My October column, Strategic Planning Sucks the Life Out of Nonprofits, prompted quite a few comments and questions. I was particularly pleased that some comments challenged my point of view. Here are my responses.
Eric Ryan: It’s been several years since I have posted a comment, but I felt compelled to do so. I agree with many points, but I believe the article’s title was a poor and possibly damaging choice. Yes, strategic planning can sometimes suck life out of a nonprofit, but nonprofits without effective plans and implementation processes are more likely to struggle. I hope more people learn the good ideas in your article than use the article’s title as yet another reason to not engage in important strategic work.
Eric, ah. The power of words. Should we have gone with “A Strategic Planning Process Can Suck the Life Out of a Nonprofit?” Perhaps. Here’s hoping that the recommendations make it abundantly clear that I am an unabashed advocate of strategy work and hope that the article offers helpful guidance on getting it right.
Michael van Hove: In my experience with some nonprofits, there’s a new “strategy” every year, and I have seen it unsettle the organization.
Michael, the quotation marks say it all. If there is a new “strategy” every year, it is not a strategy at all but rather than an operational plan or a set of annual goals. Some organizations feel that is what is needed, and sometimes nonprofits shun longer-term planning, arguing that a changing landscape demands that an organization be nimble. Nonprofits need a big-picture strategy to guide programs and engage funders and it should be revisited and adjusted regularly based on the changing landscape.
Culture Runner: Board members are often unaware of the history of the organization beyond their own board service dates, the larger local sector context, or the rationales for why current programs are structured the way they are. Thus, the same “good ideas” that are unworkable in practice pop up again and again in strategic planning sessions, usually coming from new and enthusiastic board members. The result: The “newbies” feel like their “good ideas” were shot down, and the staff members are frustrated because the board members don’t understand the actual sector realities the staff must operate within. Any thoughts on how to keep this flaw from short-circuiting strategic planning?
Culture Runner, I’ve definitely seen this, and demotivating new board members is the last thing you want to do. So, set up the process with real care and intention. Before you start asking big questions, have the staff (and perhaps the most recent chair of the strategic planning committee) prepare a presentation that offers history and context to level the playing field. Design the presentation with new board members as the primary audience.
Joan Garry, who leads a nonprofit consulting firm, is the author of Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership and was executive director of Glaad.
