What Is Planning?
Strategic planning is important work for any organization - it is work specifically done to examine whether the mission is being achieved, and to decide which actions are most likely to support the mission. Planning work is about intentional choices because every organization works in an environment of scarcity (limited resources).
There are two main categories of planning work for non profits. The most common names for them are strategic planning and operational planning. I prefer to call them special initiatives planning and annual planning (My post called "When Is Planning Strategic?" explains why). Special initiatives planning typically consists of a multi-year plan defined by the leader of an organization, and usually indicating a new direction or focus for the organization. For example, it's common when a college gets a new president or a non profit gets a new executive director that their vision for their first 3 to 5 years is defined in a special initiatives plan.
Annual planning, sometimes called operational planning, is a regular practice of looking at the work of a department or the whole organization. Today in the US, it is expected that colleges have an annual planning practice in most areas. It is less common in small non profits, but I believe that is a missed opportunity. If everyday work provides a ground level view of the organization, then annual planning is the ten thousand foot view. Planning work doesn't happen when doing regular every day tasks; people in an organization must make time for planning. The good news is it doesn't take much time to do planning - an investment of a few hours quarterly (about 15 hours per year) makes for a solid annual planning practice that leads to results.
Additionally there are specific analysis techniques that are used in planning (for example, SWOT analysis is one well-known technique). Each of those analysis techniques on their own probably would not not constitute "strategic planning" since planning tends to be a more holistic practice. But this array of techniques is often an important part of planning.
The Typical Planning Cycle
Planning is typically conceptualized as a cyclical process:
set an objective;
think about what actions will support that objective;
gather some evidence of whether the objective was achieved;
evaluate what is working and what could be done differently in the next planning cycle.
There are many frameworks for plans and planning, but at the core is this basic concept. The mindset of this cyclical approach is often called continuous improvement. Different organizations or planning experts will emphasize some parts of the cycle over others, and a google search will produce a handful of popular variations. For example, at Eight Ninety Consulting emphasis is often on the evidence step; since evidence collection can be challenging it's the step most likely to be overlooked in planning work.
Most plans are annual, though the nature of some work might call for a different time frame. Strategic plans (aka special initiatives plans) may have a three to five year horizon, but data collection and evaluation should be done annually to check progress towards the goals named in the plan.
Why Do Planning?
The most common reason people in non profits do planning is to meet the demands of external stakeholders. For example, grantmakers often require an applicant organization to have a strategic plan; college accreditation agencies expect a practice of annual planning at institutions.
But the best reason to do planning is for your own organizational success. The best reason to put in the work is to help your organization (or your department within an organization) manage whatever the future brings. A strong planning practice results in being less surprised, and hopefully never blindsided, by the circumstances that unfold during the next year or two.
Planning is great for a mission-based organization since it supports mission fulfillment. Planning is perhaps most important in non profits or small organizations since, compared to more corporate organizations, they have very limited resources to achieve a mission that has great meaning to staff and stakeholders. In that environment, intentionality is critical.
The framework of planning is applicable to individual artists or small collectives too - the principles and basic cycle are so flexible they can be applied to any work situation where people set goals for the future. So even though it may seem like planning only applies to corporate settings or larger non profits, I would recommend that any small organization or individual artist consider a planning practice too.
Starting a Practice of Planning
The main principle is that some planning is always better than no planning. People who are new to planning often hesitate to write down their plan unless they think the content is outstanding. But in planning work, great gets in the way of good. Most people who wait for a perfect plan end up two years later still having no plan at all. Plans constantly develop and change; they improve with trial and adjustment. This is why Eight Ninety Consulting uses the term "planning practice" - it's ongoing, never perfect, but getting incrementally stronger. A planning practice is characterized by intentionality and not by perfection, and a mindset of continuous improvement is productive for planning work.
Typically it does no harm to have a plan that is good instead of great, and only when you get started and do some planning are you likely to learn what works. Planning is dynamic and aspects of a plan can be adjusted whenever insights are gained. Remember too that a plan need not be shared with others until it feels solid.
If you want to get started, approach planning with three steps.
Step One: Commit
Step one is to commit that you will get started, while embracing a level of uncertainty. This means a certain kind of discomfort - not the horrible kind, just the light kind that comes with stepping slightly outside of your comfort zone. What do you normally do to get yourself over the speed hump of a new habit? Maybe you want to write the affirmation "I do planning" on an index card and tape it to your monitor. Maybe you will do a little more research about what planning is like. Maybe you should tell another person you are starting a plan so saying it out loud helps compel you to do it.
Step Two: Schedule
Step two is to schedule in some time during the first year of your planning practice. Put it on the calendar right now with the first "appointment" in the very near future and the last one in about a year.
There are two things to schedule. The first is work sessions. Every quarter block four hours of work time to focus just on your plan with no interruptions, no excuses. About half of each work session will be spent gathering the information needed to provide content for your plan, and the other half should be spent using that material to make the content of your plan. I suggest four hours all together if you can make that work - it's best to concentrate with no interruptions (it's okay to stretch or refill your beverage, but aim for a work session with no other interruptions).
The second thing that must be scheduled ahead of time is data or evidence collection. Evidence is important for any plan (and a major focus at Eight Ninety Consulting), and some metrics are time-bound. For example, if your plan includes collecting data by survey from people who attend your programs, you have to remember to do that at the right time (usually very soon after the person attended the program). If you miss that survey window the chance of gathering feedback diminishes. As you block off time for documenting your plan, also mark when you must gather data.
Step Three: Tools
Step three is to adopt some tools to support your planning practice. Planning is not very time consuming work; it is more a matter of project management. There tend to be long gaps between work sessions, which means tasks or content can be forgotten in between.
Use whatever tools are best for your own work habits and style. In most organizations this can be done for no additional cost using the available productivity applications. Some of the most used tools are text documents, simple spreadsheets, or task lists.
Conclusion
Planning can be very useful for an organization or a department within an organization. Since it's not very time consuming, that makes for great value - when you put in the work, the benefits should be noticeable. Get started today rather than waiting until you have a perfect plan. Start small, gain experience and confidence, and then expand your plan. Some planning is always better than no planning.
And definitely keep an eye on this blog for more posts about planning practice and resources. Feel free to comment on this post, send an email (info@eightninetyconsulting.com), or check out the Eight Ninety Consulting page on LinkedIn.
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