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7 Ways to Know If It’s Time for A New Strategic Plan

By Jackie Sherman

Strategic Planning - a word cloud

What is Strategic Planning? It’s a process of engaging your key stakeholders to agree on the mission, vision, and values of your organization, as well as your goals, and the strategies and key actions to reach them. The result is a plan that focuses the efforts of your organization toward achieving your desired future. To do this you need to know “where you are” and “where you are going.” As the old adage goes … if you don’t know where you want to go, then any plan will get you there.

Every organization whether for-profit or nonprofit, needs a strategic plan. Here are 7 ways to tell if you need to design a plan, or if it’s time to update your existing one.

  1. Your organization has existed for more than 3 years and you’ve never had a strategic plan. When a business or nonprofit starts it has a reason for existing and a sense for its goals, but the immediate start-up needs are often driven by tactical concerns. You get initial funding, put a basic infrastructure in place, develop products or services, and go after initial customers or members. “Long term” is one or two years. But once you are established and have a sense of the lay of the land, you need a more strategic focus to guide you. It’s time for a strategic plan.
  1. The environment within which you are operating has changed. Changes happen all the time: new competitors emerge, customers come and go, the funding landscape alters, the economy fluctuates, or the demand for your services changes. While you need to take notice and adapt continuously, not all of these are reasons to change your direction or strategy. So how do you know when a change in the operating environment is cause for re-examination? When the assumptions upon which you based your plan have changed, it’s time to take a new look.   

  1. You are experiencing a major unplanned increase or decrease in your sales, hiring environment, membership, funding, etc. Many small changes eventually add up. For example, losing a few customers a year may not be a big problem, but when 20% of your clients leave over a short time period, it’s time to pay attention. Similarly, if you experience small growth annually you don’t necessarily need to reconsider your strategy; but if you suddenly have double-digit, unplanned, growth or a loss for several years running, you need to pay attention. The new reality of what’s happening in your external and internal environment – and why and how you adjust – means it’s time to reassess your goals and strategies.
  1. Members of your leadership team or board have very different ideas about the direction for the future. Lack of alignment is an important sign that it’s time to reexamine your strategic plan. Are people operating off the same information? Is there shared understanding about the key environmental factors affecting your organization? It’s critical that organizational leaders reach agreement on the purpose and focus of the organization.
  1. You are ready for your next big leap, but aren’t sure what it should be, or how to achieve it. This is a sure sign it’s time for a new strategic plan. The planning process enables you to consider what the world needs now from your organization, what choices exist, which ones are most attractive to you, and how you will achieve them.
  1. If the timeframe covered by your current plan is ending it’s time for a new plan. Even if you have not accomplished everything you planned, it’s time to take stock of what you have accomplished, how your current environment is different and what you now want or need to achieve in the future.
  1. You’ve accomplished all the key goals you set from your last strategic plan. Congratulations! It’s definitely time for a new plan. You may coast for a short time, but don’t wait too long before you engage in a new planning process. In fact, it’s best to begin a planning process before the timeframe for the current plan ends.

The process used to create your strategic plan should build understanding and ownership. This means that all members of your organization need to actively engage in gathering and understanding the data, consider what it means, identify key strategic choices, and develop the plan that will achieve your goals. An outsider can guide and facilitate the process, and be engaged to gather some data, but ultimately the plan should be developed and written by the people in your organization. That’s how you get the alignment and ownership critical to implement the plan.

Is it time for your organization renew its strategic plan?

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Jackie led us through a strategic planning process that included input from our multi-generational congregation and leadership team, resulting in a dynamic plan that we put immediately into action. The outcome is that we’ve experienced a new level of growth and vibrancy for our congregation. Jackie is highly skilled at working with groups – she was just the right person for this endeavor.

Marianne Garber, PhD
Ahavath Achim Synagogue

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Jackie facilitated a strategic planning process for our organization that received very positive feedback from our board and donors. I was impressed by her ability to work through the high-level conceptual challenges. And as a leader, I truly appreciated her willingness to ask the hard questions and challenge me to think things through, which always improves the end product.

Emily Pelton
Executive Director / Refugee Family Services

Lara Dorfman

The strategic planning process Jackie facilitated resulted in a plan and structure that has enabled us to better organize our work, broaden our service area, improve fundraising, and engage volunteers – the plan helps us fulfill our mission. Jackie did a great job of managing all of our opinions and passion in an honest, but delicate way.

Lara Dorfman
Executive Director (former) / Jewish Educational Loan Fund

Jeff Alpern

I’m so pleased that, several years after working with Jackie to complete our strategic plan, we are running the organization using the plan as an actionable template. The plan has become embedded into our culture. Jackie’s approach is smart, practical and very thorough. We trusted her process and got the result we wanted.

Jeff Alperin
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Jackie’s coaching has helped me to lead better in what can be an emotionally charged theatre environment. She helps me get to the core issues, deal with the bigger picture, and formulate an action plan. She is very responsive and resourceful and draws from her deep experience in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds, which gives us new perspectives and insights.

Jennifer Bauer-Lyons
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Mary Ellen Davis

Jackie has been a coach and strategic thinking partner for me since 2004. She is a great listener and her broad base of knowledge provides an outside perspective to think through problems in ways I can’t do on my own. Jackie helps me come up with processes, is good at showing me my strengths, and she’s helped me add very useful tools to my toolbox.

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Executive Director / National Membership Association

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You can either win or lose during a transition, so it’s important to pay attention to this critical time. The first transition Jackie coached me through was so successful that I have retained her for every work transition for the last 10 years. She helps me get a clear view of the situation and approach it strategically. Her keen observation skills set her apart from everyone else I’ve worked with.

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Patrick Prevost
Strategy and Development Manager (former) / BP Chemicals

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Working with Jackie was truly a developmental experience and a real pleasure.  She was able to “get to know me” very quickly, using probing questions and strong listening skills, and then effectively used that knowledge to ask challenging questions throughout the coaching experience, forcing me to look at things differently and explore different options.  She brings a holistic approach to coaching, helping the client discover the connections between different aspects of work and life, and the interdependencies of mental, physical and emotional states.  It is this unique approach, and the resulting new awareness found, which has made a long lasting difference for me.

VP Global Diversity / Fortune 50 Company

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Director of Human Resources / Emory University General Libraries

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You helped us with many important changes. Our organization is a different place now. We have greatly improved our communication and decision-making. The 3 years that we worked together were very rewarding for me and rich with learning. I had very challenging times and I could not have made it through without your support. I believe the library has a better result from our reorganization because of your involvement with us.

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Human Resources Manager

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  • ▼Blog
    • 5 Key Steps to Effective Meetings - Making the Most of Your Investment in Meeting
    • 6 Clear Steps to Greater Influence: Join Before Differentiating
    • 7 Ways to Know If It's Time for A New Strategic Plan
    • Creating the Energy for Change
    • For Greater Alignment, Go Slow to Go Fast
    • How to Lead Effectively Through Resistance
    • If Your Senior Leadership Team Needs To Be More Effective, Get this Timeless Book
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