good vs. good: strategy for progress

Good vs. Good:Strategy for Progress

Kathryn J. Deisskdeiss@ala.org

UNC-CharlotteAtkins Library

October 12, 2009

Photo by davidkjelkerud Photo by cranberries

Alice asked the Cheshire Cat “Which way should I go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don't much care where,” said Alice.

“Then it doesn't matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Build a Fortress

Photo by DarkSpawn

Leverage Resources for Highest Impact

Photo by Gossamer1013

Navigate Opportunity

Photo by TheShiftedLibrarian

Photo by Sabrina Campagna

Strategy is:

A point of view about the future.

Choices for how to enact that point of view.

Strategy persuades and influences

Photo by Aidan Jones

No strategy = no change while outside things change

No strategy = greatest success is always in the past

No strategy = we get stuck in the day to day weeds

•Focuses time and effort on current & emerging reality

•Attends to core mission of organization

•Articulates desired future state(s)

•Develops approaches & strategies for dealing with external (and internal) issues

Any planning effort..

What are the kinds of issues you should think about?

Photo by evilnick

•Who are we?•What do we have?•Where are we going?•How are we going to get there?

•What’s going on around us?

•What is on our side?What is important for us to do now?

Fundamental Questions

Photo by aymlis

•Creates a vision for the future

•Looks at environment as context

•Chooses areas for special effort/impact in coming years

•Develops actions•Produces vivid document that can be shared and acted upon

A Planning Process

Choosing good from good

Photo by Valerie Renee

Look at external environment – what are important trends/factors?

Crafting Broad Strategic Directions

Given your vision and strengths, what 3-5 strategic directions would you choose?

Photo by ohad

Q: How is our library different from others?

Q: How can we differentiate our most important contributions on campus?

Photo by “One”

A plan without implementation is a dream or a wish…Photo by BM5k

Strategic plan vs. operational plan

Direction

Getting there

Photo by Will LionPhoto by richard roo

•a mechanically precise world

•the future is an extension of the past

•we can know the future

Forecasting assumes

Photo by Doug Wallick

•Requires looking for patterns and scanning the horizon

•Maps to the chaotic reality of the current time

Foresight

Photo by lxsocon

A planning process wrongly devised may produce a plan but not strategy!

A strategic plan should be a living document

• A plan is not strategic until it is implemented

Another library’s plan is not good enough for Atkins Library! Photo by niffty

Making the case for a lively plan

Photo by Tim Morgan

Effective planning engages many for broad input

Photo by RenaissanceChambara

Photo by Caro’s Lines

Identify opportunities!

KEY:Identify strengths and match to opportunities

Photo by John Thewlis

Don’t base strategy on threats!

Photo by kevindooley

•New voices•New conversations•New passions•New perspectives•New experiments•A sense of your organization’s traditions and values

Conditions for Planning

“A lot of questions about the woods can’t be answered by staying all the time in the woods…”

Norman MacLean, A River Runs Through It

Photo by anguskirk