Strategic planning can be quite a bear to complete for various reasons; however, when done intentionally, spending time, energy, and resources in the process can produce a plan that can energize and propel an organization. Here are ten reasons to do strategic planning this year.

1.     Your organization has never done one or your last one was before 2021. The year 2020 was filled with big changes, which most of us were not prepared for. We’ve reached a point where you can stop and reflect on what is working and what is truly not working. Then you can make a plan that guides your organization on how to evolve and make that change. Think of the phoenix, it’s time to “emerge from the ashes.” Reviewing and updating your goals and strategies every three years is good practice.

2.     It creates big hairy audacious goals. Teams are more functional when each member is working towards the same goal. I find most teams want to go in the same direction but haven’t given time to discuss ideas together and develop a plan. Good BHAGs are clear and compelling to all.

3.     To complete an organization assessment. Strategic planning allows you to analyze your organizational culture and environment and identify ways to address or improve it. Many organizations are experiencing a loss in knowledge, relationships, and skill; incorporating professional development and succession planning into a strategic plan ensures you can devote time, energy, and resources to support our changing workforce, and ultimately, have the capacity to fulfill your organization’s mission.

4.     To better maximize resources (including your own time). A strategic plan can give you the space (and confidence) to clarify what resources (money, staff, physical space, skills, etc.) you need and ask for them specifically. Strategic plans can be a gift to grant writers and development staff.

5.     It gives you permission to “No”. One of the gifts of strategic planning is it is an agreed-upon focus for your organization. For (at least three) years, every opportunity/ask/initiative has to align with the plan. Strategic planning can give you time to think about what is most important and gently let go of anything that does not take you in the direction your organization wants to go.

6.     It can increase creativity and innovation. To me, one mark of a solid strategic plan is the staff can see a clear path for their work and run with it. They have the freedom to take strategic risks, space to learn from failures, and get the resource support they need.

7.     To engage with your community. At the end of the day, you do not do your work in a vacuum. You rely on partners, clients, and community members to achieve your success or provide services. Engaging these folks in your strategy allows you to see their perspective when engaging with you, helps them understand your role in your community, or see their piece of the pie in the work to make a change.

8.     It’s an opportunity to practice inclusion. An inclusive strategic planning process will engage and gather various perspectives from all levels of your organization to inform the plan. Inclusivity is all about listening and collaborating.

9.     Ground in your vision and mission. Having a clear vision is one of the most important aspects of any strategy – the board and staff must be a part of this vision. Being clear about your role in making that vision come to life is essential to success. Sometimes organizations get off course to stay afloat; sometimes the path to an organization’s mission changes. A strategic planning process allows you to clarify what path you want to take.

10.  You can ask for help. Strategic thinking is a skill that requires time. If your organization doesn’t have a strong strategic thinking muscle or your organization lacks the capacity to focus on planning, asking for help ensures your plan is truly strategic. Help can come in the form of having facilitated board and/or staff retreats; facilitated conversations around a problem or issue; doing community engagement sessions or an environmental analysis; advising on how to implement a plan; providing training around strategic planning; or managing the entire strategic planning project.

If your organization is ready to do strategic planning, reach out to me and my team at The Spark Mill – we’d love to talk with you about how we can support your organization in creating a robust strategic plan that will guide your department, agency, or organization for years to come.