The Organisation’s First Strategic Plan

Bullion Hall building exterior

The Approach

Far too often, organisations choose the wrong approach to strategic planning. As a result, strategic plans sit untouched on shelves and many trustees and managers become even more SCEPTICAL about the strategic planning process. This occurs especially with 1) new organisations, 2) organisations having many current issues, and 3) organisations having very limited resources.

An issues based strategic plan starts from the present and works to the future. The leaders identify major issues facing the organisation right now. Then they can specify action plans about who is going to do what and by when in order to address each issue. They might scan the external environment, but they focus especially on the internal environment of the organisation in order to ensure the organisation accomplish strong internal systems.

“We have a positive, crystal clear strategic plan, which we are proud of, we couldn’t have done that without the support of Pro Bono OR”

The Client

Bullion Hall is a community resource centre situated in a deprived area providing a range of activities for all age groups.

The Client's Problem

The organisation was failing to anticipate or prepare for fundamental changes, and was losing valuable time and momentum responding to them when they occurred. There was also some misunderstanding among trustees and management on future direction.

The Solution

  • Example formats and discussed process options available.
  • Frameworks to elicit issues & evaluate possible solutions, plus range of possible information sources to review.
  • Facilitated trustees & manager group in 2 workshops to populate the frameworks with their own input/data.
  • Document key points, and feedback to Chair & manager.
  • Key points to inform writing of Strategic Plan document.

The Benefits

  • Simple but effective for all concerned.
  • The ability to integrate broad know how in strategic planning, with the organisation’s detailed knowledge of their specific market/sector situation.
  • Even with limited time and resources, this methodology can identify the focus on the strategic issues that will have the greatest impact on the organisation’s future performance.