THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

Staff from all of Kāhui Tautoko Consulting’s offices have over the years been involved in some form of planning – from specific project planning, to business and strategic planning for clients, programme planning and community health planning. We’ve landed on some new ways of presenting strategic intentions.

Rather than use a template for everything - we try to focus on key components and content – such as Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Objectives and Measures for strategic plans, or Current state, Needs, Risks, Challenges, Opportunities for Business Plans and Needs Assessments.

But then work with our clients (predominantly indigenous organisations) on how best to present that information in a way that works for them. Some organisations need very detailed multi-page plans (particularly if specific information is required for funders) while others want as simple a representation as possible. Some want simple word documents – no graphics, no photos, no flash and fancy add-ons – something they can run through their own copier quickly whenever they want to. Often their budgets dictate that because paying for graphic designers and printers / publishers is beyond their means.

Others however – who have the luxury of a slightly larger budget – will send us a bunch of photos, stories, community feedback / quotes, logos, designs and other material – that they want incorporated into the design and delivery of their plans.

As a result we’ve helped our indigenous clients produce these plans in a number of forms – posters, fancy graphically-designed published documents and simple word documents. The best testament for us that tailoring the presentation of the plans works – is when we return and find posters on the wall (often with words scribbled on them where things have been ‘ticked off’) or finding plans in tatters from over-reading and over-use. Nothing worse than returning and finding the strategic plan on the shelf in pristine condition from the day we delivered it, gathering dust. 

So what’s the value of a good plan? One that is in tatters from over-use, covered in comments (for the next plan or for the evaluation) and one that people refer to casually in conversation. The worst outcome is mentioning the strategic plan and having a staff member say “oh we have a plan? I haven’t seen it” or “I don’t think we even have a plan” or “I don’t know how what I do fits into the plan” – so we try our best to write plans, to engage the people expected to deliver on it and to present it in a form that people will use (and ideally abuse – in a good way)! 

Next time – we’ll talk ‘reporting’. What’s the point writing a plan to tell people where you’re headed, when you aren’t reporting back to them on how far you’ve got on that journey….. it’s all about moving forward (even if you change direction) and not standing still. Nothing strategic about standing still…