bullet1 Strategic planning

bullet2 Dialogue

Makes a big difference "how" you say it


in the corporate world, decisions come down without warning


In nonprofit, people feel entitled to be part of the conversation

Can't just stop it

Language patterns matter

 




» See document: P.J. Gumport, "The Contested Terrain of Academic Program Reduction," The Journal of Higher Education (May/June 1993), pp. 283-311.

  • GUMPORT reading
    In a meeting, all levels are  talking in the same room


    Can tell who's talking by how they say their lines


    Pay attention to the nature of the dialogue


    language patterns vary by role




     
    • Leaders executive administrators
      Language of alterations


      Starting the process by saying:

      "reallign resources to our highest priorities"

      "target our functioning"

      "resources deployed in mission critical ways"

      "reallocation of resources"








       
    • Subordinate administrators
      Rationalizing alternations


      Some people will balk at this level-- "I can't do this"

      Dangerous to go against the leaders

      People walk away sometimes

      "this will be difficult to implement, trying to find  a 10% cut in the building, but it's not my idea"

      "you're doing great work, but we have to  come up with something-- we have to show  that we're willing to work with them"


      (SUNY case)




       
    • "stars" individual or dept.
      Meritocracy


      "I'd love it if we allign resources to strong  areas because I'm a strong area"




       
    • Contiguous personnel
      Survivors and advocates


      "crisis if we don't do this work..."

      Proving that we are important





       

bullet2 Conceptual Architecture (from SUNY case)

Alligning financial and human resources with mission goals

What resources are available?

If you don't have everything you want, how do you still do what you need to do?

How do we situate these decisions in a  calendar?

Leader leading







bullet2 Mintzberg

"you're not going to outsmart the future, but  you have to plan anyway."

 
 
intended strategy realized?
   
yes
no
realized strategy successful?
yes
deliberate success
(we did it)
emergent success
(coming along)
no
failure of deliberateness
(it worked anyway...)
failure of everything
(nothing is working)



bullet2 Planning perspectives

  • Middle managers and faculty
    expectations about success:

    more financial resources for their unit or program

    more work, more money, more mission

    (hired people for these positions because they have a vision and intend to grow)

    (downside is that they are so close to their work that they have trouble being strategic in a larger vision)



     
  • Senior staff CEO, exec dir
    stuck in the middle: CEO, Executive Director, or their team!


    "middle manager between very different strategy perspectives"


     
  • Trustees, legislators, state gvt., other funders
    wide lens picture


    expectations about success:

    clear plan that an external party could read

    the work on this level happens too slowly (why does it take so long for you to do this work?)

    better, faster, more, and more clarity


     

bullet2 Planning process/components

  • Environmental scan
    this is usually the fat notebook about everything you want to know about the organization-- internal and external-- that the leadership assembles

    in business, you live and die by this data, but in nonprofit, it's hard to do this.... because of resources and visions



     
  • SWOT analysis
    strengths

    weaknesses

    opportunities

    threats



     
    • Threats/ opportunities
      threats:

      what are the 2-3 things that would put us out of business?


      opportunities:

      what would make us double in size?



       
    • Strengths/weaknesses
      mirror test:

      what are the greatest strengths?


      what are the greatest weaknesses?

          harder, takes longer to articulate

          have to push really hard to get it out

          points of exposure to threat


       
  • Mission/vision/values
    what do you want to build?


    over x amount of time, what should we be thinking?

        (3, 5, 10, 20 years?)

        3-5 year plans are standard




     
  • Strategies/goals/objectives
    back to implementation:  what do we do and how?


     
  • Costs
    allocating resources to do this stuff...



     
  • Measures
    what does success look like?


    how do we know if it's working?


    what happens if it's not working?



     

bullet2 Discussions

  • Priorities
    Most money is spent on people


    Which people get cut?




     
  • Anticipation
    Engage the "if" conversation

    Make it part of the annual discussion (Practice and forethought)

    Build in the "contingency" fund even if you have to reduce other programs to do it...



    How far from the event can you see it?


    If you anticipate-- could cause a different kind of problem, but it lets you have some idea of what would happen in a crisis.  

    Prepare a list of teachers to let go?

    Prepare a list of programs to cut?




     
  • Outcomes
    High level of uncertainty


    Can't predict longer term




     
  • Fundamental question
    What if your organization was not here?

    Relationship btw mission and staying afloat

    Mission is often put aside in this situation






     
  • Waste and inefficiency
    Find it and take it out in advance




     

bullet2 Coping with retrenchment

  • Handout
     
    tactical responses
    strategic responses
    revenue
    one-time grant reserves
    Bond issue capital campaign
    expense
    non-essential items
    (not people)
    staffing/ program cuts


    Options: (Most people work simultaneously in all four boxes)

    across the board reductions

    targeted cuts (Some cut, Some gone)

    reallocation (Moving money from one program to support another)





     
    • Tactical
      One time grant reserves

      Politically good

      Short term, maybe not enough


      Non-essential items

      Water cooler-- may have symbolic value

      Can do it once and find small money

      Essintial to whom?


      Don't underestimate the political side of it!  

      Do it to make a statement




       
    • Strategic
       
      • Mission questions
        Tempting to follow the money but important to stick to the long term plan

        Don't just make the mission bigger to accommodate because when the money goes away, you have a  bigger problem!!

        Mission creep or strategic drift







         
      • Capital campaign
        Takes a long time and results in a big commitment.

        Better make sure it's right!

        when you need big money.






         
      • Staffing/ program cuts
        Looking strategically at programs and staff and trying to  define decision rules based on the mission


        Where nobody wants to play because you can do real damage if it's wrong


        How to discuss executive salaries?

        Salary freeze

        Cutting administrators




         

bullet2 Action steps

handout of key questions and actions for nonprofit leaders

April 17, 2003

  • Questions
     
    • Question   1. Is there a shared sense of urgency concerning the organization's financial situation?
      If not, why not?

      Make sure that people have and understand necessary information





       
    • Question   2. To what extent do key constituents hold an institutional point of view concerning the organization's mission and future strategy/plan?
      Helping people think about the institution  as a whole




       
    • Question   3. Does the organization have sufficient financial and non-financial data and analysis which can inform strategy formulation/ decision making?
      Don't do this without data!




       
    • Question   4. Are the organization's governance and decision-making processes capable of effective strategic planning and strategic decision-making?
      Do you have a process to do this work?




       
    • Question   5. Does the organization's leader and leadership team possess the necessary skills and tools to sustain the organization for the long term?
      Can they think and act long term?




       
  • Actions
     
    • 1. Key constituents know and understand the organization-- its identity, history, values, financial situation, etc.
      Give people more info about the  organization




       
    • 2. Budget/resource allocation processes and procedures are aligned with planning/strategy formulation processes and performance indicators exist to monitor/assess progress
      Some places can't do this because of the  calendar




       
    • 3. data analysis/reports highlight appropriate strategic issues and are designed to inform key decision-makers
      Make sure the leaders have info




       
    • 4. Strategic directions/decisions/goals enjoy "buy-in" and support from key constituents
      Get people to understand how important it is

      Are you bought in?





       

bullet2 "new yardsticks to manage financial distress"

  • Financial exegency policies
     
  • How to declare financial crisis
     
  • Signals
    Try to define them in advance! Better to have MULTIPLE signals



    Tracking deficit (Deficit in 3 of 4 years)


    Tracking useage (Drop in users)

     

    Economic environment


    Tracking cash flow


    Tracking net worth



    Tracking assets (If assets go down in 3 out of 4 years...)

     

    Bond rating