Q. What is strategic planning?
A. Some folks have the misconception that strategic planning is a written document that sits on a shelf. Strategic planning should be a holistic, ongoing process to see what the current situation is, to set future direction, to plan how to achieve that future, and to check progress along the way. A written plan may be part of the process, but it is not an endpoint and should err on the side of brevity rather than length. With any strategic planning process, some of the most important elements are to: involve the correct people (from those closest to a topic area or group of customers to the senior staff overseeing the program); think outside of the castle and not be constrained by current events or past practices; have agreement on what "success" looks like so you know where you are headed and can gauge your progress; and to prepare an implementation plan and associated team(s) to "just do it". In the most effective organizations, team members begin thinking strategically on a daily basis and use that to guide their actions, i.e., what is for the "corporate good" versus benefiting only "my slice of the pie". In a natural resources or recreation situation, strategic planning could include a lake or operations manager staying aware of changing conditions. Some examples of this include: Is a major theme park, industrial development or land clearing proposed for adjacent land? Are the ages, cultural backgrounds, income levels and recreation equipment use changing for my visitors? Are my visitor and employee accidents increasing or decreasing and why?
Q. Who is involved in strategic planning?
A. The best strategic planning includes ideas and information "bubbled up" from the entire organization and also includes key external information and people who impact the organization's products and services. People who work closest to a particular focus area know the most about it and should be provided the opportunity to express their thoughts. This process also encourages a sense of "ownership" in the strategic planning process. After considering the information available, a decision-maker will select the most important items to pursue instead of trying to "spread a thin layer of peanut butter" across many topics.
Q. I see a lot of different strategic plans. How are they connected?
A. Many individuals have noted the benefits of doing strategic planning. As a general rule, the top tier of an organization should focus on strategic planning (with input from many as noted in #2), the middle management tier should focus on supporting execution and integration of the plan, and the lower/field tier should focus on daily operations. It is beneficial for middle and field tiers to do their own strategic planning and think strategically, but decisions made should always relate to the overall plan developed by the top tier in order to ensure they support it, and to provide direction and cohesiveness. The alternative is to have multiple layers or programs pursuing their own agendas without a central corporate strategy. A listing of strategic initiatives throughout our organization may be found in the "Strategic Goals" section.
