So, feel free to skip this part if you already know anything about strategy and vision. Or, skip down to here if you are interested in reading about NetGain’s prefered method.
What is strategic planning?A strategic plan will articulate what members of your organization will have to do together, starting now, to get to wherever the organization wants to go (by first having key stakeholders figure out where they want to go). The exercise is even more valuable if you suspect your organization belongs to either the “I don’t really know where I am right now but we have to get to a very specific plan.” or “I don’t know where I want to be but it’s definitely not here” camps. Knowing where you are now means conducting a situational analysis in order to under the market (your clients), your competition (for funding or for clients), technology, supplier markets, labour markets, the economy and the regulatory environment in which you operate and how each of these factors may change in the future.
There are many misconceptions surrounding vision and strategic planning. People use terms like “vision”, “mandate”,“mission”, “strategy”, “objectives”, “tactics”, “actions” very loosely. Perhaps you or your board has already participated in some sort of dull “visioning” session led by a person in a suit with a Sharpie and some paper, ultimately emerging with no better understanding of your organization’s so-called “strategy” than before.
Some organizations think they already have a vision and a plan, when in fact no such plan exists or has been articulated. A plan cannot be inferred from current rhetoric. Until all the components of the strategic plan have been described (present, desired future, way forward) and are understood and accepted by all key members of your organization, there will be avoidable conflict, overlap, lost time/money, and perhaps even loss of interest/motivation in the organization.
If you already know your organization needs this kind of plan, take this moment to send us an email.
Otherwise, feel free to continue reading.
SIGNS YOUR ORGANIZATION NEEDS A PLAN
- Your organization spends a lot or most of the time reacting to urgent issues/problems or dealing with day to day problems
- There is much activity & discussion but little seems to be getting done
- Teams seem to be doing their own thing independent of other departments/groups
- When time come to prioritize, it is not clear what should get funding or attention first
- Measuring success is difficult--Current activities may or may not be heading in the direction the organization needs to go—but the future looks hazy
WHY NETGAIN?
There are many models of conducting and leading a strategic planning session. We are partial to Hamel and Prahalad’s model of “Strategic Intent”. You can read more about that model here and elsewhere on the internet.
We find that outlining a strategic direction is often crucial before proceeding with another project. A client may call us for a business plan but in the course of discussions realize that in order to go forward with a business plan, an overall vision of the organization must be articulated.
— John B Hartnett, Chairman, Xerox Corp, on the trademark "Xerox"
Net Gain worked on this project which relates to this section.(Coming soon) Read more...
