We are happy to share what we learn, and we do this as workshop instructors, by developing curriculum for the Maine Association of Nonprofits and individual clients, and by offering advice on our Starboard blog. Take a look. You just might find the guidance you need!
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Over the years, we’ve seen well-intentioned people cause strategic planning sessions to grind to a halt as they try to bend the group to their personal definitions of “mission” and “vision.” Somehow the words and concepts have become jumbled, and the result is that way too much time is wasted on terminology rather than on …
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Why do some businesses thrive during challenging economic times while others fail? “In our business we plan to succeed.” That’s how Denis St. Peter, President of CES, describes his firm’s approach to strategic planning. It is that commitment to planning that positioned CES, an engineering firm headquartered in Brewer, Maine to expand its business to …
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We find the biggest obstacle in the way of embarking on a strategic planning process is the last strategic planning process. Too often the last planning process took too long, involved way too many meetings, and resulted in a plan that has been sitting on the shelf ever since. Add to this the reality that …
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For some, the word “retreat” is a dirty word. It too often means a day (or more) spent in a windowless room engaged in conversations and discussions that rarely seem to do much to advance the organization. Even the word “retreat” suggests going backward instead of forward. Should it surprise us then that nonprofit board …
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For most organizations, strategic planning is a major undertaking requiring a significant investment of time and resources. Before you make that investment, take time to explore what board, staff, and other key stakeholders want from your planning process. Don’t assume that everyone has the same expectations for the planning process and the final product. Failing …
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There are lots of reasons given for deferring strategic planning to some future date, but here are a few that we hear most often: We have too much going on right now We need to add some new board members before we start planning We need to wait for our new board members to get …
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