Strategy is a 24/7 endeavor

As nonprofits began adopting successful practices from the business community, they grabbed hold of one with an iron grip:  strategic planning.  However, in our efforts to embrace the practice, we confused the process of planning with the real work of setting and implementing a strategy.  The planning process became the proverbial junk drawer.  We tossed the odds and ends into the drawer with the expectation that a single process could address them all – the disconnected board that wouldn’t raise money, the staff in need of team building and the need for relevance in a changing market.

The hidden cost?  We’ve become accustomed to thinking strategically only on an episodic basis – when it’s time for the annual board retreat or when our strategic plan has “come due.” It was simply too time consuming to update the plan document.  So we let it gather dust on the shelf or sit idly in the drawer as we went about the real work of running our nonprofits every day lustige videos whatsapp herunterladen. It’s time to take that dusty or irrelevant plan off the self – and throw it away.

We’ve muddled the essence of strategy with the process of plan development.  They are not the same.  To make matters worse, we’ve allowed multi-faceted organizational issues to distract our strategic focus.  The result?  A drawn-out process that causes us to live in suspended reality.  When the process is over, we find ourselves digging deep for the energy to implement.

We could get by with that “process in lieu of strategy” approach when the external environment was more settled.  Gosh, looking back the 1990s and early 2000s seem almost idyllically stable, don’t they prezi kostenlos downloaden deutsch?

You simply cannot afford to confuse planning with strategy in today’s dynamically complex world. It’s time to create the game plan – the play book – the “use it every day ‘til it’s dog-eared” handbook.  The strategic direction that truly guides your monthly and quarterly endeavors – the one you “truth test” against.  The resource so valuable that you’ve uploaded it to your tablet and smart phone.

We’re talking about an organizational strategy.  Not tactics.  Strategy can be defined as a coordinated series of actions.  The operative words are coordinated and series 8 ball pool downloaden.

Now is the time to adapt.  Today’s nonprofit leaders need to find the true connections between the external environment and your organization’s real competencies and vulnerabilities.  As you craft your strategy real-time you’ll need to consider your organization’s unique position in the marketplace.

One of the best resources we’ve found in the strategy setting arena is the article “Can You Say What Your Strategy Is consorsbank secure app?” by David J. Collis and Michael G. Rukstad from the Harvard Business Review (April 2008).  This seminal piece presents three key concepts:

A hierarchy of statements that illustrates the relationship between mission, vision, values and strategy.  Board members will thank you as you give them something easy to understand.  Strategy wonks will love it as a tool.

A visual of the strategic sweet spot – the market and customers your organization serves best in consideration of what others provide.

A strategy statement that clearly and succinctly describes who you will serve, how you will serve them, and the comparative advantage you will embrace audacity mac for free.

The exercise of writing a strategy statement – and we at Corona Insights have written numerous with our clients – is harder than you’d think.  Organizations tend to think they have clarity only to find a lack of agreement and buy-in. The problem?  Our strategy isn’t precise and simple enough to remember.  Imagine if the folks at Apple designed your strategy.  Ah yes.  A strategy statement so clear and concise that you’ve memorized it – and so has your team youtube musik auf android herunterladen.

You’ll find the hierarchy of statements is really helpful when articulating your strategy as you ask yourselves, “Is our strategy distinct from our mission?  Might we have confused our vision with our strategy?”

Now that you’ve defined and committed your strategy to memory, it’s time to use it – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year long.  This means you’ll be testing against it and adapting it as required.  Imagine an executive staff or board discussion that goes like this.

We said we were going to pursue ____ strategy.

Does Opportunity A really fit our strategy?  Does it augment or strengthen our business model?  If it doesn’t we shouldn’t pursue it.  If it does – or could with a tweak – then we should steam kann keine spieleen.

Are we forecasting changes in the external environment that portend vulnerabilities to our business model?  Revenue sources that were certain two years ago aren’t even likely today.  Eek they’re risky.

Have conditions changed substantially enough to warrant a reality check of our strategy?

As you anticipate the New Year, I encourage you to make the following resolutions alle bilder einer facebook seiteen.

We’re going to have a strategy – and it’s going to be clear enough that I can articulate it regularly and ensure my team (board and staff) get it too.

I’m going to use a strategy play book – and I’m going to update it as needed to take advantage of opportunities and address threats real-time.  Our whole team is going to be operating from the same play book google herunterladen download kostenlos.

I’m going to anticipate a continually high level of uncertainty in the external environment and will act accordingly – that means we’ll reality-check our strategy on a regular basis.

Best of all, your board will l-o-v-e you when you tell them they don’t need to participate in another day-long retreat or months-long process that leaves them thinking “what’s this all about anyway?”  Like you, they’ll see that strategy is a 24/7 endeavor driver for hp printer for free.

See also:

Nonprofit Sustainability

The Nonprofit Business Plan

The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution

Image credit: worldsoccertalk.com

Leave a reply


Welcome! Please provide your log-in information below.
Forget your password?
Enter your email or user name and your log-in information will be sent to the email on file.