Essentials of an effective strategic plan

Essentials of an effective strategic plan

Aaron S. Robertson, MSM

Purpose of strategic planning: Strategic planning is employed to maintain the relevance of an organization and keep it on track to effectively fulfilling its intended purpose.

Mission statement
• It is essential to create a robust, overarching statement that gets to the root of why the organization exists and how it fills a certain need or needs for a particular customer base or audience.

SWOT analysis
• Identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats helps the organization take stock of current and potential challenges facing it, as well as areas that it can capitalize on in the marketplace.

Goal setting
• The identification of key goals assists the organization in fulfilling its mission.

Strategies that align with each goal
• Effective strategies help make the goals of the organization realistically attainable.

Action plans for goal success
• Plans to implement each of the respective goals and their associated strategies with clear timeframes and needed resources identified.

Monitoring and occasional updating
• It is imperative to continue to revisit the strategic plan and update it where appropriate in order to continue driving progress and aligning the plan with current realities, so that the plan truly becomes a living, breathing document.

Communicating the plan
• In order for the plan to be successful, it is critical that it be continuously communicated to all stakeholders and that “buy-in” is established.

Reference

McNamara, C. (2006). Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation.