One interesting approach is S.O.A.R., which you can read more about it at this link.  S.O.A.R. stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results.  In this model, stakeholders are engaged to identify Strengths and Opportunities which then lead to the creation of Aspirations and desired Results.

S.O.A.R. which has its basis in Appreciative Inquiry, which is defined by the S.O.A.R. authors as “a philosophy and organizational change approach that builds on strengths and what is called the life-giving forces of the organization’s existence, its positive core.”*

While they do not include Weaknesses and Threats in their acronym, they are not left out.  The authors add: “Weaknesses and threats are not ignored. They are reframed and given the appropriate focus within the opportunities and results conversations. Ultimately it becomes a question of balance. Why not spend as much time or more on what you do well and how you can strengthen a strategic advantage? What gives you more energy to take action? What gives you confidence to set a stretch goal and achieve results?”*

S.O.A.R. leverages a 5-I Approach which asks the following questions:

Initiate: How shall we work together?

Inquire: What are our strengths and opportunities?

Imagine: What can we aspire to?

Innovate: What can we create to achieve our aspirations?

Inspire to Implement: How do we move forward to achieve our goals?

Answering these questions then provides a roadmap forward for the organization to implement its strategy.  If you like this basic description then think about ordering the book (it’s a quick read) and SOAR on to enhanced Mission Impact!

*Stavros, J.M. & G. Hinrichs. The Thin Book of SOAR, Thin Book Publishing, Bend, OR, 2009.

It is also very helpful to SWOT any goal – individual or organizational – that you have.  But make sure you put the SWOT in context.  Ask these questions:

*Given my/our commitment to accomplishing this goal, what strengths do I/we have that I/we can leverage to meet it?

*Given my/our commitment to accomplishing this goal, what weaknesses do I/we have that I/we need to fortify to meet it?

*Given my/our commitment to accomplishing this goal, what opportunities do I/we see in the external environment have that I/we can seize to meet it?

*Given my/our commitment to accomplishing this goal, what threats do I/we see in the external environment have that I/we need to block to meet it?

Once you have done a SWOT on your goal then look at your answers to inform your strategy for the way forward.  Pay attention to the sequencing of your actions.  Hopefully your weaknesses and threats are not of great concern.  But if they are, address them up front.  Maybe, for example, you need to fortify some weaknesses before you can seize your opportunities.  And definitely try to use creative ways to leverage your strengths that allow you to seize opportunities.

Set BIG goals that inspire you!  (Read more here about effective goal setting.)  Then SWOT your goals to develop a winning strategy to accomplish them.  This is how to make a breakthrough Mission Impact.

1. Be Systematic. Don’t just ask people on your strategic planning committee what they think your SWOTs are.  Use an assessment tool or framework so that you can systematically think through your SWOTs.  For organization assessments, you can read more here about the VPP/McKinsey assessment tool and for Board Assessment you can learn more hereabout a tool from BoardSource.

2. Seek External Input. Go beyond your strategic planning group to solicit SWOTs.  What does the staff think, what do donors think, what do your clients think?  You want to get a divergence of ideas and perspectives.  Make sure to collect environmental data from external sources so you can consider facts, not just opinions.

3. Get Relevant. When you decide which SWOTs are most important to keep in mind during strategy formulation, challenge yourselves on the relevance of each item.  How will we leverage this Strength to move toward our goals and vision?  How will fortifying this Weakness help us move forward?  Why will seizing this Opportunity allow us to catapult ourselves into the future?  What is it about this Threat that could derail us?  If you cannot provide solid answers to these questions then the particular SWOT you are discussing is not relevant.  Identify those that are.

Accurately identifying your SWOTs sets you up to identify strategic actions that will move you forward toward your goals and vision.  Take the time to improve your SWOTing process so you can make an improved Mission Impact.

The OCAT allows an organization to perform a thorough self-analysis of its operations and performance.  It asks questions in seven general categories that McKinsey believes to be important to performance:  Aspirations, Strategies, Organizational Skills, Human Resource, Systems & Infrastructure, Organizational Structure, and Culture.  I think it does an excellent job of capturing important aspects of performance in each of these areas.  It provides an opportunity to evaluate performance and plan for improvements.  I highly recommend it.

So what is more cool about 2.0?

McKinsey has sharpened the questions asked in each section.  But more important, one of the drawbacks of the first version is that it was only available as a pdf version.  So that made administering it difficult.  You can to photocopy it, get people to fill it out, and then collate all of the responses.  Those days are over.

Version 2.0 is available as an on-line tool.  When your organization is ready to do the self-assessment, you simply register on line
(https://mckinseyonsociety.com/ocat/) and each person you want to complete it can do that at their own pace.  When all responses are complete then a report that collates all of the responses is produced.  Simple, thorough, helpful.

And all of this is provided free of charge!  Thanks McKinsey!

How might you use this?

SWOT Analysis.  It gives you a thorough, standard tool to evaluate Strengths & Weaknesses.

Organizational Check-Up.  You can use this at any time to give you a nice snapshot of how well you are performing.

Senior Team Review.  Once you have completed the assessment, then it provides a helpful document for the senior team to review quarterly, for example, to monitor your progress.

Check out the OCAT 2.0 today and learn how you can improve your performance and enhance your Mission Impact.

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 Ideal Future).”

Here is how you answer that question.

While looking at your goals, take each SWOT item by item.  Ask “What Strategic Action can we take regarding this SWOT to move us toward our goals?”

For each Strength, ask “What Strategic Action can we take to Leverage this Strength and move us toward the goals.

For each Weakness, ask “What Strategic Action can we take to Fortify this Weakness and move us toward the goals.

For each Opportunity, ask “What Strategic Action can we take to Seize this Opportunity and move us toward the goals.

For each Threat, ask “What Strategic Action can we take to Block this Threat and move us toward the goals.

You are now entering the most creative part of the strategy development process.  Crafting the Strategy requires you to look at your lists of Strategic Actions to discern which ones are most important, and which you need to take early on.  You will realize that some Strategic Actions are actually more “strategic” than others.  You need to figure out which Strategic Actions will really move you forward most effectively.

Look for connections between the Strategic Actions and figure out how the sequencing will flow from one to another.  As in chess, every action you take affects the whole board.  You need to weave these various Strategic Actions together to identify your most important Strategic Themes that result in your Strategy Narrative.  A Strategy Narrative is an explanation – or story – of how you are going to Leverage your Strengths, Fortify your Weaknesses, Seize your Opportunities, and Block your Threats to move you forward.

If we were sitting in your office I could work through some examples with you to show you more clearly how this works.  But this is the best I can do in a blog!  There are more examples in the Mission Impact book, of course, and there is an example in my Breakthrough Strategy Workbook which you can download from my web site at no cost.

If you follow the process in these four recent blogs then you can craft a Strategy that makes a Breakthrough Impact in the difference you make for others.  Good luck!

In Part III of “What is Strategy?” we consider your current reality.  Once you have identified the future to which you are headed (e.g., Vision, Goals) then the obvious question is “How are we going to get there?”  But don’t start brainstorming just yet.  Before doing this, you need to make sure that you have a clear and accurate understanding of your current reality.  Only in this way will you be able to create a strategy that fully leverages your resources.

SWOT analysis is the most traditional part of strategic planning – and the part most often done poorly.

First, I recommend doing SWOT analysis AFTER an organization has identified the future it wants to pursue.  This is opposite of how SWOTs are usually done.  By doing SWOTs toward the end of the process you allow yourself to follow your dreams and aspirations rather than to be constrained by your environment. See my blog about how SWOT is “Better Backwards” at this link.

When you do SWOT analysis at this stage, you are asking yourselves “What are the most relevant Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that we need to keep in mind as we pursue our Vision and Strategic Goals?”

Next you have to actually identify the “correct” SWOTs that are most important in getting you to your Vision and Goals.  And that proves to be very challenging for organizations.

Let’s start with the analysis of internal Strengths & Weaknesses.  So often this is not done with much thought or very systematically.  I recommend using an organization assessment tool for this process, such as the VPP/McKinsey OCAT.  It is also important that you have a culture of actually telling the truth to one another about your Weaknesses.  If you don’t have that, then you are going to make strategy errors.

The same goes for an analysis of the external Opportunities & Threats that the organization needs to be aware of.  Organizations need to cast a wide net, collect data, involve stakeholders, and find out what possible Opportunities are out there and what Threats they need to be aware of.

Getting the SWOTs wrong – missing any of the SWOTs – can totally thwart an organization’s strategy development process.  If you do not understand the “hand you have been dealt” then you cannot “play it” effectively.  If you miss the Aces you are holding or, worse, confuse Deuces for Aces, then you are in trouble.  For example, if you think that you have a Strength with a “Board that cares” and you need to raise lots more money, then it may really be a Weakness if this Board does not have access to funds.

Get the SWOTs right and then we will move on to writing an integrated strategy narrative in the next installment.

I think this is because so many people look at this as a mechanical and analytical process while it should be spirited and creative.  Examples:

“I think our #1 Weakness is our Board.  We need new blood and we need to recruit people who are better connected within the community.”

“What!  Our Board is caring and many have been with us since our founding.”

“Exactly.  But that’s about it.”

Or maybe . . . . . .

“I see the Opportunity for us to launch a planned giving program targeting all those widows we know who love the work we do here at the Humane Society.”

“How rude!  Chasing after those nice women just for their money!”

“Their money is going to go somewhere when they die.  What better place than to help take care of the animals they love so much.”

Don’t sleepwalk through your SWOT Analysis.  Make sure you are not making these common mistakes:

*No Rigorous Preparation.  Often there is no prep and a strategy group just shows up one morning asked to identify SWOTs.  Do some pre-work!  Examples:  Involving stakeholders in the SWOT process by asking them for input is a great way to include them and they can produce valuable insights.  There are great tools, like the VPP/McKinsey OCAT, (see my Cool Tool blog) which can allow for a thorough evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.  Collect environmental data that may reveal trends, opportunities, and threats.

*No Healthy Debate.  So many groups will not engage in constructive conflict about anything.  This is a very important place to have healthy debate!  And coming up with the “right” answer of the top five SWOTs is not the most important outcome of the debate.  Through debate, people learn various perspectives of the organization and this will become very important throughout the strategy development and implementation phases.

*Too Rushed.  Allow your organization to take a few hours with the process.  Don’t rush the voting to get done fast.  Break your strategy development team into smaller groups to combat Groupthink and allow for divergent views.  Bring the entire group back together, encourage discussion and develop common understandings.  “Really?  You think that is our biggest weakness?  Why?”

Clarity and common understanding of your SWOTs will allow you to create robust strategies to pursue your mission, vision, and goals as you Leverage your Strengths, Fortify your Weaknesses, Seize your Opportunities, and Block your Threats to make even more of a Mission Impact.

Your strategy is a collection of your answers to these three questions:

*What programs/services do we want to provide to make a Mission Impact?

*How will we staff our organization?

*How will we fund our organization?

The collective answers to these questions describe your strategy.  But is it a “good” strategy?  Here’s how you know:

First, how well do your answers to the above questions allow you to leverage your organization’s strengths, fortify your weaknesses, seize your opportunities, and block your threats?  If not done well, you run the risk of being derailed by a weakness or threat -- or missing an opportunity you could seize with a strength.

And second, how well do your program plans, staff plans, and funding plans support one another?  For example, does your funding plan provide enough resources to have the kind of staff and programs you need to make an impact?  Look at each plan to see how well they are integrated.

Step back and evaluate your strategy according to these two criteria.  If you aren’t happy with your answers, then maybe it is time to give your strategy a tune-up.  Take another look each of the strategy questions and update your plans to make sure each plan supports the other and that you are addressing your SWOTs.  Your tuned-up strategy will give you a better opportunity to make a Mission Impact.

Peter Drucker spent a great deal of time in his later years working on applications of his management ideas for nonprofits – or, as he called them – social sector organizations.  One of the excellent products of that work is The Five Most Important Questions Self Assessment Tool.  Through this workbook, Drucker takes an organization on a tour of his five most important questions:

*What is Our Mission?

*Who is Our Customer?

*What Does the Customer Value?

*What Are Our Results?

*What is Our Plan?

It’s much more than a self-assessment tool, however.  It is really a guide to helping organizations think through their purpose and performance.  Like most anything these days, the Drucker self-assessment tool is available for purchase on Amazon or from the Leader to Leader Institute which Drucker founded.

Clarity on Drucker’s five most important questions can be of great help to an organization as it designs its strategy and focuses attention on increasing its Mission Impact.

The OCAT was developed by consulting experts McKinsey & Company for Venture Philanthropy Partners as a diagnostic to help nonprofits review their operations and identify areas for improvement.  You can use it for:

*SWOT Analysis.  I find that SWOT analysis is often not very rigorous.  Ask your staff, board, and other stakeholders to complete the tool as part of identifying your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats.  It will give you a much more reliable way to assess your capabilities.

*General Management.  I tell people that if I was still a CEO I would keep a copy of the OCAT in my desk drawer and pull it out quarterly to monitor progress on various items.  It gives you an objective tool to monitor your progress.

*Teaching Organization Effectiveness.  Part of our job as senior leaders is to help people understand what it takes to be excellent.  I suggest using the OCAT in orientation of new employees as a way to say:  “This is a picture of excellence – and we are pursuing high scores in every area the tool assesses so we can make even more of an impact.  You have joined a team committed to excellence.”

I have used the OCAT in numerous courses I have taught for nonprofit executives and they always comment about how helpful it is.  I have also used it in many consulting engagements – both for strategic planning and for general management improvement.  The best thing about the tool is that it often uncovers weaknesses that are not obvious to senior leaders in an organization.

One outstanding aspect of the OCAT is that it is thorough.  I was talking with a group of consultants a couple of years ago who told me that their clients complained that the OCAT was too long and time consuming.  My response was: “Organizations are complex and a thorough tool is needed to assess them.  Also, my clients aren’t wimps and don’t mind doing the hard work needed to achieve excellence!”  Okay, maybe I went a bit too far there.

Check out the OCAT, see what it tells you about your organization and the improvements you can make to enhance your Mission Impact.