I recently wrote an article in my newsletter that helped me articulate why I love strategic planning so much. At the end of a good planning process, you can be sure that no longer will you hear “because that’s the way we’ve always done it” as a rationalization for decisions or behaviors. At its best, strategic planning is a carved-out time for the organization to enter the space where nothing is taken for granted – everything is up for grabs.
What results from a healthy strategic planning process is not just a plan for the near future, but also a commitment (or recommitment) to the broadest directions and reasons for achieving the organization’s mission. Strategic Planning is a supported, safe process, where everything is reexamined and the orgnization emerges in a more proactive state than before the planning process. Directions and decisions are proactive, affirmative, and thoughtful.
No longer can organizations afford to coast along on instinct, or past practice. For an organization to remain sustainable in today’s rapidly changing environment, it must commit itself to periodic renewal, in the form of strategic planning.
This is certainly true of us as individuals as well. Seasons remind us to reflect and renew our approach to life, and make whatever adjustments are best for our general heatlh going forward. It only makes sense that on a systemic level, we must also seek out seasons of reflection and renewal.
