From Fortune 500 companies to small businesses to local nonprofits, one thing most leaders agree on is that strategy matters.
Smart strategy can turn around a struggling organization, grow a seed program into a thriving community pillar, and transform an idea into a successful product or service.
One of the top ways leaders define and communicate strategy is through a strategic plan.
A strategic plan is a written roadmap for where an organization is going, how it will get there, and how to determine if the organization has “arrived” at the destination. The document should be inspiring, actionable, and reflect the stakeholders’ shared vision in the process.
That is a LOT for one document to accomplish.
What does it take to create a written strategic plan that sets leaders up for success?
Our Free Strategic Planning Quickstart Kit provides a step-by-step guide for getting started with strategic planning. But here are the toplines you need to know about creating effective written plans.
Research Shows Strategy Matters for Business and Nonprofits
The research shows that committing time to strategy delivers results for nonprofits and small businesses.
For example, the Journal of Small Business Management has found that 71% of fast-growing companies have strategic plans, business plans, or other similar planning tools in place.
Research from the Concord Leadership Group found that nonprofits with written strategic plan are more likely to collaborate with other groups and to have boards open to taking calculated risks—all of which is key to growth and impact.
But when it comes to turning strategy into results, research shows there’s often a major disconnect.
- 48% of all organizations fail to meet at least half of their strategic targets. (Bridges Business Consultancy)
- 48% of leaders spend less than a day on strategy each month. (HBS)
- 20 years of research by Bridges Business Consultancy shows that leaders consistently underestimate what it will take to successfully implement strategy.
If we get even further into the details, a big reason why strategies fail is a lack of concrete connection to budgets, financials, operations, and decision-making. For example, an astounding 60% of organizations don’t tie financial budgets to strategic priorities (HBR)!
Why is it so difficult for leaders to connect strategy to results?
In the simplest of terms, the data shows that for success you need smart strategy. But for smart strategy to work, you need to pay attention to the details.
Written Strategic Plans: Bridging the Gap from Strategy to Details
As we’ve shared before, strategic planning is about the process of creating a shared vision more than the final product of a polished strategic plan.
But that final written document DOES matter.
In fact, the details that make it into your written strategic plan are going to be key reminders that keep you and your team on track when it comes to implementation.
Think of your strategic plan as a shared language for your organization’s leadership, staff, and board. That means you need enough details to make your plan actionable and to tie strategy to nuts and bolts like budgeting and operations. You also need enough context in the written document so that you don’t have to hold every single detail in your head!
A strategic planning consultant can guide you and your team through this process, and ensure you have a written product and action plan to guide your forward-looking strategic.
Must-Haves in a Written Strategic Plan
Your written strategic plan should:
- Explain WHY you undertook the strategic planning process, what that process looked like, and what the top takeaways are.
- Describe your business or nonprofit including your history and current status.
- Lay out your core messaging: vision, mission, and values.
- Define your vision for the period covered by the strategic plan (generally 3-5 years), along with potential barriers, measurable goals, and strategies you will use to achieve those goals.
- Provide an action plan for turning your vision to reality.
As we saw in the statistics above, having incomplete or unclear action plans is where so many good intentions fall through the cracks. That’s why it’s vitally important to dig into implementation timelines, calendars, responsibilities, and more.
