Creating Your Strategic Plan : A Workbook for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Farnum K. Alston is the founder of The Crescent Company and has worked on hundreds of strategic planning projects for public, business, and nonprofit organizations.

Acknowledgments.

The Authors.

PART 1 AN OVERVIEW.

Introduction.

The Context and Process of Strategic Change.

Readiness Assessment Worksheets.

1 Interviewing People About the Proposed Strategic Planning Process.

2 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges (or Threats).

3 Barriers to Strategic Planning.

4 Expected Costs of Strategic Planning.

5 Expected Benefi ts of Strategic Planning.

6 Thinking Strategically About Strategic Planning.

7 Should We Proceed with the Strategic Planning Process?

PART 2 CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC PLANNING: TEN KEY STEPS.

Step 1 Initiate and Agree on a Strategic Planning Process.

Worksheets.

8 Plan the Planning Effort.

9 Strategic Planning Team Membership, Roles and Responsibilities, Reporting Relationships, Tasks, and Competencies.

10 Meeting Agenda.

11 Meeting Summary.

12 Meeting Evaluation.

13 Designing Learning Forums.

14 Strategic Planning Process Communications Plan.

15 Creating an Elevator Speech.

Step 2 Clarify Organizational Mandates.

Worksheets.

16 Initial Compilation of Mandates.

17 Background for Group Discussion of Mandates.

Step 3 Identify and Understand Stakeholders, Develop and Refine Mission and Values, and Consider Developing a Vision Sketch.

Worksheets.

18 Stakeholder Identifi cation.

19 External Stakeholder Analysis.

20 Internal Stakeholder Analysis.

21 Power Versus Interest Grid.

22 Key External Stakeholder Engagement.

23 Key Internal Stakeholder Engagement.

24 Mission Statement.

25 Values Statement.

26 Vision Sketch.

Step 4 Assess the Environment to Identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges.

Worksheets.

27 Internal Strengths.

28 Internal Weaknesses.

29 External Opportunities.

30 External Challenges (or Threats).

31 Competencies, Distinctive Competencies, and Distinctive Assets.

Step 5 Identify and Frame Strategic Issues.

Worksheets.

32 Individual Strategic Issue Identifi cation.

33 Operational Versus Strategic Issues.

34 Master List of Key Strategic Issues.

35 Master Strategic Issue Statement.

Step 6 Formulate Strategies to Manage the Issues.

Worksheets.

36 Some Key Questions for Identifying Strategies.

37 Strategy Statement.

38 Criteria for Evaluating Suggested Strategies.

39 Checklist for Contents of the Strategic Plan.

Step 7 Review and Adopt the Strategic Plan.

Worksheets.

40 Plan Review and Adoption Process.

41 Plan Evaluation.

Step 8 Establish an Effective Organizational Vision for the Future.

Worksheet.

42 Vision of Success.

Step 9 Develop an Effective Implementation Process.

Worksheets.

43 Evaluating Priorities for Existing Strategies, Programs, Products, Services, and Projects.

44 Evaluating Priorities for Proposed New Strategies, Programs, Products, Services, and Projects.

45 Prioritizing Strategies, Programs, Products, Services, and Projects.

46 Creating Implementation Recommendation and Action Teams (I-Teams).

47 Action Planning.

48 Microsoft Project Schedule Template.

49 Strategy/Action Status Report Form.

Step 10 Reassess Strategies and the Strategic Planning Process.

Worksheets.

50 Improving Existing Strategies.

51 Improving the Strategic Planning Process.

RESOURCES.

A Model Readiness Assessment Questionnaire.

B Brainstorming Guidelines.

C Snow Card Guidelines.

D Strategic Planning Workshop Equipment Checklist.

E Conference Room Setup Checklist.

F Model External Stakeholder (or Customer) Questionnaire.

G Model Internal Evaluation Questionnaire.

H Analyzing and Reporting Results of Internal and External Surveys.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

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