Setting goals that make sense
by Deborah J. Hodges, MA
Strategic planning can be challenging for most people, yet it doesn’t have to be painful. Every effective strategic plan should include the major 12 keys. (If you need a reminder – click here.) Our focus is on setting goals, one of the keys and a driving force when developing your strategic plan. Goals are one of the most essential parts of the strategic plan and set the tone and actions for the Board, Executives, Staff, and others, for one to five years.
Why is this important? We set short-term ideas often rather than strategic goals. A robust set of goals will be viewed as meaningful, productive, and encourage more ownership among the diverse group of stakeholders. There is nothing more dissatisfying as creating a strategic plan that “sits on the shelf” and “falls flat.” The stakeholders will not want to participate and not be wedded to its success. Your Board and Senior Executives will quickly disassociate with a poor set of goals and the staff will not buy-in to it. A thoughtful approach is needed and can render excellent results. Check out this article on Building Relationships.
A few tips
Create four or five goals for a three to a five-year strategic plan. We recommend narrowing your list of goals from our experience. An excellent overall strategy is to ask: “does every goal drive continual improvement within the organization and move it forward?” If not, reconsider the goal. By aligning your goals with the SMART method (SMART= specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-sensitive), you will have a winning proposition for maximizing value.
Use your SWOT (SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis. Make good use of your SWOT Analysis by addressing areas that need improvement. By discussing, reviewing and defining your organizations, Strengths(S), Weaknesses(W), Opportunities(O) and Threats(T), priorities will rise to the top.
Create a list of wishes and wants. Let your group be free spirits (for a few minutes) and consider many ideas as goals- be open-minded. Then, consider implementation and results as you select your refined thoughts and place them on your final goals list. It is common for wishes often to be part of a larger, appropriate goal.
Don’t expect to create a final list of goals quickly. Most likely there are pressing situations that are top priorities for your organization that you have recognized since your last strategic plan or through running your organization. The strategic planning period is an ideal time to consider new ideas and address areas needing improvement, or voids in your organization. Think back in time about areas needing attention.
Here are a few examples to consider:
- Are your by-laws up to date?
- Do you need to add more staff leadership? Is there a lack of depth?
- Does your donor development approach, lines of services, or program revenue need a boost?
- Are your community outreach efforts producing the desired support?
- Are your communications positioning your organization as relevant and building contacts?
The pitfall that we see when working in the early stages of strategic planning is suggesting goals that are short-term tasks and not goals. It is very likely an idea is not a goal for your strategic plan if it takes only one-two hours. It’s too short-term. One-year is the general minimum rule as a potential strategic plan goal. Want more info on strategic planning? Check out this article.
Don’t let your strategic plan fall flat! Select goals that energize and move the organization forward for continued success. It is crucial to agree on priorities – this is what your strategic plan is telling others. It makes a difference to all – board members, executives, staff and others who work with you. Keep this question in mind, what problem does your organization solve? Your strategic plan goals should support solving this problem to develop a strong position for your organization.
Need more help? Consider reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. A tipping point is a critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and unstoppable effect or change takes place per Merriam-Webster. That is what you want to happen- your efforts are a positive, committed force in your organization.
Do you want more buy-in with your strategic plan? Ask this question- where is my team willing to spend 80 percent of their time? This is important because it takes a team to reach your goals. It is called the 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle named after Vilfredo Pareto. He observed that 20 percent of the population owned 80 percent of the land. It is called “The Law of the Few” in Gladwell’s “Tipping Point.”
Setting goals are exciting when they make sense, are relevant and position your organization as a leader.
Deborah J. Hodges, MA is a skilled strategist, marketer, and communications expert. She served on several executive boards such as Chicago Health Executives Forum, Society of Marketing Professional Services, American College of Healthcare Executives, Regent’s Advisory Council, Construction Marketing Association, Chicago Engineers Foundation, and serves as an advisor to several enterprises. She served as the Executive Director for the Construction Writers Association for six years, as a paid employee, working with its stellar board and membership before its merger with a major national association. Deborah was the director of marketing for five major design firms prior to launching Golden Square in 2008.
Jeffrey A. Kramer, FACHE, CAE is a highly skilled individual and problem solver with extensive experience in both the healthcare and association management fields. He has held positions (including executive director and senior staff) that enabled him to become involved with nearly all aspects of the operation and issues of associations.
About Golden Square
Golden Square, a creative branding and marketing consultancy, provides scalable marketing and management solutions that focus on your association’s goals when you need it the most. From the starting point, we help define goals, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and processes to reach and optimize your initiatives. We have a proven record of success in board development, membership attainment, donor development, community outreach, educational marketing, marketing, social media, revenue generation, and more. We elevate your organization in its specific competency and create a top of mind presence as the point-of-authority and premier organization. It’s branding, communications and marketing with you in mind.®
For more information, visit www.GoldenSquare.biz. Let’s start a chat. Contact Jeffrey A. Kramer, FACHE, CAE or Deborah Hodges, MA, President & Managing Principal at info@GoldenSquare.biz or by telephone at 312.675.6080
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