mag strategic planning

8/14/2019 MAG Strategic Planning

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StrategicPlanningThat

Makes A

Differenc

A fresh approach for social justice groups

* And ThatsWorth the Time*


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Lead Author: Susan Gross

Secondary Authors: Robin Katcher, Neel Master

MAG Editorial Team: Dorothy Betts, Mark Leach, Robbie Ross TischCopy Editor: Neil F. CarlsonGraphic Design:

2007 Management Assistance Group. All Rights Reserved.

This publication was made possible through the generous support of the Ford Foundation.

Management Assistance Group1555 Connecticut Avenue NW, Third Floor Washington, DC 20036 | 202-659-1963www.managementassistance.org | [email protected]


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The Management Assistance Group

The Management Assistance Group strengthens visionary organiza-tions that work to create a just world so they can persevere as powerfulagents of social change. For over 27 years, we have worked in partnershipwith hundreds of organizations to build clarity of purpose, effectiveness inachieving goals, and powerful strategies.

Our work has taken us to virtually every state, and across the spectrum of

social justice issues. We assist organizations in many areas of organizationaldevelopment, including strategic planning, fund-raising, adjusting to growthand change, managing people, restructuring, and board development.

Our consultants come from the world of social change, and we are proudto play a part in building a strong social justice community and, in turn, abetter future.

This publication compiles over 27 years of practical tips, tools, and insightfrom our work with social justice organizations. We hope you nd it useful.

To nd out more about us, our publications, and our services, visit us onthe web at www.managementassistance.org.

StaffInca A. Mohamed, Executive Director Dorothy Betts, Administrative and Finance Assistant Lori Green, Ofce Manager

Susan Gross, Founding Director Robin Katcher, Senior Consultant Mark Leach, Senior Consultant Neel Master, Program Development Manager Mnica Palacio, Senior Consultant Robbie Ross Tisch, Senior Consultant

BoardMichael Lacour (Chair), Clark Atlanta UniversityWhitney Hatch (Chair 2000-2005),

TheTrust for Public Land

Wanda McClain, Brigham and Womens Hospital Linda T. Nguyen, Alliance for Children and FamiliesMark Rosenman, Union Institute & UniversityLeonard Rubenstein, Physicians for Human RightsRachel Tompkins, Rural School and Community Trust Shira Saperstein, The Moriah Fund Eugene Schnell, Schnell Management Consulting Dianne Stewart, DemosElizabeth van Benschoten, Bank of AmericaBob Crane (1999-2007), Jeht Foundation


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ContentsIntroduction

Does Your Organization Resist Planning?

Is Planning What Your Organization Really Needs?

Is Your Mission Crystal Clear?

9 Why Mission Creeps and Fades

The Two Biggest Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

12 Whats the Difference Between Values and Goals?

Dont Forget Priorities! How to Set Themand Stick to Them

Extra Tips to Make Your Planning MoreValuable and Productive

Do You Want to Read More?

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Strategic Planning That Makes A Difference and Thats Worth the Time Management Assistance Group 3

Interest in strategic planning is growing among social justice organiza-

tions. Prodding from donors has stimulated some of the interest, butsocial justice organizations themselves are also realizing that theyve

got to have a solid, compelling case for support in todays competitive

funding environment.

Does Your OrganizationResist Planning?

Does this sound likeyour organization?We dont have the time.The most common barrier to planning is the belief that

you dont have the time to do it. Yet organizations withpressing social agendas never have any spare time. Theyhave to make time for self-examination, reection, andcharting a future course. That means carving out timefrom your organizations usual work and making plan-ning a top priority.

We dont know how to do it right.Many books and articles on planning have done orga-nizations a disservice by making strategic planningseem far more complex, technical, and imposing thanit really is. Some groups become so tangled, frustrated,and confused over the proper application of planningterminologywrestling with the difference between a

Still, organizations resist and put off planning for a vari-

ety of reasons. Some are reluctant to start the processbecause of vague fears and gnawing doubts about whereit might lead, what it will entail, and how productiveit willor will notturn out to be. Surfacing theseconcerns, understanding why they shouldnt stop you,and demystifying strategic planning are often the keysto helping organizations overcome their hesitation andunlocking the benets planning can br ing.


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4 Strategic Planning That Makes A Difference and Thats Worth the Time Management Assistance Group

business plan and a strategic plan, for instance, or debat-ing whether something is a purpose, goal, strategy, or objectivethat they spend more time processing thanplanning. Planning is really no more than getting clear about what your organization wants to accomplishand then devising a realistic strategy for getting there.

In fact, organizations are engaged in planning all thetime, although its usually done informally, in shorttime frames, and on a project-by-project or proposal-by-proposal basis. What organizations tend to avoid or neglect is comprehensive, long-term planning: den -ing their overarching long-range goals, direction, andstrategy, and using those elements as the framework for designing annual plans and prior ities.

Our last plan made no difference at all.

Most executive directors of social justice organizationshave had at least one bad experience with planning.Sometimes the process was so detailed and time-consuming that the costs outweighed the benets.Other times the process resulted in a plan that justsat on a shelf, providing little real-life guidance, either because it was too broad and vague, or because it wasnothing more than a long, undifferentiated laundry listof everything the organization would like to do. Butits a mistake to conclude from these experiences that

planning isnt worth the effort. In fact, we have seencountless planning processes that were clarifying andilluminating, and which resulted in a real difference ineffectiveness and impact.

We dont want to lose our exibility.Many social justice organizations are reluctant to planbecause they see it as a straitjacket, closing down their options and destroying their exibility. They fear thatagreeing to a plan means giving up the ability to respond

to new opportunities and changing circumstances. Theypoint to the unpredictability of the political and socialenvironment and say, How can we plan when we dontknow what will be happening ve months from now?But a plan is a tool, not a taskmaster. It doesnt prohibit

you from taking on something thats outside the plan,but it does give you some standards for determiningwhether or not a new project is worthwhile. Equallyimportant, it forces the organization to look at whatit may have to give up, or what activities it might be

forced to curtail, in order to have the time and resourc-es for an added activity.


Some groups becomeso tangled, frustrated,and confused over theproper application of plan-ning terminologythatthey spend more timeprocessing than planning.


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We have to do it all.Many organizations resist planningor do planningthat makes no differencebecause they dont want tomake hard choices. They know theyre spread thin, butthey are unwilling to bite the bullet and decide whatthey need to drop or scale back. Either they dont wantto face the discomfort of cutting anything, or they havedivergent views about whats most important, or theyreunwilling to foreclose any option that may represent apotential funding stream. As a consequence, they end

up trying to do some of everything, not realizing thatorganizations that confront thorny issues and workthrough conict are far stronger than those that tiptoearound differences, trying to satisfy everyone but fullypleasing no one. The irony is that, at the end of the day,limited time and resources force every group to makechoices. But the choices made by groups that try todo it all tend to be reactive, haphazard, and disjointedrather than deliberate, strategic, and coherent.


Funding realities determine what we do.Why bother to plan, some organizations say, when weknow what really matters is what funders are willingto support. Nothing can lead more quickly to a lossof direction and identityand a waning conviction

about the value of the workthan programs that havebeen shaped by the interests of funders rather than bythe organizations priorities. Organizations that rstidentify their course of action and then advocate for itthrough their fund-raising program are often surprisedat the response they receive. As one group concluded:We discovered that its vision that creates commit-ment, commitment that creates energy, and energy thatcreates fundingnot the other way around.

Many social justiceorganizations are reluctantto plan because they see

it as a straitjacket.



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Is Planning What YourOrganization Really Needs?

Many common organizational complaints and

problems, while seeming to be about somethingelse, are really rooted in an organizations lack of

clarity about who it is, what its all about, where

its going, and whats most important for it to

do. Here are the red ags signaling that planning

may be exactly what your organization needs.

Do you see the signs?

FEELING OVERWHELMED We need better systems or We need to take a timemanagement course often become the refrain whenstaff members feel overwhelmed by all they need to

do. But often what an organization really needs is notbetter systems but more clarity about its direction andpriorities. With that clarity it will be able to choosewhat is really important for it to doand what it shoulddecline or withdraw from doing.


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FEELING FRAGMENTEDPeople feel locked into separate projects, disconnectedfrom one another, and clueless about how their workts together. They think the answer is more communi-cation, but they really need to dene what the organiza-tions overarching purpose and goals are, how its activi-

ties interrelate, and what it all adds up to.

A SENSE OF STALENESSPeople no longer feel inspired or excited about their work. Their jobs drain them instead of energizing them.They wonder if the organization is still making a differ-ence, or whether it needs to redirect or reinvent itself in light of changing realities. A process that returnsthe organization to its core mission and elicits creativethinking about the future will energize and reinvigorate

staff members.

CHRONIC FINANCIAL PROBLEMSThese groups often know exactly how much moneythey have, or, more likely, dont have. The problem isthat they start new projects anyway, even when theylack the funds to do so. What is missing is not a goodaccounting system or nancial controls, but the limitsand discipline developed through a tough priority-setting process.

CANT EVER SAY NOSome organizations cant say nonot to their constitu-encies, staff, board, funders, or colleagues. They try toplease everyone. The result is that they do a little bit of everything, but nothing thoroughly or well. The ironyis that they often end up disappointing everyone, sincenothing receives the focus or resources it needs.

CHASING GRANTSWhen organizations start going after whatever funding isavailable they often wind up with a mlange of separateprojectsnot because they advance the organizationsmission, but because some funding source wanted them.Nothing is more dispiriting to staff members than thefeeling that their organization is chasing money rather than staying true to its central cause.

OUR ONLY PROBLEM IS FUNDERS

Many organizations think that their only problem isfunders who fail to understand and appreciate them.These groups think they just need better fundraisingtechniques or a snappier way of communicating. But inmany instances the groups are not clear about their owngoals and direction, so they cant make a compelling or persuasive case to others.

AN UNINVOLVED BOARD OF DIRECTORSBoard members sometimes disengage when an organi-

zations focus or direction is unclear to them, or whenthey feel as though they have no role in the organization.A strategic planning process that redenes the organiza -tion and involves the board can often reinvigorate boardmembers, strengthen their roles, and reinvest them inthe organization.

LOTS OF INTERNAL CONFLICTPeople often blame conict in an organization on clashingpersonalities when, in fact, its caused by real differences

over the organizations direction and priorities. Evenwhen the cause is personalities, simply getting back intouch with everyones shared vision, purpose, and goalscan be extraordinarily uniting and healing.

Is Planning What Your Organization Really Needs?


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Is Your MissionCrystal Clear?

To be powerful and effective, social justice organizations must

have a well-dened mission that everyone in the organiza-tion understands, that clearly communicates what the group

aims to accomplish for society, and that denes the funda-

mental way it intends to achieve that change. Thats why

the rst step in strategic planning should focus on revisiting,

clarifying, and honing ones mission.

Contrary to common belief, having a mission statementdoes not necessarily mean an organizations mission isclear and well-dened. Many mission statements are sobroad and vague that they fail to distinguish the groupsultimate aim or to articulate its special role. They arecrafted to make everyone happy, and their all-inclusive-ness masks the fact that the staff and/or board really

have divergent views about what the groups mission is.In some organizations, activities become so diffuse thatthere is little relationship between what their missionstatements say and what they actually do. And in manyorganizations, the mission statement has become hollowwords that everyone repeatsbut without real heart,meaning, or conviction.


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Is Your Mission Crystal Clear?Strategic Planning That Makes A Difference and Thats Worth the Time Management Assistance Group 9

A mission that lives as the driving force behind all of anorganizations work is neither a slick slogan nor a neatdescription of the groups activities. Rather, mission in its authentic formconstitutes the enduring vision,thrust, and character of an organization. It capturesthe organizations soul, reects the idealistic motiva-

tion behind its work, guides its activities, and providesthe glue that holds the organization together. Missionalso reects what is special or unique about the orga-nizationwhat distinguishes it from others in its eld.Clear mission is always inspiring: If it does not motivateand unify an organizations staff and board, somethingis off or missing.

How Do You Crystallize Mission?The best way to clarify mission is to break it down into two interrelated but distinct parts: corepurpose and core strategic approach. Distinguishing each of these parts separately enables anorganization to crystallize its mission, and dene it in the sharpest and most and cogent terms.

Core purpose . This is the organizations most fundamental reason for existence. It is the ulti-mate aim of the organizationthe vision it is perpetually seeking to realize. Core purposedescribes not what the organization does but rather what it is working to achieve for societyfor example, the end of homelessness, or the fair and just treatment of those accused of crimes. All of

an organizations programmatic activities are united under the banner of its core purpose. Core strategic approach. Simply put, this is the central methodology the organizationrelies on to achieve its core purpose and goals. It is the main way the organization goesabout causing the societal change it is seeking. Social justice organizations use a wide rangeof tools to achieve their goalsresearch, policy analysis, legislative or administrative lobbying,litigation, public education, media work, coalition-building, technical assistance, grassroots/grasstops organizingbut they usually rely on one core strategy. For example, some organiza-tions deploy a combination of research, policy analysis, and policy expertise to inuence publicpolicy. Others focus on strategic communications to shape the debate and opinion climate in

which policy-making occurs. Still others rely mostly on informing and lobbying policymakers,or on educating citizens and mobilizing grassroots pressure to win political or social change. Ineach case, the organizations core strategic approach is based on its theory of how it can mostpowerfully make change occur.

Contrary to common belief,having a mission statementdoes not necessarily meanan organizations mission is

clear and well-dened.


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10 Strategic Planning That Makes A Difference and Thats Worth the Time Management Assistance GroupIs Your Mission Crystal Clear?

Nailing down your organizations core strategic approach does not preclude it from engagingin other strategies. Most organizations use many tools to supplement and enhance their centralapproach, but these are support strategies employed and designed to make the organizationscore strategic approach more effective. For example, many policy research organizations usemedia work to promote their ndings and policy recommendations. And many state lobbying

groups build coalitions or provide advocacy training to grassroots groups in order to advancetheir goals.

Often, many organizations in the same eld share similar core purposes. What denes eachones special role and niche is the distinctive core strategy each employs. This core strategybecomes the organizations signaturethe work that its identied by, known for, and thatdif-ferentiates it from other groups. For example, one state organization we know, whosepurpose is to achieve economic security for low-income citizens, realized that its distinguish-ing approach is to rst provide timely, credible, understandable data-based analysis and then usethat analysis to advocate for policy change.

Why Clarify Mission?

Organizations are in essence a series of relationshipsbuilt around a common mission. It is the mission thatbrings people together to create an organization, movesthem to foster and sustain the relationships necessaryfor effective, productive work, revitalizes them when

theyre tired or discouraged, and compensates for their long hours and low pay. To spend time clarifying, or re-capturing, an organizations mission can be tanta -mount to recovering its soul.

To spend time clarifying,or recapturing, anorganizations missioncan be tantamount torecovering its soul.


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Why Mission Creeps and Fades

New people come on board, and the group growsbigger and less cohesive. The focus shifts from thecentral mission to individual jobs and projects. The old

timers simply assume the newcomers understand themission in the same way that they do, but never checkto make sure that this is so. Over time everyone gets socaught up in day-to-day responsibilities that they donot pause to refocus on what their jobs are ultimatelyabout. The mission of the organization turns into alitany that everyone repeats, but without inspiration,passion, or clear, shared meaning.

The more success the organization enjoys, the more

opportunities come its way. Inevitably, the organiza-tion is pulled in different directions by its staff, board,funders, and other constituents. The organization ndsit increasingly hard to say no to various stakeholdersand tends to seize opportunities without rst stoppingto see whether or not the activities really advance itsmission. Eventually the organization is moving in somany disparate directions that it is almost impossible tomaintain a sense of connectedness, coherence, or singu-larity of mission. People on the staff and board begin

to disagree about what the organizations focus andpriorities should be, only to paper over their differencesby agreeing to a mission statement that is so broad andinclusive that anything can t under it.

The mission is nearly always clearest for an organization at its start.Then, as the organization matures and grows, a number of forces cause

its mission to creep, blur, or fade entirely away.

As the organization grows older, it is forced to relymore and more on restricted grants, which in turnforce it to divide into separate, semi-autonomous proj-

ects whose staffs identify more with the project thanwith the organization as a whole. The overall missionof the organization grows dimmer and dimmer. Themore the organization resorts to special project funding,the more obscure its central mission becomes, and theharder it becomes to raise anything but special projectmoney. Eventually the organization becomes so frag-mented that it is nothing but an umbrella for separateprojectswithout any central coreand the over-arching mission has faded entirely from sight.

If an organization wants to keep tapping into the power that a clear mission provides, it must periodically revisitthe two parts of missioncore purpose and core stra-tegic approachand reafrm, clarify, rene, or redenethem. These mission checks are always the startingpoint for strategic planning that will make a difference.

Is Your Mission Crystal Clear?


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The Two BiggestPlanning Mistakes andHow to Avoid Them

The two biggest planning mistakes social justice organiza-

tions make are thinking in terms that are too short-range

and failing to dene the long-term outcomes at which their

work aims.

Most activist organizations have missions that aspire tofar-reaching social, political, or economic changes that

may take years to achieve. Too often, however, their planning processes move from clarifying mission todescribing what they intend to do over the next year or two. Critical intermediary steps are left out. Howdo you avoid these mistakes? By planning backwards,focusing on your long-term intended outcomes andthen deriving plans from them.

How Do You Plan Backwards?Strategic planning that makes a difference requires plan-

ning backwards. After clarifying its mission, an organi-zation needs to identify the major long-term changesor outcomes that must occur to attain its mission, andthen select which of these outcomes it will focus onby choosing those it is best-suited and best-positionedto achieve. These become the organizations centrallong-range goalsthe set of long-term outcomes itintends to produce, each one of which will signi-cantly contribute to fulllment of its mission. Thesegoals should be big and visionary, requiring ten to thirty

years to accomplish, but they should also be within therealm of possibility, highly focused, and have clear nishlines. A rule of thumb is that if an organization adoptsmore than ve central long-range goals, it is aimingtoo high and taking on more than most organizationscan handle.


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Strategic Planning That Makes A Difference and Thats Worth the Time Management Assistance Group 13The Two Biggest Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Once dened, central long-range goals delineate theboundaries of an organizations work and serve as thebasis, framework, and focal point for all of its activi-ties. Everything the organization doestoday, tomor-row, this year, and over the next ve yearsthen derivesfrom the answers to a single question: What are the

most critical things our organization can and must doto move us closer toward realizing our central long-range goals?

A state advocacy organization we know used this back-ward planning to become crystal clear about what itwanted to accomplish. Its mission is to establish a fair and just state criminal justice system, and it chose threecentral long-range goals on which to concentrate, eachof which is key to attaining its mission: (1) limiting or

suspending use of the death penalty; (2) establishing anindigent defense system that works; and (3) ensuringthe integrity and reliability of criminal proceedings.

To accomplish these goals, the organization decided tofocus on four main activities over the next two years:(1) eliminating the state death penalty for persons withmental retardation through legislation and/or litigation;(2) building support for a reformed indigent defensesystem by producing and strategically disseminating aresearch report that documents the inadequacies of thecurrent system; (3) providing legal services to indigents

charged with capital crimes and exposing injustices inthose cases; and (4) convincing policymakers, the bar,and the public of the need for a reliable mechanismfor punishing prosecutorial misconduct in state crimi-nal proceedings by monitoring such misconduct andshowing how it is undermining the integrity of thesystem. Each activity clearly identies the outcome itis supposed to produce, and each near-term outcomeconstitutes a critical step towards the organizationslong-range goals.

Many organizations fall into the trap of merely stat-ing what they are going to do without specifying theresults these activities are intended to achieve. For example, they say theyll hold a conference, or gener-ate a research report, or expand their membership, butnever make clear: Toward what end? By not articulatinggoals in terms of outcomes, organizations lack not onlyclear end points against which to measure success andprogress, but also a clear, strong sense of direction that

ensures that this years activities will move them towardswhat they ultimately want to accomplish.

The Strategic Triangle on the next page illustratesbackward planning. The ar rows (indicating plan upand work down) show how each level of activityboth springs from, and builds toward, the next level of intended outcomes.

Many organizations fall intothe trap of merely stating

what they are going todo without specifying the

results these activities areintended to achieve.


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CorePurpose

Core StrategicApproach

Long-Range Goals

Five-Year Outcome Goals

One- to Two Year-Priorities

P L AN D O W N

W O R KU P


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Whats the Difference BetweenValues and Goals?

Social justice organizations are nearly always drivenby a highly cherished set of core values. These are thebinding, enduring tenets and guiding principles thatunderlie, motivate, and shape an organizations work.Core values function as living, breathing forces in theorganization. Some are ideological valuesfundamen-tal beliefs or philosophical concepts like We believe

government can and should be a force for social good.Others are operating values, which describe the ercelyprized way in which an organization goes about itswork, such as We base our advocacy on accurate,objective research.

Sometimes organizations confuse their ideologicalvalues with their goals. Goals dene the outcomes your organization is striving for; values explain why your organization seeks those goals. For example, the goal

of the state criminal justice organization is to limit or eliminate the death penalty. The value driving that goalis the belief that every life is precious and every soulworth saving.

Some organizations fall into the trap of trying to havean outcome goal that corresponds to each and everycore value they hold. Yet this mirroring often leads theorganization to bite off much more than it can chew.

Like mission, an organizations core values are usuallyclearest at its start. Theres no need to formally statethem because the founder and his or her small band of compatriots intrinsically know what these values are.

Then, as new people come on board, the organizationcan no longer transmit its values through osmosis andinformal communication. The values that are implicitfor old-timers are virtually unknown to newcomers. Atthis point, the core values must be explicitly articulatedand made an ofcial part of the organizations state-ment of who it is. Otherwise the organization runs thedanger of having its core values fade so far into thebackground that they dissipate, or disappear entirely.

The Two Biggest Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them


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Dont Forget Priorities!How to Set Them andStick to Them

For social justice organizations the only thing thats harder than settingpriorities is sticking to them. Many forces push these groups to take on

more than their resources can handle: donor interests; the demands of

members or constituents; the passions of staff or board members; the desire

to keep open every option that represents a potential funding stream; the

urge to be a voice on every issue; and the sheer difculty of saying no andmaking tough choices.

Yet few things interfere more with an organizationseffectiveness and impact than spreading itself too thinand diffusing its resources. To make a real dent in socialinjustices requires focus, discipline, and scaling up concentrating staff and resources on a limited number

of issues so that, on each issue, the organization reachesa critical mass sufcient for major impact. That is whysetting priorities is crucial at every stage of the plan-ning processwhen choosing central long-range goals,when establishing a three-to-ve-year framework of main goals and strategies for achieving them, and whenadopting an annual program plan.


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18 Strategic Planning That Makes A Difference and Thats Worth the Time Management Assistance GroupDont Forget Priorities! How to Set Them and Stick to Them

To ensure they are on the same page, the organizationsplanners need to agree on the key factorsthe crite-

riatheyll take into account in determining whatthe priorities should be. Many organizations make themistake of adopting too many criter ia and giving equalweight to each. In MAGs experience, however, not allcriteria are equal. But we think should the followingthree criteria are mandatory. (1) The activity is criticallyimportant to the eventual achievement of the organi-zations mission and central long-range goals; (2) thereis a unique or special contribution the organization canmake, or important role it can play, that no other orga-

nization can; and (3) there is a realistic chance of progresstowards the intended outcome. Unless a proposed activitymeets all three, it should not be a top priority.

MAG understands from our years of work with social justice organizations how hard it is for them to cut outof their plans anything they wish they could do. In aneffort to make these decisions easier, we created a clear framework for assigning priorities. We suggest apply-ing the three mandatory criteria, as well as any other key factors you want to take into account, in order toassign each proposed goal, strategy, or activity one of

the following degrees of importance:

A. Crucial for us to do this; meets all threemandatory criteria.

B. Very important to achievement of our missionand goals; we should do it if progress ispossible, we have the resources to do it, andno one else can do it as well.

C. Helpful to achievement of our mission andgoals, but another organization is already

doing it well, or the chances of making prog-ress are slight.

In all probability, your organizations limited resourceswill force it to focus almost entirely on the A items.

You may also be able to include some B items (or addthem if new funds come in), but youre stretching your-selves too thin if C items make the nal list.

Few things interfere morewith an organizationseffectiveness and impactthan spreading itself toothin and diffusingits resources.


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Extra Tips to Make Your PlanningMore Valuable and Productive

Gather information and insight from outside theorganization. Planning benets immensely by gettingthe perspectives of outsiders. Ask policymakers, funders,constituents, and other leaders, thinkers, and strategistsin the eld about your organizations strengths andweaknesses, shifts in the external environment, andother changes that might impact future work. To makesure youre getting really honest and frank answers, askoutside consultants to gather, distill, and synthesize thisinformation condentially.

Engage the board. Involving board members in a stra-tegic planning process is an extremely effective way of deepening members investment and sense of owner-ship in an organizationand increasing their willing-ness to raise funds for it. Staff members, of course, haveto participate as well, to ensure that the people whomust carry out the plan have had a hand in shaping it.

Make it safe to question and critique. Encourage

participants in the planning process to raise questionsand criticisms, and to challenge the status quo. Givethem permission to dispute old orthodoxies and toexamine even those aspects of the organization thathave always been considered sacred. The more free-ranging the discussion, the more possibility there willbe for new learning, new thinking, new ideas, new

approaches, and new solutions.

Consider your organizations place in the eld.Identify the areas where your organization can have aunique impact, or where it can play a role that no other group can play. But also identify the areas where part-nering with other organizations will maximize your organizations effectiveness.

Dont get hung up on crafting a public document.

A strategic plan is an internal document whose func-tion is to align the board and staff and to shape theorganizations activities. Though the plan is the basisfor marketing and fundraising, dont get hung up ontrying to craft it as a public document. After the plan iscomplete, your communications and fundraising expertscan gure out how to translate it for outside audiences.

Adjust internal operations. Many strategic plans dontwork because they lack an effective structure for imple-

mentation. A new direction often requires building newcapacities, jettisoning old ones, and making signicantshifts in key areas. Areas affected often include staff roles,management structure and style, board development,fundraising, and earned-income strategies. Be sure toanalyze the capacities that your organization will needin order to effectively implement the plan, and followthrough on the necessary changes.

Dont Forget Priorities! How to Set Them and Stick to Them


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Here are some of MAGs favorite booksabout strategic planning:

Lofty Missions, Down-to-Earth Plans by V. Katsuri Rangan. Harvard BusinessReview, March 2004.

Building Your Companys Vision by James C. Collins and Jerry L. Porras.Harvard Business Review, September-October 1996.

Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprot Organizationsby Bryan Barry.1997, Amherst Wilder Foundation.

Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprot Organizations: A Guide toStrengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement,by John M. Bryson.

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