The 4 "musts" BEFORE a strategic planning retreat
As I write this article, Google Calendar tells me we'll turn the corner on 2020 in just 28 short days. Can I get an "Amen?" But while many of us can't put this year in the rear-view mirror quickly enough, we should also be eager to wring out every last drop of time to prepare for 2021.
For ministries, the stakes are even higher than normal. A worldwide pandemic has changed the ways – maybe permanently – we interact with our stakeholders. Churches are creating new on-line communities, with debate about whether worshipers' habits are forever changed. Christian non-profits are reinventing the ways donors can support their organizations. And, Christian educational institutions are going all-in on the online learning trend – my own daughter's Christian high school recently spent $150,000 to upgrade its network to better support the reality of a remote learning environment.
I'm not here to tell you WHAT to do in 2021 – only your organization's team can determine the best plan for your specific context and trajectory. But, I am here to suggest the what before the what – a strategic plan for your strategic plan, if you will. A good strategic planning process doesn't just happen – it's not as simple as sending out a calendar invite for a "planning retreat" and then hoping that inspiration strikes.
Consider, then, these four "musts" in preparation for your strategic planning meeting or retreat:
1. Listen
The people you serve (or hope to serve) have plenty to say... but you need to systematically and intentionally listen — especially before you embark on a new strategic path. What are their needs, wants and desires? What are their fears? Do they resonate with the organization's mission and vision – or, do they even KNOW the organization's mission and vision? When are they most aligned with the organization?
There are both quantitative and qualitative ways to listen – and you can be as creative as you'd like – but the table stakes for an effective feedback rhythm are generally 1-on-1 interviews, focus groups and surveys.
Have each member of your leadership team meet with at least one organizational stakeholder no fewer than two weeks prior to any strategic meeting. (Let’s define “stakeholder.” If you’re a church, a stakeholder is a worshiper or member. For non-profits, a stakeholder can either be someone your ministry servers, on a donor who supports the ministry. And, for Christian schools, stakeholders are generally parents – or, at the secondary and higher ed levels specifically, even students.) At Seven Marches, we propose a "WIN" framework, by asking each stakeholder these questions:
What do you wish our organization did more frequently?
When are you most inspired by our organization?
What do we do that makes you say, "I'm not a fan?"
It's also great to gauge feedback, validate assumptions and generate or vet ideas through a controlled focus group (or better yet, two or more focus groups). We strongly suggest you find a professional facilitator. You can reach out to us, or you're also welcome, of course, to see if Will Ferrell is available…
Moderating a focus group is half art, half science. A skilled facilitator will know how to be inclusive, how to be unbiased, how to unearth new insights and how to build themes. Your stakeholders will almost certainly be more forthright and transparent if they're talking to a third-party not affiliated with the church.
Finally, take advantage of the "low hanging fruit" offered through surveys. They're easy to implement through any number of on-line tools. They can actually be fun to take. And they offer quantitative insights almost immediately. Wondering where to start? Churches can check out these suggestions from Gloo. We like the concept of conducting surveys AFTER interviews and focus groups, as it allows you to take fresh concepts, ideas or thoughts to the "masses" for validation.
Listening is the first (and most important) step. But synthesis is crucial as well. After each interview and focus group, jot down detailed notes of your observations and discoveries. Look for common themes. Evaluate the survey results to see which themes were validated. Remember, you're not committing to implementing every idea and resolving every problem, but you are hoping to take the collective temperature of your organization's stakeholders, so you can bring that data to the table as you plan.
And, one more note: what you hear might not always be soothing. As Karen Mangia writes in Listen Up, "Look, I don't always like my alarm clock, but it always tells the truth. And that truth gets me where I need to be. How about you? Listen to the alarms – to the news that might be hard to hear. Because that's the sound that will get you where you need to be."
2. Carefully select the strategic team.
I previously wrote about the "rule of seven" for meetings, and that most definitely applies to strategic planning sessions. The science on this is pretty clear. Marcia W. Blenko, Michael C. Mankins, and Paul Rogers, authors of Decide & Deliver: 5 Steps to Breakthrough Performance in Your Organization, discovered that each additional person beyond seven in a decision-making group reduces the group's effectiveness by 10 percent. By the time you hit 17 people? Almost 0 percent effectiveness!
A while back (before I adopted this rule), I facilitated a strategic planning session that included nearly 30 people! While I'd like to think we were more effective than 0 percent (thanks to creating break-out sessions with fewer people), we certainly weren't able to make any impactful decisions; nearly everything had to be vetted afterward by smaller groups. To be honest, it's a big reason I no longer agree to facilitate meetings that large. It's a disservice to the organization and a poor use of time.
Your governance policy might have something to say about the "who" of your strategic planning process. As Jim Galvin writes in Maximizing Board Effectiveness: A Practical Guide for Effective Governance, there are three options for establishing a strategy team. A board-led strategy team is common for smaller non-profits or volunteer-led organizations. A staff-led team – more common among larger non-profits – usually includes primarily staff members and often brings the strategic plan to the board for approval. And, finally, a task force-led team comprises a mix of staff, board members and maybe even some "experts" from outside the organization.
We like the "task force-led" model. It's a great way (especially when you're limited to seven people) to bring in a blend of key stakeholders that can represent a variety of perspectives. If you're worried that others will feel excluded, go back and read Step 1. You can interview or survey other key stakeholders in advance to collect their feedback and ideas.
3. Find a professional facilitator.
It can be tempting to have the organizational leader facilitate the strategy meeting. He or she knows the organization better than anyone. And, there's no additional cost. But research shows that using an outside facilitator for strategic planning sessions tends to lead to a number of benefits: better focus, more resources, enhanced communication, and an alternate perspective that can help the team simplify goals and objectives.
Another benefit of bringing in an outsider? Team members might be more transparent in the process and less fearful of alienating their leaders.
Google shows us there are more church strategy experts and facilitators than we thought possible. When vetting a potential facilitator, we suggest asking three questions:
What process or framework will be used? A good facilitator should be able to demonstrate how they will systematically move through the planning process. For example, the Seven Marches "Strategic March" starts with an overview of the organization's "make-up" or DNA, then connects that discovery to a long-term destination, and finally creates a short-term focused action plan.
What are the deliverables? A list of 15 strategic targets? Three five-year goals? Ten 90-day action items? Look for a facilitator that believes "less is more" and will help your organization arrive at a singular strategic destination (we call it the Golden Goal), with concrete steps on how to get there.
Is there any follow-up? As former Intel executive and renowned business strategist John Doerr says, "Ideas are easy. Execution is everything." Look for a facilitator that doesn’t pack up shop overnight. Organizations that utilize our “Strategic March” receive 90 days of weekly support and coaching to make sure they’re on track to successful execution.
4. Determine what software you'll use
During (and after) the strategy session, you’ll want to use an effective app to take notes, transfer observations and create project plans. Notice we said to determine what software you'll use. Not to determine if you’ll use software. Whiteboards are great (especially digital whiteboards). Flip charts are awesome. We're fans of using both methodologies in strategy planning sessions. But if you want to position your team for successful execution after the meeting (news flash: strategy needs to actually be executed), you need to leverage software that can help your team plan, collaborate and communicate digitally.
Half the battle might be to convince your team (or even yourself) to adopt yet one more software tool, an ask that's roughly 10 percent less painful than trying to get an appointment at the Nevada DMV right now. In one study, the overwhelming majority of managers acknowledged the importance of digital transformation in their organizations, yet 63 percent said the process is too slow due to “lack of urgency” and “poor communication about the strategic benefits of new tools."
A leader's job, then, becomes to "sell" his or her team on how the software will benefit THEM. What pains will it alleviate? For example, will software that allows for more transparency lead to fewer status check meetings? You'll also want to put together a simple plan for training your team on how to use the software.
Can Google's suite of tools work? Yes, but there are better options designed specifically for project management. We like Asana. The learning curve is not steep, it's highly flexible (you can organize and view content in lists, boards or calendars) and you can use the software to manage a strategic meeting – and then to implement the projects that come out of the meeting. Best yet, there is a free version that will work for many organizations – and there are significant discounts on the paid version for non-profit organizations. As certified pros, we can also help train organizations on how to best utilize Asana.
Sharpen your axe
The harsh reality is that two out of every three strategic plans generally fail. Strategy execution is the subject for a future article, but suffice it to say you'll give your team a significant jumpstart if you take some time to prepare for your strategy meeting or retreat. As Abraham Lincoln said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
