For some, Strategic Planning is all about creating “the Plan”. In that mindset, there is a lot of focus on the document, and how to be sure it is all-encompassing and yet easily understood. However I've come to view “the Plan” as only the midpoint of the ongoing “process of planning”. And I've seen organizations thrive when they move beyond creating a great Plan to embracing planning as another ongoing management discipline just like finance, human resources, or supply chain management.

It's about the Process  In this view, there is a lot of important work leading up to the creation of the plan document.  I refer to that work as inputs.  And, many plans specify subsequent work that needs to be done if vision or goals are to be realized, which I refer to collectively as outputs.  Because we operate in a world of change, some aspects of this work should be continuous, not sporadic.  Organizations that embrace this ongoing, broader view are much more likely to realize success from their plan.

Strategic Plans represent an organization’s desire for growth, sustainability, and measurable success…in essence, to improve.  Perhaps that is why I’ve been so drawn to understanding Strategic Planning as a process, for at the core of continuous process improvement we have the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) or Shewhart Cycle (see middle of diagram at right).  Working in both Strategic Planning and Process Improvement, this similarity has always been very compelling to me.

Data Informed Planning  Those inputs leading up to creating the plan include a great deal of data collection and analysis eventually taking the form of three assessments: Industry, Market, and Organization.  Compiling these assessments often entails primary and secondary research, customer and stakeholder feedback, and sometimes highly structured needs assessments.  Much of this work is about surveillance and listening, which, in a world of change, needs to be ongoing.

And the outputs of a good plan are often related to the tactics, or the actual work that is envisioned to achieve the Vision or Goals that represent the desired future state.  Tactics may reference, among other work, a needed business plan, core process improvements, a feasibility study, or updates to the Marketing or Fund Development Plans.  And another critical output is the initiation and monitoring of key measures of impact through routine reviews.  These reviews are informed by regular updates to both the Plan Measure Scorecards and the Tactic Work Plan.

A Different Focus  By now, I think you'll understand why one of my favorite quotes about strategic planning is:

“The plan is nothing.  Planning is everything.”    Dwight D. Eisenhower

As someone who embraces, and consults around, this broader approach to Strategic Planning, I've developed tools and expertise related to not just the preparation of the Strategic Plan…one that is both aspirational and achievable…but also the inputs and the outputs. If you are considering moving beyond the development of a great Plan document to hardwiring the discipline of Planning in your organization, contact me at your convenience.  Or, if you are already making Planning an ongoing process in your organization, but could use some help with any inputs or outputs (or creating the plan itself), I’d be happy to talk with you about how I could assist.

All the best,

Jeff