Strategic Planning

How often do you update your strategic plan?

Strategic planning is an important process for any organization that wants to achieve its long-term goals.

It provides a framework for making decisions about the future of the organization and ensures that everyone is aligned on the same goals.

Strategic planning is the process of defining your organization's long-term goals and objectives, and developing a plan to achieve them.

It is a systematic approach to making decisions about the future of your organization.

Here are some tips to follow in your strategic planning process:

• Define the organization's mission, vision, and values. This is the foundation of the strategic plan. It defines what the organization is, what it wants to achieve, and what it stands for.

• Analyze the organization's external environment. This includes understanding the competitive landscape, the customer base, and the economic and regulatory environment.

• Analyze the organization's internal strengths and weaknesses. This includes understanding the organization's resources, capabilities, and culture.

• Set long-term goals and objectives. These goals should be aligned with the organization's mission, vision, and values.

• Develop strategies to achieve the goals. This includes identifying the specific actions that need to be taken to achieve the goals.

• Implement the strategies. This includes allocating resources, assigning responsibilities, and monitoring progress.

• Evaluate the plan and make adjustments as needed. The strategic plan should be reviewed regularly to ensure that it is still relevant and effective.

Here are some of the benefits of strategic planning:

• It helps to clarify the organization's goals and objectives.

• It helps to identify the organization's strengths and weaknesses.

• It helps to develop strategies to achieve the organization's goals.

• It helps to allocate resources effectively.

• It helps to track progress and make adjustments as needed.

Strategic planning is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process that should be reviewed and updated regularly. By following the steps above, you can develop a strategic plan that will help your organization achieve its long-term goals.

Here are some additional tips for strategic planning:

• Involve key stakeholders in the planning process. This will help to ensure that the plan is aligned with the needs of the organization and that everyone is committed to its success.

• Be realistic about the organization's capabilities. The plan should be ambitious, but it should also be achievable.

• Be flexible and adaptable. The plan should be able to adapt to changes in the external environment.

• Communicate the plan to the organization. This will help to ensure that everyone is aware of the plan and that they are committed to its success.

By following these suggestions, you can develop a strategic plan that will help your organization achieve its long-term goals.

Developing a Strategic Plan

This blog post is based on the title of Chapter 14, of Dave Adkisson’s book, Horseshoes vs Chess.

He starts out by discussing the difference between an internal plan vs an external plan.

Internal – is about getting the chamber back in shape and build the capacity to do more.

External – is about taking it to the next level.  Once your internal mechanisms are in good shape, now it’s time to focus on what you can do for the community (think long-term).

He goes on to talk about how your strategic plan needs to also have a yearly business plan.

For a resource on creating a strategic plan go HERE.

He then went on to discuss reporting on the progress of your strategic plan.

It’s important that these updates be informative and accurate.  It’s about accountability.  The consent calendar is a great place to put the strategic plan update.  Should a specific topic need to be addressed, feel free to make it a topic for discussion as a formal agenda item.

At the end of the day, the strategic plan (3-5 years) and your business plan (every year) progress reports need to be shared, internally and externally.

Remember, your program of work should always be tied to your strategic plan.  Stay focused, your members will appreciate it and support you!

Strategic Planning - Better Strategic Plans

Bob Harris, CAE, an Institute for Organization Management faculty member, always delivers great content and this blog post is based on his recent virtual session at an ACCE program.

He started out by talking about the 5 things a Strategic Plan does:

1. Guides the Board of Directors;
2. Aligns your committees;
3. Empowers your staff;
4. Communicates value to your members; and
5. Drop programs that are no longer needed.

Bob suggested naming your next strategic plan - Vision 2025 or Vision 2030.  He went on to ask the question, "is your mission statement and strategic plan in your board members hands?"  If not, create something they can carry in their wallet.  Less is more!

 

He talked about the 5 top documents of an organization:

1. Mission - purpose for existence;
2. Articles of Incorporation - relationship to state government;
3. Bylaws - relationship with members;
4. Policies - interpretation of the governing documents; and
5. Strategic Plan - roadmap for the organization.  Keep it tight, maybe 3 - 6 goals, 3 strategies/tactics per goal?  Some chambers are turning their strategic plan into their membership brochure.  Think info graphic!

Bob went on to talk about best practices in creating your strategic plan: 

• Set the expectations upfront on what to expect in the process and what the outcome will be and the timetable (hopefully no more than 5 hours);
• Hire a third party to facilitate the process.  Maybe a chamber CEO from a nearby city;
• Use story boarding for the process;
• Include both board and senior staff;
• Conduct every 3 years;
• Due diligence - survey members on your program of work as a starting point for your facilitator; and
• Strategic plan goals should be on your board agenda at every meeting.

For a resource on strategic planning go HERE. And go to Bob’s website for his two new books HERE.

Foresight vs Strategic Planning

I’ve read a lot about this recently and I think I’ve finally put my head around the difference.

ASAE has a website dedicated to the subject matter and it is a term that has surfaced, at least in my association management reading, in the last 5 plus years.

For me, in a nutshell, foresight is an exercise in trying to identify what the future will look like for your organization.

Many chambers are doing the 2025 or 2030 scenarios with interesting results.  In other words, think what could it be?

Strategic Planning is the process of analyzing the current landscape, through and environmental scan, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, and determining a set of goals, strategies and tactics, usually 1-3 or 3-5 years out, on achieving those goals.

Most of us are just trying to get through the day with the limited resources we have but I would suggest that if you spent the time, with a facilitated board retreat, you too would benefit of looking to the future.

I’m sure by now you’ve all read the ACCE’s Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025?  Well that’s just around the corner.  It’s time to do the 2050 exercise.

For more information on the Foresight work by ASAE go HERE.

Strategic Integration: Move Beyond Strategic Planning

After reading the book Strategic Integration by Gabriel Eckert, FASAE, CAE and Bob Harris, CAE, I thought I’d say a few words on my thoughts of the book and their theory.

At the end of the day, this book is actually about implementing that strategic plan instead of just letting it sit on the shelf!

They start out by suggesting getting your strategic plan down to one page or in the case of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians to a business card to keep it simple, which will allow you to communicate it to your members and the community at large.

I’m a fan of less is more and if everyone knows the plan – board, staff, and members, that’s a good thing!

For a previous blog post on strategic planning go HERE.

Next they talked about ways to communicate the plan through storytelling, mantras and visuals and doing that through all your communications vehicles.  The key, keep it consistent throughout your communication vehicles!

Maybe an infographic or a different design template can be used to communicate your plan.  For a great resource on creating visuals by Canva go HERE.

Next came operational excellence, and the bottom line is, if you don’t have the staff and resources to implement the new plan you’re in trouble.

Word will get out and if it’s just another promise, ouch!  I hope you’re not in that camp.

The book then goes on to discuss:

Maintaining Focus – don’t try and do everything the first year and monitor your progress implementing the strategic plan through dashboards or other tools.  The key is to have a system that you can measure your results.

Absolute Alignment – getting the resources aligned with each priority.  When the say resources they mean, financial, staff and volunteers. It’s critical to clarify the different roles of the stakeholders.  The book has a great worksheet in the book to assign roles.

Iteration Innovation – segment your program of work, have clear roles, failure is a positive, learn, and improve/modify fast.

Systematic Sunsetting – create a system where you are evaluating your programs on a regular basis.  They suggest separating your program of work into possible three buckets and take one bucket each year (education, advocacy, events).  They have a great template in the back of the book in the resources section.

Strategy- Driven Culture – they break this down into three components: redefining success, continuous learning and celebrate success.  My take, be flexible and study your markets to remain relevant!

It’s a great read and they have many templates, in the resources section of the book, that is worth the price of admission.  So, if you want to purchase a copy from the American Society of Association Executives go HERE.

Tips for Creating Programs with a Strategic Purpose

When you're creating a program or event, are you thinking about how it relates to your strategic plan?

Or are you just worried about whether it's promoted properly?

Or are you hitting your numbers for the amount of attendees you budgeted for?

At the end of the day, that's the wrong way to look at this process.

Instead, think about whether this program or event directly relates to your strategic plan/mission and does it make money?  For more information on a blog post I did about program-based budgeting go HERE or about making money go HERE.

The reality is that only 15% - 20% of your members actually attend your events.

As stated in the Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025 report you need to base your recruiting on the mission and not your organizations events.

Bottom line, let's get out of the special event business and get into the advocacy business.  I know, I take hits all the time when I mention this concept at different venues across the country, but at the end of the day, you need to be the advocate for your members not the special events coordinator.

Consider getting out of the ribbon cutting business, the golf tournaments or the fireworks shows!

For more information on the Horizons Initiative: Chambers 2025 report by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) go HERE.

Good luck in changing the focus of your chamber from one of events to one of being the leader in the community through advocacy and community development programs.

Until next time!

Facilitation: Master the Art

Do you think of yourself as a facilitator?

As chamber executives aren't we in the business of facilitating everyday?

Yes, we are and those that have mastered this art are the successful chamber executives across the country.

Whether it's at your monthly board meeting or connecting your members with each other, you're facilitating.  That's the business we're in.

There is an art to facilitation. After reading many articles on the subject, the following themes ring true for me:

• A good listener
• Understand what your members are asking of you
• Getting input from all relevant constituents
• Drawing out people who are hesitant to speak up
• And finally, connecting the dots for all constituents/members

A good facilitator keeps the discussion going in the right direction without interjecting their personal views. That's the key in my view of any effective facilitator.

Think back to the many sessions you've attended where you had a facilitator. What attributes of the presenter did you like? Which did you not?

Spend the time to hone your skills in this great art. Your chamber will be better off for it.

For a great resource on facilitation go to the International Association of Facilitators.

What Are You Going to Stop Doing?

We need to ask this question more often.

It doesn’t have to be at the end of each year. It could be at your next board meeting.

Remember, we can't be all things to all people.

Do your chamber a favor, go back five years and right write down all the new programs or initiatives you’ve started on the left side of a sheet of paper.

Now write down all the things you’ve stop doing on the right side of that same sheet of paper.

I’ll bet that the left side has a lot more items than the left. Why? Like our peers across the country they’ve had five new chairmen each with their own special project that they support.

In fact, we’re doing more with less. We’re on that conveyer belt of life. Doing the same thing over and over because that’s the way we’ve always done it.

I challenge you to add more items to the right side of the sheet. It may allow your chamber to appropriate the proper resources to the programs you decide to keep and they may become more successful.

Not only should you review what the chamber should stop doing but what are you personally going to stop doing to free up your time and burnout?

I fall in the same trap you do. I feel I must read every email, article or book for work. Well, you don’t need to read them all, just the important ones.

Your homework assignment, identify which important thing you need to focus on and put the rest in the circular file.

It’s liberating!

Storyboarding: A Useful Tool in Strategic Planning

Do you want a tool that will allow every board member to participate equally in your next strategic planning process?

How many times do we allow a couple of people who take control of a board meeting and set a course that may or may not be the prudent thing to do.

Use storyboarding to get everybody’s participation.

The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s.

Simply put, storyboards are a graphic illustration of images or thoughts laid out in a sequence or prioritizing order.

One advantage of using storyboards with your chamber is that you can change and priortize your thoughts in real-time and get the reaction of all board members in a timely manner.

The storyboarding process is a great way to facilitate feedback and suggestions from all members of your board based on their vision for the chamber’s program of work and how it should align with your mission.

This process will generate a number of ideas that you may not currently have on your radar screen.

It is imperative that you prioritize your storyboard on what your chamber has the resources to implement from the strategic planning process today and in the years ahead.

Good luck!

For more information on using storyboarding at your next board retreat by Stephen Tweed go HERE.

SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

A SWOT analysis is a very good way to periodically gauge whether your chamber is on the right path.

Done right, it’s a valuable tool that should be used during your strategic planning process.

• Strengths – what you do well, the best part of your programs.

• Weaknesses – what you don’t do well, areas where you can improve on your programs.

• Opportunities – where you can make incremental or wholesale improvements to your programs to increase member value and possible growth.

• Threats – what outside forces are having on the success or failure of your programs.

Hire a third party (current or former chamber executive you trust) to conduct a planning retreat for your board and then do the following:

• Conduct a SWOT analysis on each of your programs (i.e., annual meeting, monthly luncheon, afterhours networking and Leadership Program to name a few;
• Identify what you should keep doing and what you should stop doing;
• Prioritize what you have identified that you should keep doing;
• Assign the resources to be successful; and
• Create a review process (scorecard) to measure how you’re doing as you move forward.

Remember, a SWOT analysis is just one tool in a comprehensive review of your programs, albeit, a very important tool!

For tips on conducting a successful SWOT analysis go HERE.