Strategic Planning to Focus Your Mission & Guiding
Principles into Practice
Materials to accompany the Power Point presentation, Dorothy Briggs
CRLA Conference, Salt Lake City, 2010
#1 Strategic Planning Overview/Definition:
· Strategic Planning is a tool to use to put your mission and guiding principles into practice.
· Elements of a strategic plan:
o Where are we now?
o Where are we going?
o How will we get there?
· How do you know you are successful?
o How will it help assessment?
o Is it worth my time and effort?
#2 The Why’s of Strategic Planning
o The need to spend more time on high impact activities,
o The need to identify true opportunities,
o The need of a plan to be able to adapt quickly,
o Enable us to be proactive rather than reactive
#3 Strategic Planning Tool Box – The pieces of a good strategic plan
o Mission Statement
o Vision Statement
o Guiding Principles: What is important to us as a team? For example:
§ Communication
§ Collaboration
§ Safety (trust, honesty, integrity)
§ Flexibility (open, embrace change, growth)
o Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
o Competitive Advantage
o Goals
o Objectives to connect vision and goals to mission
o Action Items – who does what? Timeline? The specific steps that will help us implement and accomplish our goals.
o Assessment – did you do what you set out to do?
#4 The How’s of Strategic Planning
- Determine Mission, Vision and Guiding Principles
- Determine SWOTS: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
· What is your competitive advantage
- Set goals (SMART)
· Answer the questions, “What, when, how and who?” For example: In the next 5 years what are 4 key things we need to focus our attention on in order to become “The World Class Learning Center” we are charged with becoming?
· S = specific
· M = measurable
· A = attainable
· R = relevant
· T = time sensitive
· Revisit frequently
· Long term (2 year? 5 year?)
· Short term (this month? This semester?)
- Determine objectives for goals that connect vision to mission
- Determine action items (who does what)
- Assessment
#5 What next? How are you going to use this information?
#6 Q & A’s
References:
Bryson, John M. (2004). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement, 3rd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2009). CAS professional standards for higher education (7th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2010). CAS Self Assessment Guide for Learning Assistance Program(CD Version 4.2). Washington, DC: Author.
Christ, Frank Promising Practices: http://lsche.net/aboutLSCs.HO.promisingpractices.htm
Olsen, Erica (2007). Strategic Planning for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Contact me:
Feel free to contact me!
Dorothy Briggs
(520)626-1904