I want you to take a journey with me for a moment. No, not a physical journey, but a journey in your memory. Think back to the beginning of the year (does anyone else feel like January was a lifetime ago?) when you created your strategic plan.
You know the one.
The plan for what this year would look like. The plan in which you outlined your organizational goals and identified strategies your team would use to help you achieve success. When was the last time you reviewed your strategic plan?
If you are thinking to yourself, “Plan? What plan?”
Don’t worry. It’s never too late to evaluate the direction of your organization and put a strategy in place for achieving your goals. Here are a few blog posts to help you get started:
- Why Your Nonprofit Needs A Strategic Plan
- Strategic Planning: Data Driven Success
- Assembling Your Lead Team: The WHO Behind Strategic Planning
- 3 Common Strategic Planning Mistakes and How To Fix Them
For the rest of us, at this point in the year, I highly recommend taking a moment to pause and reflect. That’s right. I’m talking about conducting a quarterly review of your strategic business plan.
It’s a good practice to reevaluate your business plans every few months (at least).
Why?
It helps to keep you and your organization on track towards success.
Let’s face it… sometimes, our original goals change or need adjustments due to unforeseen circumstances. Remember March of 2020? There has never been a better example of “unforeseen circumstances” changing everyone’s plans, goals, and strategies.
Other times, we simply forget to orient ourselves and our actions towards our goals, and as a result, our daily efforts become less effective and if we aren’t careful, our progress can be derailed.
In short, we need to take stock of where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we hope to go.
As you prepare to conduct your quarterly review, here are a few key questions to consider:
- Are we on track to meet our quarterly goals?
- Are we on track to meet next quarter’s goals?
- Have there been any unplanned events or circumstances that require an adjustment to our plans or strategy?
- Are there any new partners or stakeholders that should be considered in our plans?
- Is our overall implementation strategy still realistic, achievable, and aligned with the overall goals of our organization?
Taking the time, both individually and as a group, to reflect, evaluate, and address these questions will pay dividends when it comes to your results this year.
If you’re in need of support as you refine your strategic planning approach, click here to learn about my Stress-Free Strategic Planning Jump Start Package. This five-day “do it yourself” program will give you tools and strategies for starting or refining your strategic planning process in as little as 15 minutes a day!
Looking for more?
My 4-Month Strategic Planning Course will reopen soon. This program offers the lessons, coaching, working sessions and support to guide you and your team through the strategic planning process. Click here to join the waitlist!
Article was contributed by: Maria Lees, Team Writer with Sarah Boxx
