Strategic planning

Jules Ciotta

One of the challenges with strategic planning sessions is that once the vision, goals and objectives have been identified, the good thinking that created them often stops.  Almost in unison, you can hear the sigh of relief from planning session participants as if saying "Whew, glad that's over with.  Now we don't have to think strategically again til the next time one of those sessions rolls around."

And, of course, that is one of the reasons why strategic plans often do not yield the commitment, action or results they are intended to produce.  To address this, I often ask participants at the end of a session to take the statements they have listed as their major stretch goals (usually a half dozen of them) and rewrite them as questions: "Increase member (customer) satisfaction..." now becomes "How can we increase member (customer) satisfaction?"  While the objectives and tactics already identified for each goal are being implemented, the continued questioning and contemplation of the questions will likely yield more ideas and efforts in the months to come.

Once you've identified your organization's main questions, you should: (1) incorporate them into regular meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc., (2) establish a process for screening the ideas such discussions produce and (3) incorporate them as desired into your strategic plan.

Strategic Planning Questions

1. What do our customers most value and how can we increase the relevance they associate with our efforts?

2. What infrastructure ($, time, people) is required to produce the future we are trying to create and the results we want to produce?

3. What are the most significant issues on the horizon that will affect how we do what we do?  How should we address them?

4. How can we further build community and strengthen relationships among our customers?

5. How can we better disseminate information so that it captures customers' attention and interest?

6. What process and systems could we implement to more efficiently and effectively do our work?

7.  What current successes, if they were to diminish or disappear, would have the most devastating consequences?

8. What efforts do we need to begin to retire or let go of?

9. What are the biggest obstacles to people realizing their potential and how can we remove those obstacles?

10. What one thing, while seemingly impossible, would make a tremendous difference if it were achieved?

Workshop:

To develop objectives, strategies, action plans and assignments from our planning base:

• Define the mission.

• Develop policies and beliefs with priorities.

• Formulate objectives.

• Determine obstacles and how to overcome.

• Develop format to follow.

• Identify action plan.

• Assign responsibilities.

• Prepare a "to do" list for follow-through.

Jules Ciotta is president of Motivation Communications Associates. He can be reached at (770) 457-4100 or julesciotta@comcast.net.