Category: Starting a Business

It still seems common that many facilitators start strategic planning by having planners attend first to the wording on the mission statement, and soon after to start brainstorming strategic goals.

While that approach often can be done in a half-day or full-day of fun and creative “planning,” it has many drawbacks. Here’s a list of my concerns about that process:

1. Most strategic planning researchers, educators, writers and practitioners would agree that the strategic thinking is the most important part of strategic planning. While there’s probably different perspectives on what “strategic thinking” is, I’m sure that most would agree that it includes the process of taking a wide look outside and inside the organization and then deciding how best to position the organization to work toward its mission, as a result of that looking around. I fail to see how focusing on exciting words in a mission statement and then brainstorming associated goals actually achieves that critically needed strategic thinking.
2. The word-smithing and brainstorming are based on a usually invalid assumption – the assumption that all of the knowledge and wisdom that are needed for strategic thinking are already in the minds of the planners. Unless the planners have regularly been considering the overall strategic situation of the organization (rarely the case with very busy Board and staff members), then that assumption is an invalid one that can significantly cripple the value of strategic planning. It can build a beautiful ladder – to the wrong roof.
3. The word-smithing and brainstorming propagates the major misconception, especially among facilitators, that there’s one way to do strategic planning – when there’s actually many different models of strategic planning (vision-based, issues-based, real-time, alignment, organic, etc.). The model should be selected, based on the purpose of the planning.
4. The word-smithing and brainstorming of exciting goals propagates the myth that “strategic” means only forward-looking considerations, and not considerations of the major current issues that the organization might be facing now.
5. The word-smithing of the mission statement can propagate the misconception that the mission statement is the mission. The statement is the map, it’s not the journey. A very useful mission would clarify, e.g., what’s the social need that the nonprofit is aiming to meet, what results/outcomes are needed to meet that need, what services/programs are needed to achieve those results, what group(s) of clients do we aim to serve, etc. If the discussions about the mission consider these questions, then it’s not word-smithing. Otherwise, discussions about “are we transformational” or are we “transcendental” are not sufficiently attending to the journey, rather they’re attending too much to the map.
6. Finally, it propagates the myth that great planning can be done in an exciting half-day or full-day session, without much preparation, discussion, debates or research.

What do you think?

The corporate “glass ceiling” prevents many women from advancing above a certain level in Corporate America. For example, men hold the top position in 98% of Fortune 500 companies. So increasing numbers of ambitious female entrepreneurs have opted to increase their influence and impact by running their own company.

And in so doing, they bring unique strengths that deliver new vitality to their companies and to the world. One of those strengths is deep emotional commitment to their communities.

A recent report entitled Forget the Glass Ceiling: Build Your Business Without One, commissioned by Dell, identified four specific ways that women bring new value (and values) to the marketplace:

1. Social Responsibility is Built Into Their DNA

2. Giving and Volunteering Benefits Both Nonprofits and Your Business

3. Women Help Other Women Achieve

4. Business is More Than Just Making Profits to Women.

My observation has been that women entrepreneurs bring longer-term sustainability to their companies, and in time I believe there will be data to support that observation.

Good luck!

(Adapted from The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy)

During strategic planning, as your team arrives at the stage of defining the broad activities – the strategies – your team will undertake to move your vision into reality, we recommend a specific format for writing those strategies.

To ensure clarity of your strategies, use the verb-object-purpose format.

Since strategies are “broad activities” the verb-object-purpose format starts with action (verb), states what is acted upon (object) and explains why (purpose). The sample strategies that follow demonstrate the verb-object-purpose format.

Strategy Verbs

With the verb-object-purpose format, the selection of the verb is important.

With strategies, be sure to start with a “strategy” verb and not an “objective” verb.

The table that follows illustrates the difference between objective and strategy verbs. Verbs on the left column of the table will tend to lead you to describe the results to be achieved. The verbs on the right will tend to lead you to describe the action to be taken. While objectives focus on results, strategies focus on action.

There is often a great deal of confusion about the difference between business plans and strategic plans. And, frankly, they are similar in many ways, and since each plan has to be tailored to the organization it is prepared for, one can easily blur into the other. In both cases, you begin with internal and external research (often called a “scan”) to get clarity on the best direction for the organization and where its best opportunities are to obtain the funds it needs to succeed. Continue reading “Business Plans vs. Strategic Plans”

It seems that the use of “templates” in strategic planning is on the rise. People want a simple and straightforward way to get the Strategic Plan written and finished. They want a “roadmap” that applies to every organization with everyone all the time and everywhere.

I’m seeing them mentioned more often lately for strategic planning, Boards, marketing and fundraising. We’re getting more calls from potential clients who want us to use a certain template.

Some of the Advantages of Templates

1. They very quickly depict a certain approach to doing a seeming complex activity.
2. They sometimes promise a very quick way of doing a seemingly prolonged activity
3. They can quickly orient people to a certain way of doing that activity.

Disadvantages of Templates

1. Might minimize the time needed for critically important strategic analysis, thinking and discussions.
2. Can give the illusion that all planning and plans can be the same, regardless of the different purposes of planning.
3. Might suggest a “quick fix” to the challenge of allocating sufficient time and resources to good planning.
4. Indirectly suggest that a nonprofit should have certain structure and certain Board committees.
5. They don’t orient planners to the different variety of models for planning, i.e., don’t enhance the internal planning capacity of planners.

Some Mistaken(?) Assertions in Templates

Some:

1. Specify which Board committees a nonprofit should always have.
2. Specify the maximum limit of committees for all nonprofits.
3. Specify certain procedures for solving problems and making decisions.
4. Specify the time frame that a Strategic Plan should be.
5. Specify that sufficient planning can be done in a certain number of hours.
6. Assert that mission, vision and values must always be looked at first in planning.

However, Assertions Are Not Always True.

They depend COMPLETELY on the nature and needs of the nonprofit. For example:

1. The number and types of committees might depend on the number and complexity of strategic priorities.
2. The way that decisions are made and problems are solved depend on the culture of the organization, e.g., some prefer a highly rational breakdown of the issue, while others prefer a more unfolding, naturalistic, but inclusive approach.
3. The time frame of a Plan should depend on, e.g., how rapidly the environment is changing around the nonprofit and the range of its resources.
4. There are occasions where mission, vision and values are not the best to start planning with — if an organization’s programs and clients have not changed, but it has many internal issues, then address those first.
5. The role of templates has its advantages. But I wish that the authors of templates would do more to caution the users on the purposes, limitations and considerations in using those templates.

??? What do you think?

One emerging trend we’re noticing in our work is the number of companies using meditation and mindfulness practices to increase individual and group productivity, improve well-being and health, and reduce stress in the business environment.

Moreover, recent neuroscience research demonstrates at the brain’s molecular level that meditation and mindfulness, even if practiced for just 20 minutes per day, can have dramatic effects on brain function as measured by brain scans and brain function testing. Continue reading “Mindfulness as a Competitive Strategy”

(Adapted from The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy)

As a leader in your organization, part of your role during strategic planning is to help establish goals that provide a foundation for the rest of the plan. It is important that you ensure the foundation is solid.

Here are 4 responsibilities your role requires in ensuring the goals established are strategically developed and aligned with the plan:

1. Lead a visioning exercise for helping your team members discover their goals. This is a powerful and creative method for gathering and shaping ideas and future thinking. Here is one I recommend – Painting the Picture, which you can learn more about in The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy.

2. Ensure that the goals represent all of the key areas of strategic focus for the organization. To ensure that this is the case, ask the integral question (as one part of the quality check of the goals): “If the organization achieves these goals, and only these goals, will the organization most likely have fulfilled its mission?” If the answer is no, something is missing.

3. Be sure to separate content discussions from wording discussions. Much time can be wasted in adjusting the wording of a goal. Content discussions sound similar to, “Should we also include something about… ?” Wording discussions frequently sound like, “The better word for that is…” Discussions about word adjustments typically are not a valuable use of the whole group’s time. Therefore, consider recording these suggestions and moving on. Then, have a smaller group address wording outside the session.

4. Ensure that all of the quality checks are met. There are a set of critical questions outlined in The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy that should be addressed during the quality check. If you cannot answer yes to these questions, reconsider the goals your team developed.

Need some help in carrying out your role as the leader during the strategic planning process? I recommend expert facilitation services to help guide you during the strategy work.

________________________

Certified Master Facilitator Michael Wilkinson is the CEO and Managing Director of Leadership Strategies, Inc., The Facilitation Company and author of The Secrets of Facilitation 2nd Edition, The Secrets to Masterful Meetings, and The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy. Leadership Strategies is a global leader in facilitation services, providing companies with dynamic professional facilitators who lead executive teams and task forces in areas like strategic planning, issue resolution, process improvement and others. The company is also a leading provider of facilitation training in the United States, having trained over 18,000 individuals.

OK, you know this. You’re spending too much time answering emails. Getting interrupted by unimportant stuff. And worst of all, attending meetings, lots of meetings, sometime endless, pointless meetings. Continue reading “Caves and Campfires…”

First the good news: Starting Sept 30, US federal law allows small startup companies to raise equity on the Internet, without the expensive barrier to register the shares for public trading with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Companies can now raise unlimited amounts of capital simply by using social media sites or elsewhere on the Internet.

This will help address the problem many small business owners face by creating a mechanism to connect with investors, which until had to be done “privately” — which for many small companies meant not at all. Continue reading “Crowd Financing Debuted Last Week (sort of)”

(Adapted from my book, The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy)

To help determine your organization’s goals, utilize a visualization exercise that guides the team through a scenario ten or more years into the future. The visualization should help participants see what was accomplished, how it was accomplished, and how customers, employees, competitors, and any other significant stakeholders view the organization.

What follows is a sample of a visioning exercise using the meeting planners association.

Sample Visioning Exercise – Meeting Planners

The visualization exercise should guide the participants through a scenario ten or more years into the future that allows them to visualize the organization achieving tremendous success.

________________________

Certified Master Facilitator Michael Wilkinson is the CEO and Managing Director of Leadership Strategies, Inc., The Facilitation Company and author of The Secrets of Facilitation 2nd Edition, The Secrets to Masterful Meetings, and The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy. Leadership Strategies is a global leader in facilitation services, providing companies with dynamic professional facilitators who lead executive teams and task forces in areas like strategic planning, issue resolution, process improvement and others. The company is also a leading provider of facilitation training in the United States, having trained over 18,000 individuals.