Marsha Morris International Resources Page

Strategic Planning Process Basics

The following document describes the basic steps of a strategic planning process. Organizations undertake strategic planning processes to evaluate the direction in which the organization is going and draft the organization’s future strategic direction.

MMI believes that the strategic planning process should be a collaborative process engaging the entire spectrum of organizational stakeholders – from management and staff, to Board and community members, to funders and constituents.

Described below are the basic steps of a strategic planning process.

Components/Steps to Successful Strategic Planning

1. Understand the Importance of Strategic Planning - The organization’s leadership must understand the importance of regular strategic planning and communicate that importance to all organizational stakeholders.

2. Start a Strategic Planning Committee (consisting of the entire spectrum of organizational stakeholders – management, program staff, support staff, Board members, and constituents) to guide the strategic planning process.

3. Draft an Organizational History – A two-three page summary of the history of the organization can be prepared to outline the most critical events in the organization’s development and the timeline for those events. We suggest that the timeline is enlarged and hung in a visible spot during the strategic planning process to serve as a reference to process participants.

4. Identify Organizational Values – We suggest that the organizational values be identified and agreed on by all organizational stakeholders. Use venues such as Board, Staff, and Strategic Planning Committee meetings to gather stakeholder input.

5. Determine the Organization’s Vision – The visioning process can be completed at a Board meeting with Staff representation. We recommend that the process is communicated to the entire Staff at a Staff meeting and that a final approval is obtained from the Board and Staff representatives.

6. Determine the Organization’s Mission – We recommend that the mission statement used during the planning process is developed by the Board of Directors and approved by the Board with Staff representation.

7. Perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis – The identification of the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a data collection and analysis, brainstorming, and strategic thinking exercise. The process is usually designed by the Strategic Planning Committee. A strategic planning consultant can assist with the process design as well as the data collection and analysis completion as needed. Other organizational stakeholders (e.g. staff members, volunteers, interns, etc.) could also be involved to assist in the data collection and analysis phase.

8. Devise Strategic Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics - the strategic goals and objectives (and strategies and tactics for accomplishing these goals and objectives) are based on the outcomes of the SWOT analysis and are devised by the all organizational stakeholders. The Strategic Planning Committee Leader usually supervises the process and ensures the completion of all tasks.

9. Develop a Strategic Work Plan – a work plan identifying the individual activities to be performed in achieving the strategic goals and objectives and outlining the timeline for completion for each activity is developed based on the on-going work. The Strategic Planning Committee Leader usually coordinates the plan development efforts and presents the final work plan to the Executive Director and the Board for approval.

About MMI’s Written Products

MMI believes that the written products (e.g. assessment reports, action/implementation plans, case studies, training curricula, etc.) it provides to the customers are signature pieces of the practice. They represent MMI’s commitment to quality consulting that addresses client needs and furthers client goals.

Through the years, MMI has developed a reputation for and takes pride in delivering quality written products to its clients. We are continually striving to improve the quality of our products by requesting and listening to our clients’ feedback.

We write our products conscious of our audience. We convey information in a way that is easy to hear and understand. We emphasize the essence and help our readers to understand the basics.

We support our findings and statements with primary data gathered thorough the consulting process. When providing recommendations, we explain our rationale and relate the recommendation back to the findings. Our reports are clear and concise. They are meant to serve as guiding tools to the organization as it continues to develop long after we are gone.

Please see examples of our written products below. These are actual products developed by MMI with the organization’s names substituted for confidential purposes.

A Diversity Action Plan (the end result of a diversity assessment and planning process)

A Strategic Planning Process Design (an early product of a strategic planning process)

An Executive Summary of an Organizational Assessment Report (the final product of a comprehensive change management and organizational assessment process)