Strategic Planning for Associations: A Roadmap for Success

Guest Contributor: Catherine Wasner

In associations it is important to regularly develop a strategic plan.  A new plan should be created every two or three years, with regular monitoring of progress toward goals throughout the life of the plan.  It is especially important for associations to use the strategic plan as a guide given that officer and board roles rotate every year or two; the strategic plan gives the association continuity.  Consider these 10 areas when developing your strategic plan and goals.

1.     Include all stakeholders – For a well-rounded view and successful implementation of the strategic plan it is important to include all stakeholders in the creation of the plan.  Board members and staff are always part of the strategic planning process; involved members, new members, key sponsors, and anyone else with an interest in the future success of the association could also be included. 

Often past leaders are included and they can be a great resource for historical perspective but be careful not to let the past dictate the future.  Too many times I’ve heard a past leader shoot down an idea because “we’ve tried that in the past and it didn’t work”.  It can be helpful to know what didn’t work in the past but oftentimes there have been changes to the association or industry that make the idea worth trying again.

2.     Align goals with the mission, vision and values – Is your mission to help those in need, be an industry advocate, be a leader in education?  Whatever your mission, keep the mission in mind as you develop goals, it is easy to let goals get wider than your mission so it is important to keep the mission, vision and values front and center.  As you develop goals be sure they are in alignment with your mission, vision and values.

3.     Set achievable, measurable, reasonable goals – A stretch goal is great but that big, hairy audacious goal (BHAG) can be deflating and rather than serve as an aspiration can feel like a failure.  Goals should be achievable, measurable and reasonable.  Achieving goals can be very motivating so setting goals that can be reached is important.

4.     Breakdown each goal – All goals should be broken into tactics or tasks to get to the goal, with goals, tactics and tasks all having a timeline.  The goal is the overall objective, the tactics are ways to meet the goal, and the tasks are what needs to be done under the tactic.

Some goals are achieved within the year and there is a clear path to achieving the goal.  Most goals are more complex than that so breaking the goal down into parts makes it less intimidating and easier to measure.  Break the goals down into tactics that will help achieve the goal and tasks that support the tactics.

Multi-year goals should have measures in each year so progress can be tracked and it will be clear as time goes on if the goal is achievable or not.  For example, if the association sets a goal to grow membership by 15% over the next 3 years a goal for each year should be created.  The goals could be 5% per year each year.  The goals could be 3% growth in year one, 5% growth in year two and 7% growth in year three.  How each year’s goal is set will depend on the tactics in achieving the goals. 

Complex goals, such as developing a new program, also need to be broken down.  This goal has steps, many of which need to happen in order.  Developing a new program will also involve many people, staff, subject matter experts, marketing, vendors.  Being sure who is responsible for what and when simplifies the path to reaching a complex goal.

5.     Focus on the next year – A good strategic plan should look at what the association wants to achieve over the next 3-5 years, but the focus should be on the next year.  Each year the plan should be revisited, as tactics and tasks are completed new tactics and tasks to continue progress toward the goals need to be created.

6.     Revisit regularly – Progress toward the strategic goals should be on the agenda at each board meeting.  Too often plans are developed with tactics and tasks created but the plan is not looked at regularly, so progress falls behind.  The board doesn’t need to do more than a high-level glance at what is on track at each board meeting so there can be discussion about what is not on track.  Without revisiting progress toward goals regularly the plan cannot stay on track.

7.     Set timelines – Each goal must have an achievement date with tactics and tasks having due dates that ensure the goal is achieved on time.  When there are multiple high-priority goals having a timeline is helpful in prioritizing with limited resources.

 8.     Assign owner – Accountability is king when keeping goals on track so making someone responsible for the goal’s progress is key.  The owner doesn’t need to be the one working on the tasks, their role is to keep progress on track and they are the one who needs to be held accountable if the goal’s progress is falling short or the goal won’t be achieved on time.  They are the project manager of the goal, sometimes doing many of the tasks and sometimes overseeing the progress.  The owner should be a person, not the board, not a department.

9.     Adjust as needed – The plan was developed, the goals set, the tactics and tasks defined, yet you are still off track.  This happens very often and by continually looking at the plan you can spot these areas before they fall too far behind.  The goal may not be achievable and needs an adjustment.  The tactics may not affect the goal like it seemed they would and new tactics need to be developed.  The tasks may not support the tactics so new tasks may need to be created.

One of the most important things to remember is that a good strategic plan is dynamic.  Don’t operate as the plan says just because the plan says, if something isn’t working make an adjustment and the sooner the better.

10.  Facilitator vs. self-facilitation – In most cases a strategic planning session works better with an outside facilitator.  Having someone who is outside the association looking in and is a neutral party as a facilitator yields the best outcome.  An outside facilitator is not a stakeholder so there is not an emotional connection to the association, and they do facilitation for other associations too so they can share some wisdom.

If the session is self-facilitated, the desired outcome of the session needs to be shared with all in advance of the session.  An agenda should be shared well in advance, so all have time to prepare.  A survey in advance can be helpful to guide the conversation as this will be the result of everyone’s input so no one can dominate the discussion.  The survey should ask questions that ask for multiple responses or rankings to a list provided, here are a few samples:

·       What are 3 things that if done in the next 3 years would make the association successful?

·       Adding what resources would have the most impact on the association’s success?

·       Prioritize the importance of the following to achieve success and growth of the association:  creation of new programs, membership retention, developing partnerships, hiring more staff. 

Your strategic plan is the path to meeting your goals and the association’s future success.  Keep these 10 areas in mind when developing your plan.  Don’t overcomplicate your plan and overextend resources.  Associations often have little (or no) staff and much of the work is done by volunteers so keep resources in mind when developing your strategic plan.