Strategy is an integrated explanation of how an organization is going to guide its performance into the future. 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 … [Read more...] about What is Strategy? Part III
swot
Sleepwalking Through SWOTs
SWOT analysis – analyzing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of an organization – is usually not done well. I often feel as if organizations are just sleepwalking through the process. 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 … [Read more...] about Sleepwalking Through SWOTs
Give Your Strategy a Tune-up
How are you going to pursue your vision and work toward accomplishing your mission? What is your strategy? 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 … [Read more...] about Give Your Strategy a Tune-up
Drucker’s Five Important Questions
The Nonprofit Strategy class I am teaching at Maryland was due to discuss SWOT analysis last night, so it has had me thinking about various assessment tools available for nonprofits. 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 … [Read more...] about Drucker’s Five Important Questions
A Cool Tool
It’s free, it’s been out for about ten years, and yet I think it is still a tremendously underutilized resource. It is the McKinsey/VPP Organization Capacity Assessment Tool. To download your free copy, go to: http://www.vppartners.org/learning/mckinsey-vpp-ocat The OCAT was developed by consulting experts McKinsey & Company for Venture Philanthropy Partners as a … [Read more...] about A Cool Tool