From Strategic Goals to Action Plans – Incorporating Adaptability

Strategic planning is difficult for most organizations. We all know from experience that things often don’t work out as planned.

Moreover, once you decide to start developing a strategic plan, there can be uncertainty about how detailed it should be and whether it will be useful once circumstances change. That uncertainty, combined with our past planning experiences, can create a disincentive to even start the process.

Here are 10 tips that might help you develop and assess your strategic planning and adapt to inevitable plan changes:

1. Consider focusing on the short-term. Given how quickly circumstances change, it may be useful for you to focus on a timeline that you believe allows for the greatest amount of predictability. For some, that may be 2 to 3 years. For others, especially those working in a larger organization where change takes more time, your plan may cover 5 or more years.  

2. Prioritize strategic goals. Identify several top goals that you can realistically achieve within your timeline. Choose between 3 to 5 to keep your organization focused on priorities. Your strategic plan could broadly describe why these top goals are important, how they are tied to your mission, the structural or other changes you may need to make to accomplish those goals, the resources that need to be raised and/or shifted, and how you will measure your impact. This additional context could provide you with a road map for your action plans during your strategic timeline.

3. Ask how goals are related to your longer-term aspirations. Determine with as much specificity as possible how what you are trying to accomplish during your timeline is connected to your organizational aspirations over a longer time horizon. If there isn’t a tight enough connection, select other goals. As you are finalizing your goals, make sure they are specific and actionable. Remember, these should not be a restatement of your mission or vision statements, or even an articulation of the goals you wish to achieve over the next 10 years.

4. Set achievable goals. Make sure your strategic goals are achievable by you and/or your team. Too often people interpret “strategic” as meaning “very ambitious.” At best, unachievable goals can be a barrier to embracing a strategic plan. At worst, you may set yourself up for disappointing results or failure. You have the power to choose your goals, so choose wisely.

5. Develop an “action plan.” You should outline in annual action plans how you will advance your goals during your strategic timeline. This is where you outline the activities and/or tactics that you will utilize, and the internal changes you will make, to implement your strategic goals. You also should identify in your plan how you will measure your success. Additionally, your action plan is the place where you can include some of the goals that don’t make it into your top strategic goals. Action plans are not, however, the place where you put “everything and the kitchen sink.” Your activities should be limited to the things you can achieve during the next year. Moreover, if any of your non-administrative activities aren’t advancing your goals, you should be clear about why you are committing time and resources to them. 

6. Articulate your values. Ensure that you (or your team) articulate a clear set of values that govern your work. Those values will help guide you through the moments when you need to consider whether to adjust or change either your strategic goals, your long-term objectives, or your mission.

7. Assess the plan and goals regularly. Assess both your action plan and strategic goals at regular intervals that match your timeframe – at least every 6 months for your action plan and once a year for your goals. Make whatever adjustments are needed; neither your goals nor the plan is written in stone. Adapting and changing shows that you are smart and resilient.

8. Solicit feedback. Ensure that you have open and regular communication with your stakeholders - the people that matter as you are implementing and assessing your goals - so that you receive timely feedback about your work. If you don’t receive feedback, then ask for it. Surveys, focus group conversations, and one-on-one meetings are all good ways to invite people to share their thoughts.

9. Be responsive. Remember that having open communication is only useful if you act on the information you receive and report back on the steps you took, if any, afterwards. That means incorporating a review period after you solicit feedback, and it means making the time to report back. When you do that, you are in a transformative feedback loop. You will continue to grow as an organization, and your stakeholders will feel valued. Over time, the feedback you receive will inform your next strategic planning process.

10. Keep it simple. Keep your goals, plan, and assessments as simple, specific, and targeted as possible. SWOT analysis, logic models, etc., can be useful tools. But remember, many people get bogged down by planning tools and assessments. Or they are busy and put off assessments because doing the work feels more important and immediate.

At Civica, we like the Adaptive Model for its simplicity. It was developed by the Human System Dynamics Institute.

In that model, you ask three overriding questions – What, So What, and Now What. If you use this model, develop some specific questions within each category.  

Under “What,” those questions could be about what worked well and what didn’t, external and internal challenges you are having, etc. Use the “So What” assessment to figure out what the answers mean to you, why they are important, and how those answers influence what you decide comes next. Many people skip the “So What” part of the assessment. Doing that can lead to action steps that are misaligned with your strategic goals. Once you answer the second set of questions, you can then more confidently answer the “Now What” questions. During the next review period, you ask the same set of questions again.  

Feel free to reach out to us at connecting@civicaconsultants.com if we can help you with your strategic planning, implementation, and/or assessment.