Strategic planning

In my adult life I've probably been through a half dozen strategic planning sessions, for a non-profit organization, a church, and several universities, academic departments, or colleges.  I have yet to experience one where I thought something was actually accomplished.  Many people have commented that "the process" is as important as the outcome.  That may be so, but could we come up with "a process" that is more fun???

I think this word cloud pretty much sums up my feelings about strategic planning....a jumble of jargon.

 

In every strategic planning meeting I've been part of a considerable amount of time is spent defining, and arguing about, terms.  What's the difference between our vision and our mission?  Is this a strategy or a goal?  Is this internal or external?

Most sessions start with a friendly SWOT analysis--strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  This is usually a 2x2 box.  (EVERYTHING seems to be reduced to a 2x2 box lately.)

These discussions go pretty well until the arguments about where to put things that are both strengths and weaknesses.  For instance, my institution is located in Chicago.  A strength because we can draw on the resources of the city.  A weakness because Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the country with a high rate of gun violence.  Can we put something in both places?  What about internal threats, where do they go?

Flipcharts, colored markers, voting dots, and sticky notes seem to be integral components of strategic planning.  I've never been to a session without at least 3 of those items. 

  

Why is this guy smiling??!!

Maybe these props are needed to make people willing to sit through the session!

The ultimate goal is usually to develop mission and vision statements, goals that align with those, and strategies to achieve the goals.  Sometimes we get as far as plans to implement the strategies!  In the end, what usually happens, in my experience, is that there is one thing that comes out of the meeting, one project that actually gets accomplished.  In one case, the end result was having a tag line to put on a billboard.  

I want to believe in the process, I really do.  I want someone to tell me it has worked.  Just once in my life, I want to be part of planning process that actually seems to be useful and lead to growth and change.  So, next time you are doing strategic planning, drop me a line and I'll sit in.