, procedures, and processes

• They describe who does what, when it will be completed, and how the organization knows when steps are completed

• Like Initiatives, Action Plans require the monitoring of progress on Objectives, for which measures are needed

Goals vs. Objectives

GOALS OBJECTIVES

Very short statement, few words

Longer statement, more descriptive

Broad in scope Narrow in scope

Directly relates to the Mission Statement

Indirectly relates to the Mission Statement

Covers long time period (such as 3-5 years)

Covers short time period (such 1 year budget cycle)

Components

Objectives:• Relevant - directly supports the goal• Compels the organization into action• Specific enough so we can quantify and measure the results• Simple and easy to understand• Realistic and attainable• Conveys responsibility and ownership• Acceptable to those who must execute• May need several objectives to meet a goal

Components

Top 10 Strategic Planning Tips1. Know what you’re talking about2. Know what the purpose of planning is3. Know what strategic planning will NOT do4. Strategic planning flows from mission5. Share your strategic planning work with others6. Focus, focus, focus 7. Trade assistance with other organizations (Jea Nae Remala)8. You need to know where you are now to know where you want to go9. Need to move goals to action plans

10.Tie goals to budgets and performance

10. Tie goals to budgets and performance

Down to Specifics

• Assign action responsibility and set timelines – Develop working plans and schedules that have specific action steps

• Resource the project or initiative and document in the form of detail budgets (may require reallocation prior to execution)

• Monitor progress against milestones and measurements

• Correct and revise action plans per comparison of actual results against original action plan

Link Budgets to Strategic Plan

• The world’s best Strategic Plan will fail if it is not adequately resourced through the budgeting process

• Strategic Plans cannot succeed without people, time, money, and other key resources

• Aligning resources validates that initiatives and action plans comprising the strategic plan support the strategic objectives

Evaluate

Feedback and Monitoring

• How will you report your performance?• To whom (internal and external audiences)?• How frequently?• How will you adjust your practices based on

the data received?• Who will be responsible for the collection and

dissemination of data?

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Questions?

Teaching a 3 credit graduate course in Strategic Planning for Public Service Organizations, May 15-

July 3, 2013 from 5-10pm at NIU Naperville. A student at large can take any of our graduate

courses without applying to the MPA program or taking the GRE. Earned credits can count towards a graduate certificate in Public Management or the

MPA program.

Information here: http://www.grad.niu.edu/grad/apply/atlarge.shtml

Contact Information

Alicia Schatteman, Assistant ProfessorDivision of Public Administration

Northern Illinois UniversityIA 205

DeKalb, IL 60115

815-753-0942aschatteman@niu.edu