Is Your Strategic Plan Hurting More Than it Helps?
If you follow any of these 3 fallacies, the answer’s probably, yes.
Global pandemics, senseless wars, mass shootings, economic instability…Barrels of proof that you can’t predict the future.
Outcomes we predicted would happen, didn’t, while senseless things we couldn’t even dream up did.
Clearly, nonprofits need a new paradigm of strategy formation now more than ever.
So let’s talk strategy.
More specifically, strategic planning.
In the past 20 years, nonprofits have placed a huge emphasis on strategic planning.
And for good reason…
Strategic planning helps you:
Determine your strategic position
Prioritize your objectives
Develop a written plan of action
Execute and manage your plan
Review and revise the plan
Strategic planning is an essential piece of being proactive rather than reactive.
But here’s the trouble:
When strategic plans are developed and formalized, they either:
Find themselves shoved into a binder and thrown on the bookshelf (never to see the light of day again)
or
Become carved into stone, refusing to be adapted to unforeseen situations and opportunities that will inevitability arise
Either way, strategic plans fall short, and nonprofits know it.
As a nonprofit center, we’ve seen this play out firsthand. Over the years, we’ve seen many network nonprofits struggle in the areas of marketing, financial management, development, and program evaluation.
Why?
It’s become clear that there are hidden fallacies nestled within strategic planning, which when followed blindly, end up hurting nonprofits more than helping.
So let’s dive into the 3 fallacies of strategic planning, and what you can do to avoid them.
What are the 3 Fallacies of Strategic Planning?
In short, they are formalism, predeterminism, and detachment – 3 big words with 3 big implications.
But to really understand these fallacies of strategic planning, you first have to understand where it stems from.
Strategic planning is a student of our best teacher: history.
Born out of a couple of initiatives, including foundations shelling out funding for projects that didn’t materialize, and the federal government being tied to government funding that required accountable results, strategic planning made its claim to fame.
But then…
World War 2 erupted, and uncertainty ran wild.
The 1970s oil embargo was put in place, and prices skyrocketed.
World conflicts escalated, inflation soared, and instability grew.
The VUCA world was now upon us.
Standing for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, VUCA is a catch-all for “hey, this world is crazy and unpredictable!” and a wake-up call to businesses and nonprofits alike.
Before, nonprofits could reasonably forecast out 3-5 years relatively confidently and accurately. But now, we’ve wandered into the realm of an uncertain world where reasonable forecasts are a shot in the dark.
(If you’ve watched the news at all in the last month alone, you know this to be true).
This VUCA world requires nonprofits to identify, understand, and act upon new information and dynamically changing situations in real-time.
And if you don’t, you’ll fall headfirst into the 3 strategic planning pitfalls:
Formalism
A really fancy word for a very simple idea: “If you make it formal, it’s a done deal”
Formalism, like the “done deal” idiom that originated in the 1600s, both are antiquated.
As a nonprofit leader, you put all your time and effort into creating the perfect strategic plan that has the answers to all of the future’s conundrums. Confident it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, you put it in writing, and package it with a beautiful red bow.
But to your colleagues and fellow staff, your bow resembles bright yellow caution tape spelling out “Do Not Cross”.
Why’s that?
Because they had nothing to do with it in the first place.
Here’s the issue formalism presents:
Intense formal processes actually hinder good thought.
When you take the plunge to formalize your strategic plans, there ends up being a huge gap between the actual intention of your plan and when it is put into action. (For example, formalizing a fundraising event that will be implemented in 2 years' time with no intention of adapting it along the way.)
So what’s swirling around in that gap between thinking and action?
Reality.
The reality that the economy, culture, and world affairs will not stop to consult your plans.
The reality that you’ll be thrown hundreds of curveballs that will hit you like a pie to your face.
The reality that you’ll be presented with obstacles that don’t fit into your formalized plan.
The reality that if left unmodified, your perfect plan will fail perfectly.
This reality impedes organizations’ ability to deal with challenges and take advantage of opportunities.
Why?
Because strategic plans become obsolete the moment you put them on the shelf.
2. Predeterminism
Just another fancy word for thinking you can plan for whatever the future throws at you…
Even though that is literally impossible…
You establish a failproof strategy and map out processes for the next few years–confident you’ve got a strategy for every possible scenario. You’ve nailed down specific time frames for each phase of your plan, and have everything scheduled to meet those deadlines. It’s all tidy and pretty with that pretty red bow.
Unfortunately, we live in a VUCA world that cannot and will not fit into your plan.
As time progresses, so does the uncertainty of society. The idea that you can establish goals on a certain timetable is a lofty desire–One that sounds great but performs terribly.
And yet, this is what many nonprofits do.
By doing this, not only do you delude yourself and your staff, but you also create false expectations between funders and donors.
In the long term, it damages your nonprofit. Predeterminism hurts trust and credibility between donors, other nonprofits, and your community at large.
3. Detachment
This fancy word means you let the “smart people” write your strategic plans in isolation.
In this far too common practice, leaders create strategic plans with little to zero communication with frontline staff (the people who actually have to execute it).
And when it comes time for buy-in and authentic implementation, they don’t have it.
Whether nonprofits hire consultants to mock-up plans or choose to only strategize with fellow leaders and board members, the whole effort becomes extremely detached and uninvested.
When you don’t have buy-in on every level within your organization, those perfect plans instantly become obsolete.
And all that time and effort you put into creating your masterpiece suddenly becomes all for nothing.
The bottom line is this: In order for strategic plans to be useful, they have to be used. So if you want staff to own and execute the plan with intention, give them a say in the creation of it.
VUCA demands that you bypass conventional, obsolete approaches to nonprofit management and leadership. In this case, that means you avoid the temptation to develop your strategic plans in a bubble.
This can all be summed up by the old adage, “what we plan for ourselves isn't always what life has for us.”
But that doesn’t mean you get to sit back and do nothing…
There is a remedy to these unfortunate fallacies. But in order for the cure to work, it will require an intentional mental shift on your part:
Pivoting from Strategic Planner to Strategist
Just because the words “strategy” and “planning” are commonly used in the same sentences doesn’t make them Batman and Robin.
They don’t have to travel together.
And in regards to the long-term health and success of your nonprofit, they shouldn’t.
Although similar, planners and strategists have two very different motivators and goals:
Planners adhere to the plan no matter what
Strategists adhere to the goal no matter what
Planners see curveballs as hiccups
Strategists see curveballs as opportunities
Planners plan vertically from the top, down
Strategists plan horizontally through collaborative networks
Planners focus on conclusions of written strategic plans
Strategists focus on the journey of adaptable strategic plans
Planners plan
Strategists do
So now that you’ve made the shift from planner to strategists…
Ready for the remedy?
You’re about to get 2 for 1…
Emergent Strategy
Here it is: focus on the thinking, not on the document itself.
Rather than obsessing over the actual plan, narrow in on the 5 to 6 key things you want to evaluate before making a decision that will help you move forward.
Create a matrix of questions/ideas that you (and your staff) can use as a filter to sift through the potential threats, opportunities, or challenges you’ll face.
When life throws you her lemons, collaborate and ponder:
Does this opportunity support itself financially?
Does this support our core values?
Will this proposition strengthen or weaken our programs?
You know the future is unknown, so rather than spending your time creating a documented plan based on a fixed mindset, spend your time creating a flexible filter through a growth mindset.
Develop your emergent strategy–Utilizing tools like strategic screens or opportunities matrix (that you’ve developed beforehand) allows you to assess things more effectively as they come.
In a VUCA environment, this has proven to be the more reasonable and helpful strategy.
The bottom line is this: if you don’t have clarity on your organization’s strategic screen, you won’t be prepared when an opportunity walks through your door.
2. Strategy Deployment
AKA, “Catchball”.
In traditional management styles, there are some high-level metrics that leadership establishes and gives broad guidance to lower-level staff with proposals on how to meet those standards.
This leads to a one-sided, low buy-in, top-down culture.
(Spoiler alert: these stories rarely have a happy ending).
But here’s an alternative:
Play verbal catch with every member of your organization.
Create a dialogue and open communication between upper management and lower staff that allows for ideas, proposals, and advice to be tossed back and forth.
Be a strategist that engages their team in the day-to-day operations, rather than a planner that merely asks the staff for feedback on their plans.
The benefits of this new strategy?
It shows respect to lower-level staff
Lower staff bring ideas to leadership with unique perspectives
Nurtures a culture that values horizontal collaboration
Avoids the “silo mentality” and promotes collective buy-in
Value produced is a combined effort between all parties
Say goodbye to detachment!
Being able to have a new mental model takes effort and guidance. Especially, when organizations lack a model to follow. Because of this, it makes sense why many nonprofits revert back to traditional business models.
But sharing a different way of thinking through strategic planning helps nonprofits overcome these 3 fallacies.
You may not be able to say you’re going to accomplish X by a certain day, but you will know how to use your new strategies as a rubric as things pop up along the way.
And that’s what actually matters.
President Eisenhower said it best, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
What strategy will you follow?
At Serve Denton, our overarching strategic goal has always been to grow capacity and help nonprofits operate with excellence.
We do this by helping nonprofits run efficient and effective organizations – specifically through our Shared Services program.
🌟For a limited time, Serve Denton is offering 50% off of shared services to nonprofits up to a maximum of $5,000.
If you’d like to talk to us about how your organization can benefit from Shared Services, contact us here. Schedule a screening call and see how we can help you move your nonprofit forward.
We are here with you, and here for you.