Honestly speaking, if there was a better phrase than "Strategic Planning" I would've used it instead. The combination of words are straight to the point in describing the definition while at the same time feeling like jargon. In layman terms all strategic planning means is;
Setting a goal and finding the best way to get there while making sure you don't lose yourself along the way. Remaining true to your vision, mission and values from beginning to end.
The issue is that I can't write all of that in my SEO!, and people who need my services often do not know it by "strategic Planning" but the silver lining is that they know I can help them somehow. In this post I am going to explain what I mean when I use the words, "Strategic Planning" and how it relates to my firm, McKersin Consulting.
SWOT VS. SOAR
So in strategic planning we have established that the process is, setting goals, determining the best course of actions to reach those goals and utilizing the resources at hand. The first logical step after confirming a client is analysis. We can't do any planning without first understanding where you stand. The two most commonly used techniques for analysis in strategic planning are,
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
and
SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results)
If you are like me, when I first learned of SOAR technique I was like, SOAR looks so much better! SOAR is recently gaining popularity and I was accustomed to SWOT for years. I thought SOAR was going to be revolutionary but neither one of them is inherently better than the other. It is a matter of preference and the needs of your organization or business. SWOT is more known because it has been around since the 60's and SOAR was released in 2003. In my past work with SWOT I would apply it in a unique way because it was the only technique I was aware of at the time. Sometimes when working with clients, your job there isn't to look for weaknesses but to instead help come up with a shift in thinking and community offerings. Instead of looking for weaknesses in the client I would instead look for the weakness that exists within the community we want to serve. What were they lacking and how could we help? What was the most pressing threat to them and what can we provide in terms of strengths and opportunities. Can we spell out strengths and opportunities and make them accessible and obvious? That wasn’t what SWOT was intended for but I wasn’t there to spell out my client's threats and weaknesses. Maybe I will invent a new technique from my methods. SWOT is mainly used for orgs and businesses, can also be used by individual clients who want a clear assessment on where they stand. Can also be used to shift goals and processes after finding out they wasn’t working, or in my case to help put out proverbial fires. Most of the time these fires involved harm being done in an org or lack of retention due to a weird climate.
The Bat-signal goes up in the sky then I show up. First I spell out what had been working well and their strengths, then the weakness that led to the inability of dealing with this proverbial fire. What opportunities and resources are present for moving forward and the threat that looms that may rear its head again if not dealt with. We spend a lot of time focusing on the weakness portion. It is not pretty. You start to see the ugly parts of all us in those rooms. Nobody wants to feel like they are the reason for something not going well but like a growing plant, you have to push through the dirt and discomfort to grow. Then we assess risks and try to think of any risk that may come up to ruin the hard work we did and our plans. SWOT is also really useful for major corporations and businesses when they are rolling out new products and initiatives because they are focused on data, data, data. What worked, what didn’t and why.Â
I have implemented SOAR these past few years and what I have noticed is that the process tends to be faster. The room is not over encumbered by the negative energy or rooting out problems which is great but can be a con if an organization needed SWOT and you brought them SOAR, thus moving forward with the problems present. I can typically see the gaps in an organization pretty quickly when working with them but if I am not there to address them and it doesn’t interfere with my role and project at hand, it isn’t my job. Boundaries are really important. Back then I used to overextend myself for others by doing including SWOT when I was hired for SOAR, I would over assess and give feedback on everything. Again, boundaries are important, I don’t want to burn myself out again and I also don't want people being offended if they didn’t hire me to point out their weaknesses and what they could do to fix it. Through SOAR you are more engaged with creating a buy-in with the people present. I have mainly used SOAR for artists who are looking to embark on a new project and we need that positive energy in order to help them feel established in a new territory or project for them.Â
We have been on Analysis for a while and it is time to move on…
Vision and Mission
This part can be done entirely by you or with the help of yours truly. Figuring out your vision and mission takes time and patience. It is best if you run it by trusted advisors as well, they know you best. As an organization, once you have your vision and mission, it will be best if you run it by your board or fellow upper management, that way they can let you know if you are aiming somewhere entirely different from where you initially started. Refocusing your aim not be a bad thing and sometimes a refresh of missions and values is needed once you have spent years going in one direction. Doing it too much though will spell instability and you won’t sell the confidence that funders, stakeholders etc. are looking for in order to support you.Â
A compelling vision can motivate and inspire your team and set the tone for the culture, identity and values. The vision ensures that everybody on the team is working towards the same goals. Make sure the vision is also inspirational, but also make sure it doesn’t come off as corny though. A great mission statement is straight to the point. Make it very clear what your purpose and objectives are. Even in my own work as a director for Lakaï Arts, I am often asked what the mission is anytime I speak to somebody new or apply for a grant.Â
a non-profit organization that believes in restoring communities of color through the Arts and combining Arts Education with tools of self sufficiency.
-Lakaï Arts Inc.
It is often the first question asked because people want to know what they are supporting and your mission is your billboard. One thing to note is that BOTH your statements have to align with your core values, something entirely different. I can write a blog down the line on how to craft a proper mission and vision statement.
Gooooaaaallll
Do the futbol commentators still do that? It was big when I was a kid in the 90’s. Saturday mornings were futbol mornings with my father until we were able to afford another tv. I would then go back between futbol in one room with my father to Saturday cartoons in the kitchen. Sometimes the other way around.
Ah, simpler times.
I say all of that to say, we are on the goal-setting portion of the strategic planning process and it is time for yet another acronym, (not a fan of acronyms). S.M.A.R.T. I may not like acronyms but this one is fun though. Here at McKersin Consulting we use S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) because it is straight to the point and holds high value to me in being organized.Â
Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve.
Measurable: Establish criteria for measuring progress and success.
Achievable: Set REALISTIC goals that are attainable given your resources and constraints.
Relevant: Align goals with your vision, mission, and overall strategic direction.
Time-bound: Set a deadline to create a sense of urgency and prompt action.
S.M.A.R.T can be fun because we can tackle every letter one by one together. Put up big sticky notes on the wall and each big note can be a letter or we can use a whiteboard. This is where we can make sure that the goals align with the mission and values we spoke about earlier. This is a major place where you can focus on transparency for yourself as a client. You can invite major stakeholders for this part and ask for suggestions on goals and possible feedback. I know I do it all the time for my board. I am annoying with it though because every goal I have in mind I throw it at them and they are like yes McKersin, yes yes we trust you go ahead. I now do it because I find it funny but I just exposed myself. Establishing trust is key, if you have a group of stakeholders who aren’t typically savvy on who you are then you will have to earn that trust and an invitation to goal setting can be a good way.Â
Chiseling your goals down into more manageable milestones is very important in this process. I call them subtasks that lead to a major task. For better or worse I am a perfectionist and I don’t believe that there is ever a goal too small or negligible. If the goal is to meet new potential donors at a gala, you best believe that a subtask on my list will be to practice handshakes in my free time and it WILL be documented. Researching handshakes on YouTube and forcing my friends to shake my hand till I get that perfect handshake. The worst part of being like this is that you could’ve used that time to tackle some of the other things on your subtasks so there is a limit to how small you want to break your goals down and that is what I am for. We will set REALISTIC manageable milestones and ones that don’t involve searching YouTube for the perfect handshake, unless you are ahead of schedule and have time for it then I can help you with that free of charge!Â
A good example of a well thought out goal is,
To increase artist bookings for programming by 50% in the next 10 months.
I am actually going to help my aunt and her organization (Jo-Me) with that very goal. Your goals could also be something as simple as wanting to be more organized with a workflow platform and daily schedule by next month.Â
Strategy
Alright now that we have established our resources, our strengths, mission and values and goals. What is the plan now? How do we achieve these goals? This part is the white filling in the Oreo, the (vegan) cheese in the grilled cheese, the beyond patty in the veggie burger, the pie filling.Â
We first start by analyzing your surroundings. What do things cost?, what is the market like, who is near you that can support you in your goal or inhibit them. What are the threats like we spoke about above. What are your capabilities, let’s spell them out.Â
Then we want to put all of our options on a table, like those funny scenes in movies where people prove their worth by putting whatever is in their pockets on the table including a chewed piece of gum. I say that because this is not the time to judge, a resource you may think isn’t worth it may be the thing that saves us the most amount of time.Â
Now we focus on the HOW, using what we got on the table and we focus on the strategies with the highest yield first.Â
Now that we have the strategies on the tables we create the action steps. So if my goal was the handshakes, we list out the YouTube links, asking friends to meet up and so forth. If the goal was the real life scenario of Jo-Me, I will list out marketing strategies for their programming, ensuring that people that she wants in her space align with her organization’s mission and values, drafting contracts for potential performers and renters and so forth.Â
We then allocate the resources on the table. This is where we see if the gum is useful. If my aunt, May-Lisa has a printer in her office that she put on the table, that is a resource because we need the people to sign on the physical paper and so forth. If the handshake is your goal, having a phone or computer with internet access is the resource you need to look up those handshake videos.Â
We cap it all with assigning responsibilities and who is doing what. Who is printing the contracts, who is in communication with the potential performers and who is in charge of handling invoices? Who is in charge of getting your friends to meet up in one spot for that handshake practice.Â
Hit the play button and watch
Now we hit play and I watch. People take their roles like a pit crew in a NASCAR race. Everybody with a responsibility assumes their roles and I give a slight nudge to get the engine going before stepping back and letting people do their thing. This can take, weeks, months and up to a year depending on what the goals are. I am typically there as support in case we need to reanalyze and shift some goals. My goal is to get folk to a place where they don’t need me. I am not here to make sure you stay dependent on me helping you with your goals, I am here to empower you so that you need me less and less till you achieve all your goals.Â
I will monitor from afar and check in from time to time. We do evaluations and take down data of what is working and what is not. We will use another acronym, KPI, (Key Performance Indicators).
(I should make a dictionary of the acronyms on my site, let me know if y’all support that idea.)
KPI, (Key Performance Indicators) are metrics that we create in order to measure how far or how close you are to your goals. They are tailored to each client. You need a measure, what are we measuring? Number of handshakes?, The number of people my aunt reaches out to? Then we need a target, which we established in the goals. We need a clear source, where is the data being stored and coming from? Then how often are we reporting and who is in charge.Â
An example of a KPI that I am using right now is one that I grabbed from online,
New vs. Repeat Site Visits:
Website Traffic Insights: Differentiates between new and repeat visitors to generate insights. Formula: (Website Visits by New Visitors / Total Website Visits) x 100.
That site has a few examples other KPI goals that you could possibly grab inspiration from.
I want more eyes on my site which in turn gives me more chances to secure more clients. Folk like you can help simply by sharing this blog. I am working on a newsletter. What had me look into newsletters is because I realized that after I post blogs I don’t have any connection with any of the readers, something I realized through…KPI.
KPI for people with stakeholders is all about accountability first, transparency for your stakeholders and continuous improvement.Â
On and on and on
Strategic planning isn’t something you do one time. It definitely can be a lot. Many organizations have internal people who’s very jobs are to do this, senior leaders, CEO’s, board members and executives. They spend their whole career doing this. You too can learn how to do it for yourself or your organization, but the initial planning process takes up a lot of time. Until you get the organizational support, I am here! The same goes for solo clients! I actually enjoy strategic planning and getting people to see that they already have the resources and tools in their lives to make things happen. I love to empower people to believe that achieving their goals is possible. Strategic planning can feel very long and drawn out if you aren’t being motivated and empowered. Your role as a leader through strategic planning is to motivate your stakeholders and the people you lead or work for you. Since you will have nobody to do the same for you during the process as you give your all, that is where I come in.Â
At McKersin Consulting, we are here to guide you every step of the way, ensuring that your strategic plan is not just a document but a tool for transformation. For more insights and support on strategic planning, connect with us at McKersin Consulting. Let's chart a course for your organization's success together.
With Love and Respect,
-McKersin
As always, I leave everybody with a question in the comments,
What resources or tools do you believe would enhance your strategic planning process?
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