Presented by Tim Williams

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Presented by Tim Williams
Strategic Planning for Your Communities Success!

• Governors Office for Local Development
• February 13th, 2007

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Charting your Course

• What is Strategic Planning?
• Strategic Planning is not an aha! experience
  but rather a series of steps to keep the
  organization heading in the right direction

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Charting your Course

• What is Strategic Planning?

Strategic Planning simply determines where the
organization is going and how it plans to get
there. (and whether it knows if it made it!)
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Charting your Course

• What is Strategic Planning?
• A continuous and systematic process where people
  make decisions about intended future outcomes and
  how they can be accomplished and how success will
  be measured.

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Charting your Course

• Continuous . ongoing flexible to changing
  circumstances
• Systematic . deliberate specific methods
• Process . sometimes the journey is as
  important as the
• outcomes
• People . must involve the right people who
  are
• committed to the changes
• Decisions . priorities and resources must be
  set
• Outcomes . defining the goals and benefits to
  your
• community
• Measured . the plan must be measured by the
  results

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Charting your Course

• Strategic Planning
• vs.
• Long Range Planning

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Charting your Course

• Long Range Planning assumes fixed environment
  rigid.

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Charting your Course

• Strategic Planning dynamic environment,
• adaptable fluid.

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Charting your Course

• Why should my community Plan??

Do you find yourself constantly fighting fires
and making decisions on the fly?
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Charting your Course
Fiscal Court/ City Council
Organizational Inertia
Constituent Needs
External Environment
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Charting your Course

• Strategic Planning will
• Provide a clear focus for the fiscal court/city
  council and staff.
• Will build a stronger team among the
  court/council and with staff.
• Will increase productivity by focusing efforts
  instead of jumping around.

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Charting your Course

• Rapid Societal and Technological Change

2006
1985
Issue Technology Workforce Gas Prices Population
Served Health Insurance Pension Revenue Sources
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Charting your Course

• Where will your organization be in -

2011?
2016?
2026?
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Charting your Course

• Where do you want the organization to be?

How do you envision and implement that ideal?
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Overcoming Resistance to Change

Status Quo
Change
New Direction
(Normal Balance)
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• A successful strategic plan can only be developed
  when the organization is open to questioning the
  status quo.

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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Developing Smarter Goals

S Specific M Measurable A Acceptable R
Realistic T Timely E Extending R - Rewarding
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Goals vs. Objectives
• Goals are broad-based. Describes the general
  direction or priorities. Goals that are too
  specific can become outdated and end up on shelf!

Objectives are specific, measurable statements of
what will take place to achieve the stated goals.
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Steps in the Strategic Planning Process
• Step 1 Define the mission values of the
• organization.
• Top quality and efficient public services at
  the lowest effective cost
• Importance of values statement.

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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Step 2
• Define Organizational expectations and mandates.

Step 3 Review recent history of the organization.
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Step 4
• Envision the future of the community.

Step 5 Understand the dynamics of your
environment. What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the organization to achieve your
goals?
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Step 6
• Coalescing around major themes developing and
  ranking goals.

Step 7 Set steps to achieve goals and set
timeframes. When should this be done? By
Whom? How will we determine success?
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Step 8
• Review/Revise the Plan and Adopt the Plan.

Step 9 Check progress update on a continual
basis.
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Practical Approach for creating a strategic plan.

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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Best time to Plan?

Initiation of a new term of office.
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Worst time to Plan?

During a crisis situation!
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Kick-off Meeting
• Explain what strategic planning is and determine
  when why it may be needed.
• Do we need an outside facilitator?
• Will members be committed to the process?
  
• (and results!)
• Do we want to initiate a survey of
• residents?

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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Community/facilities tour
• Schedule a full day tour w/ fiscal court/city
  council. (note - advertise special meeting!)
  Have city staff or county elected officials
  provide a tour of facilities and discuss their
  needs/concerns.

Facilitator will carefully listen to and take
notes of discussions!
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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Questionnaire Development
• If a citizen survey has been utilized, the
  results of the survey will be incorporated in a
  survey of fiscal court/city council members.
• A survey provides a vehicle to generate thought,
  discussion, and ultimately consensus of a broad
  range of issues and possible goals.

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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• First Planning Session
• Discuss the cumulative results of the surveys.
  Discuss and re-order the rankings if needed.

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Preparing the Strategic Plan

• Second (or Third) Planning Session
• Discuss and review specific objectives, timeline,
  milestones and agree on communication plan.
• Adopt Plan and Publicize
• The Strategic Plan should be formally adopted by
  the Board and publicized in the community.

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Implementing the Plan

• What will my Strategic Plan Look Like?
• Normally, the planning sessions will result in 4
  or 5 high priorities and a like number of medium
  priorities. These are the Goals of the
  organization.
• Each Goal will be made up of several performance
  objectives. Objectives are the legs of each
  goal, explaining what will be done, how it will
  be done, and who will be responsible for
  completion.

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Implementing the Plan

• Example
• Goal
• Within five years, no resident will be more than
  10 miles from a public park of at least 10 acres.
• Objectives
• The East Gap ADD staff will work in conjunction
  with the Kentucky Parks Association and a local
  citizens committee to identify needed park
  facilities and possible locations throughout the
  County. The committee will be formed in October,
  2006 and prepare and present a final plan at the
  June 2007 fiscal court meeting. The CJE will
  chair this committee and coordinate committee
  efforts.

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Implementing the Plan

• Example (cont)
• Objectives
• The County Judge-Executive and County Treasurer
  will prepare a financial analysis for the
  proposed plan including funding sources and uses,
  debt issuance, and a timeline for land purchases.
  This analysis will be completed by September
  2007 and presented to the fiscal court.
• The fiscal court will adopt a final
• plan of proposed land purchases
• and facility development by the
• regular November 2007 meeting.

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Implementing the Plan

• Example (cont)
• Objectives
• 50 of the land purchase requirements will be
  authorized, funded, and completed by July 1st,
  2008. The remaining land purchases will
  completed by January 1, 2010.
• The fiscal court will authorize and fund the
  position of county parks manager within the FY
  2007-2008 budget. The CJE will make a
  recommendation to fill this position no later
  than October 1, 2007.
• The county parks manager, working in conjunction
  with the parks committee, will prepare a
  facilities plan and coordinate equipment and
  facility purchases into the six year capital
  improvement plan.

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Implementing the Plan

• How do you engage staff to embrace the
  organizations strategic plan?

• Communicate
• Involve
• Respect/Embrace
• Value
• Reward

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Implementing the Plan

• How does the strategic plan integrate into our
  budget and capital plan?
• Most goals will have a financial component.
  Resources will need to be identified and
  allocated to meet the objectives. This could be
  time, materials, or personnel. The Budget should
  be prepared ensuring that goals and their
  objectives are properly funded.

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Implementing the Plan

• Why Strategic Plans Fail
• Inappropriate Strategies
• Failure to define results
• Lack of understanding of strengths/weaknesses
• Poor fit
• Poor Implementation
• Overestimation of resources/abilities
• Underestimation of time, personnel and financial
  resources
• Failure to coordinate
• Failure to gain support or resistance
• Poor communication
• Failure to follow plan/loss of champions

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Implementing the Plan

• Tips, Suggestions for your Planning Process

Goal Congruency Are your goals compatible with
each other? Make sure the goals and
corresponding objectives are not working at cross
purposes.
Make sure Goals and Objectives are clear, simply
written, and understandable!
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Implementing the Plan

• Are you focused on outcomes, not just processes?

Measure your goals with a healthy dose of reality!
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Implementing the Plan
Integrate objectives into Department/Agency and
Employee performance evaluations.
Institute a measure of peer pressure. This can
be especially effective when goals cross
departments and are tied to performance
evaluations and salary increases.
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Implementing the Plan
Monitor and update your strategic plan often!
A true strategic plan will adapt to changing
circumstances. Communication of the results
creates a climate of shared responsibility and a
chance for the organization to celebrate
successes!
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Implementing the Plan

• Take your Strategic Plan with you!

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Implementing the Plan

• Take your Strategic Plan with you!

This document is a powerful voice for your
community. It shows the thought given to
planning, commitment to good management
principles, and cohesiveness of the boards
vision. This document should be used in
assessing, crafting and making your case for
grants!
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Implementing the Plan

• Start SimplyBut Start!

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Implementing the Plan

• For more information or to request planning
  assistance for your community
• Tim Williams
• Local Government Advisor
• Governors Office for Local Development
• 1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 340
• Frankfort, KY 40601
• [phone] x216
• tim.williams_at_ky.gov

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Implementing the Plan
Thank You!