Sound strategic planning is critical for an organization’s success because it helps define and communicate what the organization wants to accomplish and the steps necessary to get there. Unfortunately, less than 10% of strategies are effectively executed according to Fortune...
In an earlier article, Making Strategy Happen, I examined the factors to be taken into account for the successful implementation of a strategic plan. Since the fall season typically brings a period of annual planning and budgeting for nonprofits, it's...
Many who have experienced strategic planning will relate to this scenario: the facilitator with an impressive PowerPoint featuring graphs, intersecting circles, and colourful charts to suggest how the planning process flows and makes sense. There are even handouts explaining the...
Whether in executive search practice, or providing training to Board volunteers, as a management consultant I inevitably ask others about achieving a legacy. In a hiring interview, the question typically goes something like this: "what will others say has been...
Last month's article wrapped up with the benefits of Strategic Planning. That list will have convinced your board and chief executive of the importance of this process! With increasing competition for limited funds, engaged volunteers and dedicated staff your charity...
Can you elaborate on last month's article and help me understand the relationship between the fundraising plan and strategic plan? In an article entitled "How Fundraising Flows from Strategic Planning" it states: "The key to raising money is control, which...
More and more I am witnessing the power that leveraging our strengths has in the nonprofit sector. This approach, which identifies what is working well within any given system or organization and builds upon this knowledge, is at the heart...
The value in planning is not in creating strategy but in implementing it. The purpose of planning includes seeing the positive, tangible results accruing to the organization by instituting and achieving strategic change. Yet too many organizations see their planning...
In challenging times, not-for-profit organization boards and staff need to resist reactive-thinking and remember the basics of good governance and management. This starts with remembering what management-guru Peter Drucker identified as a leading quality of not-for-profits that sets the sector...
Last month, CharityVillage readers were invited to complete a three-question online survey about their planning levels in 2010. In this article, we will review the survey findings* and then discuss the trend of incorporating social media in planning (strategic or...
