STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

AND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONDr. David R. KolzowTeam Kolzow, Inc.

PLANNING: DO WE NEED IT?

Is planning important to our daily lives? Is planning important for the future of our

communities? Do economic development organizations

need to plan? Are these obvious questions?

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LACK OF PLANNING

Failing to plan is planning to fail

STRATEGIC PLANNING

What makes planning “strategic?” Why is a “comprehensive” plan not

necessarily a “strategic” plan?

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STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN

Design Assess Envision Prioritize Strategize Evaluate Modify

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STRATEGIC PLANNING BENEFITS Takes a proactive rather than reactive approach

More likely to result in the solution of difficult problems

Provides a more efficient process for reallocating resources to meet changing conditions

Creates a forum of dialogue between stakeholders and local development organizations and government agencies

Serves as an education to stakeholders about the operation of the organization and why certain programs are important

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STRATEGIC PLANNING BENEFITS Provides an opportunity to focus on

the forest rather than the trees

Emphasizes taking time out from the “urgent” to do what’s “important”

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STRATEGIC PLANNING BENEFITS

What benefits have you found strategic planning to have for your community?

What problems have you encountered?

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WHY PLAN? Why do community leaders often tend to

wait to see what the future will bring rather than try to influence that future?

Do you want to “manage change” (exciting) or be at the mercy of it (depressing)?

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“STATUS QUO” VS. DEVELOPMENT

WEED PATCH Unplanned Unpredictable Change Movement and Activity Reactive

GARDEN Planned Improvement Progress Proactive

or

STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

How much control do the community’s development organizations have over the business investment decision?

What is the role of the ED organization regarding business investment and job creation?

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The process is facilitated through: Developing a skilled workforce Investing in the physical infrastructure Attracting new jobs at higher wages Improving the business environment Availability of marketable land and buildings Restoring a healthier natural environment Enhancing the local quality of life Promoting the community and region

STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR RESULTS

Who Are We?

Who Do We Want to Be?

How Do We Get There?

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WHO ARE WE?

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WHO ARE WE? The economic region served by the E.D.

organization: What are our locational assets and liabilities?

As viewed by local leadership As viewed by outside investors

The economic development organization: What are our organization’s strengths and

weaknesses? As viewed by local leadership As viewed by clients and prospects

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ASSESSMENT SURVEYS

Leadership survey Citizen survey Business survey

SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang

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COMMUNITY ASSESSMENTS

Information Inventory

Analyzing the Local Economy

S.W.O.T. Analysis

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ANALYZING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

Demographic trends Income trends Labor force trends Employment base Retail trends What drives our local and regional economy? What do these trends tell us about our future

if we continue on our present course?

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S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS

What unique or strong assets do we have that are competitive?

What is hindering our ability to compete? Opportunities – potential target industries Threats:

Globalization Knowledge-based economy Economic slowdown Transformation of manufacturing & distribution Skilled labor shortages Etc.

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COMMUNITY COMPETITIVE ANALYSISWhat are other communities doing to be more

competitive?How does our community compare to similar

communities?What do our ED organizations need to do to be

more effective and competitive?

WHO ARE WE AS AN ORGANIZATION?

The organization must know what its capabilities and capacities are before it can decide what it’s strategic plan should pursue: Managing expectations Dealing with realities Not “biting off more than it can chew” Reducing disappointment due to lack of

results

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WHO DO WE WANT TO BE?

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VISION

“There is no more powerful engine driving an organization (or region) toward excellence and long-range success than an attractive, worthwhile, and achievable vision of the future, widely shared.” (Burt Nanus, Visionary Leadership)

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VISION

What’s the difference between a vision statement for a region and for an organization?

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VISIONWhat/who should be the primary

source of a regional vision?For an organization’s vision?

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REASONS FOR LEADERSHIP FOCUS

Not much changes in a community that isn’t desired by key leadership – true or false?

What do local leaders bring to the visioning and strategic planning process that the typical residents don’t?

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AN EFFECTIVE VISION

Widely shared Clearly articulated Strongly committed to Challenging but attainable Highly desirable; a substantial improvement

on the present Concise and memorable

The greatest dangerfor most of usis not that our aim istoo highand we miss it,but that it istoo lowand we reach it.Michelangelo

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EVOLUTION OF A “SHARED” VISION

PERSONAL VISION

PERSONAL VISION

PERSONALVISION

COMMUNICATION

SHARED VISION

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REGIONAL VISION STATEMENT EXAMPLE

The Tennessee Valley Region is a globally competitive community, as evidenced by its outstanding education system, its highly educated and skilled workforce, a highway and transportation system that provides smooth traffic flow and connectedness with the rest of the U.S. and the world, its affordable and high quality health care system, an outstanding quality of life, and a high level of cooperation and collaboration among the various local governments and stakeholders that serve the region.

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FROM VISION TO PLANVisioning clarifies what the

organization or region wants to become and where it wants to go;

Strategic planning clarifies how the

vision will be achieved

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SETTING PRIORITIES

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PRIORITY ISSUES On what issues should

the strategic plan be focused?

To what do we need to be paying most attention if we are going to achieve our vision?

Given our resources and our economic realities, what can we and should we attempt to accomplish?

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LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES Balancing:

Leadership concernsBusiness investment concernsCommunity concernsLocal government concerns

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PRIORITY IDENTIFICATION

Review past studies Conduct competitive assessment Survey employers Use a task force of key leaders Survey the community and/or its leaders Conduct a workshop/retreat

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LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP Who should be

invited? How should they be

invited? Where should it be? Who will make

arrangements? Who will help

facilitate? What resources will be

needed?

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LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP Introductions Ground rules Education on major

trends Findings of surveys and

assessments Visioning process Identification of priority

issues Reviewing the “path

forward”

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DESIRED ECONOMIC IMPACT

2,500 new primary jobs resulting in 4,875 total jobs, paying $37K annually

Generate direct payroll totaling $172,975,000 annually from new or expanding businesses in targeted sectors

Increase new capital investment by $150,000,000 Encourage 25 new business startups with

innovative or tech-related concepts Recruit 25 “best-fit” companies

EXAMPLE: TOP FIVE REGIONAL DESIRED OUTCOMES

1. The region’s standard of living as reflected in its per capita income has grown faster than that of the State

2. The regional economy has a healthy diversity that enables it to weather economic downturns and that continues to create wealth

3. The quality of life continues to be a major draw for business and residents

4. The recruitment of new business and industry is targeted to those that have a “best fit” with the assets of the region, are high growth, and provide higher paying wages

5. The region provides strong support for entrepreneurial activity (an entrepreneurial culture)

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Example of Community Priorities from a Leadership Workshop

1. Need for equal educational quality county-wide that is at a consistently high level.

2. Expansion of hospital and medical facilities in the County.

3. A stronger level of cooperation and collaboration among government entities and development organizations.

4. Maintaining a highly desirable quality of life in the County.

5. Improvement of transportation between the east and west areas of the County.

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Example of Community Priorities from a Leadership Workshop

6. Traffic congestion in the major highway corridors, especially during rush hours.

7. Improved job training opportunities for workers seeking advanced workplace skills.

8. Increased focus on attracting a diversity of economic activity.

9. Increased availability of quality housing for young professionals and technology workers.

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FROM ORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES TO GOALS

Who should set the priorities for the organization? What role do the local/regional priorities play in

setting the E.D. organization’s priorities? If the priorities of the Board and stakeholders are not

in agreement with those of the organization’s executive director and staff, what should be done to remedy the situation?

Goals should reflect the organization’s priorities as well as those of region.

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EXAMPLE: TOP FIVE ORGANIZATION OUTCOMES1. The recruitment activity of the MEP is focused on those employers

with higher than average wages and that provide expanded opportunities for the “underemployed” and more skilled and educated workforce

2. MEP has an effective business retention and expansion program, and works closely with existing business and industry to help them grow

3. Our regional economic development program is aggressive and effective in its efforts to attract and retain job growth and capital investment

4. We target those firms that help to diversify and grow the regional economy

5. We have expanded funding opportunities for entrepreneurs by developing venture capital and “angel” networks

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ORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES WORKSHOP

Find a time and place that maximizes stakeholder participation in a workshop

Before or during the workshop, provide information and background to stakeholders so they can have a more realistic perspective

Structure the meeting/workshop/retreat environment so that priorities for the organization can be identified in an effective manner

Rank order priorities so relative importance of each can be determined

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GOALS

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Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Henry Ford

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FROM ISSUES TO GOALS Issues and problems tend to be negative in nature;

they are questions looking for answers Goals tend to be positive statements about the

future; they reflect the achieving of a condition or status that is desirable

Start the action development process with problems and their causes; convert issues into goals for the written strategic plan

EXAMPLE: MCEDA Strategic Planning Goals

Goal 1: The marketing and promotional efforts of MCEDA have successfully resulted in attracting new and diverse business investment and the creation of higher wage employment. This diversity builds on the mix of existing manufacturing operations, and expands the outreach to business and professional firms, office operations, distribution, and defense contractors.

Goal 2: The educational and training system in Morgan County is continuing to prepare the local workforce for the job skills needed now and into the future.

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OUTCOME-BASED PERFORMANCE Improving organizational

accountability

Defining desired outcomes that can be measured

Determining performance measures that can demonstrate progress and achievement

Everybody is in favor of progress. It’s the change they don’t like.

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CRITERIA FOR OUTCOMESWell written

outcomes are SMART: S pecific M easurable A ggressive, but

Attainable R esult-oriented T ime-bound

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GOAL & OUTCOME EXAMPLE Goal: The organization is adequately funded

to achieve the implementation of its action plan.

Outcome: Within the next 12 months, the executive director and Board will raise $1 million in public and private sector monies for the organization’s funding.

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MOVING FROM GOALS TO ACTION PLAN

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“Strategies that don’t make use of identified strategic advantages, address key priorities, or resolve major problems aren’t really strategies, just nice ideas.”

What do you thinkwe ought to do?

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MOVING FROM PRIORITIES TO ACTIONS

Develop consensus from the leadership on the priority development issues that need to be addressed

Research these issues and possible actions that can be taken

Develop a set of “strategic” actions for each priority issue/goal

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DEVELOPING STRATEGIC ACTIONS

If local problems were easily solved, strategic planning wouldn’t be necessary

Solving problems and resolving issues requires “innovative” thinking; out-of-the-box

Actions need to be potentially effective in addressing local priorities if they are to be strategic

Frequently, local leaders tend to come up with the same things that they are familiar with rather than new ideas

New ideas can come from focused facilitation, research, and outside expertise

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PROBLEM & ITS CAUSESProblem: Manufacturing jobs are decreasing locally

Causes: Low and moderate wage manufacturing jobs are going

overseas Increased use of technology reducing need for workers Companies increasingly serving a global market Local workforce doesn’t possess necessary work skills for

high technology industries

An expensive recruitment effort, by itself, may not be the answer

GOAL, OUTCOME, STRATEGY, PERFORMANCE MEASURE Goal: New business parks are in various stages of quality

development.

Outcome: A minimum of 200 acres of new business parks in the City are attractively developed and offer a variety of high quality options to meet the space needs of new and expanding firms.

 

Strategic Action 1: The organization will form a “Real Estate Action Team” to guide the organization in the planning and development of new business parks and commercial areas.

Performance measure: Team organized and chartered with an adopted schedule of meetings

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BASIS OF CHOICE FOR STRATEGIC ACTIONS

Organizational goals and priority issues

Creating maximum positive impact for the organization’s programs

Amount & type of resources available

Level of commitment of organization’s leadership

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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

• Organization must use critical thinking and research when selecting initiatives (strategic actions)

• Too many initiatives cause the organization to lose focus

• A good strategic initiative clearly addresses the priority issue/goal.

• Management must communicate carefully regarding the initiatives that are selected.

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STRATEGIC ACTIONSAction words to avoid:

PromoteEncourageFocus onPursueEnhanceReviewContinue to useStudyCollaborate with

These words lack accountability

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EVALUATION OF ACTIONS

Who is responsible for implementation?

How much will it take to do? What kind of resources and staffing

will it take? What is the timeframe? What will we gain from it; what will

be the benefit? How will we measure our progress?

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COMMUNITY/REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING

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Why is a written strategic plan important to the community or region?

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STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN

Organization assessment and mission statement (Who are we?)

Vision statement (Who do we want to become?)

Goals and outcomes (priority issues) (Where do we want to go?)

Strategies (How do we get there?)Staff responsibilitiesFunding needs and sourcesTimingDesired impact or results

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ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Volunteers and citizens do not implement most strategic actions; organizations do

Each strategic action requires a clearly identified organization to take on the responsibility of implementation

Each organization responsible for some phase of activity needs to buy-in to their role in the implementation

Some overview group is usually desirable to monitor and coordinate implementation among the organizations

LOCAL/REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

1. Review the local/regional assessment

2. Determine the key elements of leadership’s vision for the area

3. Determine leadership’s development priorities:a) Survey

b) Workshop

4. Translate priorities into goals and measurable outcomes

5. Develop strategic actions for each goal

6. Determine organizational responsibility for each goal

7. Set up oversight committee

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PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGIC PLAN

What’s the difference between a strategic plan and an organization work plan?

Why is the work plan crucial to the effective implementation of the strategic plan?

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT—Key to Successful Achievement

Managing use of staff time and talent on projects

Allocating organizational resources effectively

Expending funds according to budget

Staying within the timing constraints

Knowing where each project is in terms of progress and achievement

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SAMPLE GANTT CHARTTASK Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

Prepare leader survey

Identify local leaders

E-mail leader survey

Phone follow-up

Tabulate results

Publish results

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ADJUSTING THE PLAN Reassessing priorities Reallocating resources Changing programs and activities Modifying the basic plan

STRATEGIC PLANNING THOUGHT

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“It is the successful transformation of the community (or organization) that is ultimately important; not the successful implementation of the plan.”

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HOW DO YOU CONTACT Team Kolzow?

Telephone: 615-972-4801 – Dr. David Kolzow

E-mail: drkolzow@bellsouth.net

Address: Team Kolzow, Inc.505 Leicester Ct.Franklin TN 37067

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