Strategy - Strategic Planning
Project Example | Nonprofit Strategy
Strategic planning and strategic management design
Context
My client had already established the basics of a strategic planning and strategic management capability. In its latest cycle, it had conducted a lengthy process of both "bottom-up" and "top-down" input to put in place a four-year strategic plan with five strategic goals.
With the basics in place, however, the organization had begun to experience a new set of challenges, including:
- A feeling that too much time and effort had been required of management and staff.
- Strategic goals that were too expansive, effectively saying "we will continue to do what we do, but do more and do it better."
- Limited accountability for execution.
- Difficulty adjusting course in response to changes in the environment.
Key Question
How should we design our strategic management process to be:
- Leaner, more concrete and more responsive in strategy setting, and
- More disciplined in strategy execution?
Solution
I designed a strategic management system incorporating key concepts from the strategy literature, including guidance on how to make real strategic choices, as well as best practices in strategy implementation inspired by the Balanced Scorecard
system. Activities included:
- Rapid diagnostic of the current process and clarification of design principles.
- Translation of strategic management best practice to fulfill design principles.
- Design of a practical strategic management process.
- Development of materials to secure buy-in from key stakeholders.
Key elements of the recommended design included:
- Shorter up-front strategy formulation stage that shifted from broad environmental scanning and bottom-up agglomeration of observations from process participants, to deep, structured problem solving on the few strategic questions that really matter.
- Formalized management of strategic initiatives, including i) explicit chartering of strategic initiatives and clear accountability, ii) dedicated budget for strategic initiative execution, and iii) dedicated management processes (separate from day-to-day operations).
- Responsive planning and allocation of resources, allowing activity portfolios to evolve as frequently as quarterly if necessary in response to new developments.
Results
When activated in the coming months, the client's strategic planning and strategic management process will be leaner, with strategic plan development shortened from 18 months to 3 months, and more focused on the organization's most pressing strategic questions. The client will have a stronger muscle for strategy implementation and will be more responsive to changing strategic conditions.
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