What Makes a Great Strategic Plan?

Many of the strategic plans we see make great doorstops or bookends; their dense pages may be read just once with little likelihood that they will be implemented. So when shopping for a consultant to facilitate your planning process, ask to see a sample plan. It should 1) be clearly stated and concise, with an aspirational but realistic vision for the next few years, 2) be easy to implement without an owner’s manual, 3) incorporate a realistic and affordable evaluation framework, 4) be directly tied to financial projections, 5) identify those responsible for implementation and reporting on progress, and 6) be flexible enough to make course corrections as evaluations are completed or an organization’s financial position changes. In this way, a strategic plan becomes a tactical document, rather than a pie-in-the-sky exercise. Download our packet on “Strategic Planning 101: For Nonprofit and Voluntary Leaders”: Plan A – Strategic Planning 101