From strategy to action: your goal is not the creation of a strategic plan, but of a guide to action - Marketing

University Business, Feb, 2003 by Robert A. Sevier

There are probably few phrases that cause a greater group groan on most campuses than "strategic planning." The fact is, most colleges and universities look at strategic planning as a path to pain, rather than a path to plenty. As a consequence, the universal response to the completion of a strategic plan is, "Whew, finally! Now I can get back to work."

Over the past several years, as I have helped colleges and universities with their strategic plans, I have isolated a number of reasons for higher education's love/hale relationship with strategic planning. I'd like to address a handful of those concerns--with "lessons learned" right behind them. Let's begin by getting a clear idea of what strategic planning should be all about.

THE PURPOSE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

At its most basic, strategic planning is all about creating an alignment between an organization's day-to-day activities and its environment--an alignment that facilitates the flow of resources to that organization. This definition has at its core four basic tenets of strategic planning:

1) Strategic planning recognizes the relationship between the organization and its environment.

2) Strategic planning is based on a robust and defendable situational analysis that incorporates solid, defendable marketing research.

3) The resultant strategic plan is the central organizing principle around which the institution organizes its daily activities.

4) Strategic planning involves monitoring and evaluating return on investment of time, talent, and treasure.

CONCERNS ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANNING

Roger Williams, writing in "Out with the Old, In with the New" in the January 2000 Currents, says that strategic planning "lies still and vapid like a tired old fox terrier on the couch. An occasional bark, but no bite." He then cites four ways in which higher education has "neutered" strategic planning:

First: Fear of hard derisions. Hard, unpopular decisions can wreak havoc, so leaders avoid making them.

Second: Passive-aggressive behavior at the institutional level. Particularly in large universities, the tendency is to mandate strategic planning at the unit level--the constituent colleges, schools, and departments--but to ignore any rigorous thinking (i.e., decision-making) at the top, institutional level.

Third: Fuzzy, unmeasurable goals. There are institutional or system-level strategic plans, of course, but look at the language: One state system wants to "foster collaboration between units." A major private university wants to be "the leader in the integration of teaching and research." A comprehensive university stakes its future on "increasing access to knowledge resources."

And finally: The "all things to all people" syndrome--the institution that wants to "elevate our faculty and its teaching, research, and scholarship" and "globalize the university community."

LESSONS LEARNED

Unfortunately, Williams' perception of strategic planning is consistent with most people's--and colleges'--experience. But, let's see if we can offer a few insights that might give strategic planning back some of its strategic bite.

It's not the plan--it's what you do with the plan. Begin your planning process with an important understanding: The goal is not the creation of a strategic plan. Rather, the goal is a sense of direction and institutional coordination created by an effective strategic planning process. In other words, the plan is a guide to action.

Begin with the end in mind. It's called a vision, and in today's cynical times, some believe that visions are less important than they one were. Actually, visions are more important than ever. Like the top of a jigsaw puzzle box, a vision provides important and shared understanding of what the organization should look like as the strategic plan is implemented. Good visions inspire. Good visions challenge. Without a vision, your plan will never have the over-arching direction it needs.

Understand the tools. Let's try an analogy here. If you want to build a piece of furniture, you need a set of tools. Probably a saw. Some chisels. A tape measure. Some glue. In the same fashion, there are a handful of institutional tools that you will need to execute your strategic plan. These domains, or essential task areas, include:

* Finance and budget

* Academic affairs

* Student recruiting and financial aid

* Student development/retention

* Institutional advancement/alumni relations (fundraising)

* Facilities planning

* Information technology

* Brand marketing/image building

* Human resources

As your planning process unfolds, you should be asking yourself: How can facilities planning be used to advance the overall vision? What about human resources? Or IT? It is through these nine domains that your plan will be executed. In the final analysis, strategic planning is all about how you orchestrate these nine domains to achieve your vision.

Standardize terms and recognize the hierarchy. It is amazing how often colleges and universities jump into a strategic planning process without taking time to define key terms. While planning purists insist there are important differences between strategies, goals, objectives, and actions, most people do not care about that much detail. With an eye toward a common--and simple--vocabulary, I would suggest the following terms and hierarchy: