For years we've been telling anyone who will listen that, "Not having a strategic plan is like trying to sail without a rudder." You are at the mercy of the changing winds, and you'll have little control how far you'll drift or where you'll end up. Of course, there are lots more of these clever analogies, but the fact is that those organizations that have a plan dramatically increase their odds of success. They not only take control of where they are heading, but they are also better positioned to take advantage of new opportunities and to thrive in even the most challenging of times.
In our business, it is not unusual for us to get a phone call asking if we can facilitate an annual strategic planning retreat. It is the word "annual" that is usually the tip-off that the organization is not actually engaged in strategic planning. Rather, it is much more likely that they bring their board together once a year to review what was accomplished in the year that has passed and talk about what they want to do in the year ahead. It is good work, and important work, but usually not very strategic.
Different consultants, different authors, and different planning gurus will have their own ways of describing a strategic plan, but, at the heart of it, we are all likely to all agree that a strategic plan clearly describes the purpose of the organization and its work, determines what it wants to achieve, and then puts in place a plan of action to support achievement of its goals.
What typically differentiates a strategic plan from an annual work plan is that the strategic plan is, well, strategic. We think of it this way (returning to our earlier nautical analogy), without a plan of any sort, you aren't in the boat. You are in the water, struggling to keep your head above the waves. With an annual plan, you are still in the water, but at least you are planning for and anticipating the waves. You may not know in which direction you should swim, but you are doing your best to react to your environment. With a strategic plan, however, you are not only in the boat, but you can see the point on the horizon where you want to head, and you have a strategy for sailing your boat there in the straightest line possible.
So, in short, a strategic plan looks out into the future two, three, or even as many as five years to determine what it is you hope to be accomplishing and then lays out a plan for how you intend to achieve your aspirations. Along the way, the organization might conduct some kind of environmental scan and develop a set of values, a vision, overarching goals, strategies, objectives, outcome measures, and more (but don't get caught-up in the terminology yet!). At the end of the day, however, you want to be able to say, "We all know where we want to be, what we hope to be accomplishing, and how to get there."
For more thoughts on strategic planning, explore our Starboard Blog or contact us at (207) 992-4400