“What would we do with a $500, 000 windfall in revenue?” This was a question that a fellow Board member asked the rest of us at a recent meeting. “What a great question,” I thought. “I am so glad we have Puja on this Board.” But, our inability to answer her question with ideas that were well thought out makes me think we should revisit this question at a future … [Read more...] about The $500,000 Windfall
strategic planning
Don’t Compromise on Strategy
Sometimes compromise is necessary. If a group can’t reach collaborative consensus then you have to move to voting, where different factions give up something they want in order to make the result the least distasteful option available – that will get the required votes. The results are quite sub-optimal and, by the way, this describes our current situation (for years) in … [Read more...] about Don’t Compromise on Strategy
Strategic Plan? Oxymoron.
Strategy? Yes. Plans? Yes. Strategic Plan. No. Not exactly. What organizations need is a Strategy – an overarching general explanation of how they are going to guide their performance during the coming years. Then they need to build specific Plans to implement the Strategy. The Strategy should be targeted toward Strategic Stretch Goalsthat are designed to significantly … [Read more...] about Strategic Plan? Oxymoron.
More Effective SWOTing
Conducting SWOT analysis (identifying an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is one of the most commonly used activities in strategic planning. It is also an activity most often done poorly. Here are three ideas to improve your SWOTing: 1. Be Systematic. Don’t just ask people on your strategic planning committee what they think your SWOTs … [Read more...] about More Effective SWOTing
What is Strategy? Part IV
Strategy is an integrated explanation of how an organization is going to guide its performance into the future. In Part IV of “What is Strategy?” we put everything together. You have chosen your future with your Vision & Strategic Goals, and you have discerned your SWOTs. Your Strategy answers the question “How do we get from there (your Current Reality) to here (your … [Read more...] about What is Strategy? Part IV