3B Strategic Planning: Giving your Association or Charity Purpose plus Direction 25 – 26 November 2014 1:30pm – 3:00pm #FL14

John  Peacock  General  Manager  Associa/ons  Forum  www.associa/ons.net.au    Future  Leaders  Conference:  25  November  2014  

(Strategic) Planning for Associations & Charities

1. Why  associa/ons  &  chari/es  must  plan  2.  Framework  of  the  plan,  star/ng  with  

mission  then  cascading  to  details  3.  A  typical  associa/on  planning  day  4.  Prac/cali/es  &  implementa/on  5.  (J  L  J  L  case  study  if  /me  permits)  

Agenda

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Plans:  Strategic?  Opera/onal?  Business?  Financial?  

•  Every  associa/on  needs  a  plan  and  budget  (ie  financial  plan)  •  The  term  “strategic”  is  widely  used  –  it  is  an  important  

concept,  although  not  everyone  will  agree  what  is  strategic  and  what  is  not  strategic  

•  The  plan  structure  needs  to  allow  for  ranking  of  priori/es  •  Of  military  origin,  “strategy”  refers  to  a  plan  of  ac/on  

designed  to  achieve  par/cular  goals  •  The  key  is  to  use  the  Mission  and  Goals  to  cascade  down  to  

the  details,  plus  add  priori/es  

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Plans  must  be  flexible  and  allow  (or  disallow)  new  ideas  

•  Every  associa/on  must  plan  •  Plans  must  be  flexible  –  there  is  no  point  following  a  Plan  that  is  wrong  for  now  

•  Plans  are  a  filter  through  which  new  ideas  must  pass:  – Does  the  new  idea  fits  the  plan?  – Can  it  be  afforded?  – What  needs  to  be  stopped  to  allow  new  idea  in?  

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ü ‘The  framework  of  rules,  rela/onships,  systems  &  processes  within  and  by  which  authority  is  exercised  and  controlled  in  corpora/ons’  

Governance  defined  

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Roles  of  Board  &  CEO  (1  of  3)  

•  When  funds  allow,  associa/ons  employ  (or  contract)  staff  

•  When  people  are  employed  for  administra/on,  Board  s/ll  makes  the  decisions  

•  When  management-­‐level  staff  (led  by  CEO)  are  employed,  Board  needs  to  let  go  of  management  and  have  less  Office  Bearers  

•  Boards  are  willing  (and  some/mes  even  pleased)  to  let  go  if  they  can  see  the  CEO  has  a  Plan  and  knows  their  role  

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Roles  of  Boards  &  CEO  (2  of  3)  

•  Early  clarifica/on  of  the  roles  is  necessary  •  Both  par/es  must  have  their  priori/es  &  insights  built  into  the  Planning  process  

•  Board  confirms  Mission,  Goals,  strategic  direc/on  &  gives  ini/al  input  into  plan  

•  CEO/Management  develops  the  opera/onal  &  budgetary  plan  including  risk  analysis  

•  Board  approves  detailed  Plan  &  Budget  

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Board  role   CEO  Role  ü  Ensure  relevant  informa/on  is  

obtained  ü  Set  the  strategic  direc/on  ü  Approve  the  strategic  plan  ü  Establish  a  framework  for  the  

CEO’s  ac/ons  including  KPI’s  ü  Establish  /  approve  relevant  

policies  ü  Appoint,  appraise  the  CEO  ü  Dismiss  the  CEO  where  

circumstances  require  

ü  Ensure  that  the  Board  direc/on  is  accurately  reflected  in  the  strategic  plan  

ü  Manage  the  development,  maintenance  of  systems  to  achieve  the  organisa/on’s  mission  

ü  Prepare  detailed  plans  and  budgets  

ü  Appoint,  appraise,  promote  and  dismiss  staff  

ü  Primary  source  of  advice  to  the  Board  

Roles of Board & CEO (3 of 3)

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Ownership  of  the  Plan  within  the  associa/on  

•  Members  of  the  Board  must  feel  ownership  of  the  ‘big  picture’  of  where  the  associa/on  is  heading  

•  Where  staff  are  employed,  they  need  ownership  of  the  details  and  should  not  be  micromanaged  

•  The  ‘big  picture’  plan  should  be  shared  with  the  membership,  excluding  confiden/al  aspects,  opera/onal  details  of  the  Plan  and  budget  

•  Engaging  the  Board  with  the  Mission  and  Goals  is  the  key  to  keeping  opera/ons  separate  

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Plans  don’t  solve  systemic  problems  –  unless  you  plan  to  solve  these  

•  If  the  structure  or  culture  is  problema/c,  systemic  difficul/es  will  remain  –  no  macer  how  good  your  Plan.  

•  Ensure  the  Board  &  management  understand  that  governance  is  dis/nct  from  management  

•  Delay  in  correc/ng  structural  or  cultural  issues  will  hold  back  your  associa/on  

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2.    FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  PLAN  

•  Clarifying  Mission  of  the  associa/on  or  charity  •  Environmental  scan,  strategic  awareness  and  input  from  stakeholders  

•  Sedng  key  priori/es  whilst  considering  resource  availability  

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Clarifying  Mission  

•  Mission  (easy  to  change)  &  official  “objects”  in  Cons/tu/on  (hard  to  change)  must  be  aligned    

•  Mission  statements  must  be  clear,  prac/cal,  &  contemporary  –  yet  wise  older  words  are  OK  

•  If  the  process  of  reviewing  Mission  is  poorly  handled,  it  can  damage  Governing  Commicee  focus  and  cohesion  (only  allow  60  minutes)  

•  Once  set  and  agreed  on  by  the  Governing  Commicee,  the  Mission  is  a  powerful  force  &  mo/vator  –  as  is  the  Plan  

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Do  associa/ons  need  a  Vision  and  values?  

•  You  do  not  necessarily  need  a  “Vision”  statement  (but  you  must  have  a  Mission  statement)  

•  Vision  statements  are  different  to  Mission  statements  –  they  are  higher,  broader  and  a  direc/on  to  head  in  –  not  necessarily  what  can  be  achieved  

•  Visions  can  apply  to  the  very  broad  industry  or  cause  (eg  eradicate  cancer),  whereas  Mission  statements  are  the  purpose  of  the  associa/on  or  charity  

•  Values  statements  are  noble  but  harder  to  implement  –  becer  to  have  Code  of  Ethics  for  Governing  Commicee  

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Goals  must  cascade  from  Mission  

•  Once  the  Mission  is  set,  agree  on  5-­‐7  areas  for  Goals  to  achieve  the  Mission  

•  E.g.  advocacy,  educa/on,  professional  standards,  member  services,  fundraising,  governance  &  opera/onal  support  

•  Once  the  Goals  are  set  by  Board,  management  populate  the  matrix  of  ac/vi/es,  responsibili/es,  resources  &  /ming  

•  Details  must  cascade  from  big  picture  

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Mission    The  Mission  of  XYZ  Associa/on  of  Australian  &  NZ  is  to  advance  the  XYZ  profession  and  to  represent  the  interests  of  members.    

 Goals  (this  is  the  “linking”  piece  that  is  o]en  missed)  In  order  to  achieve  our  Mission,  we  will:  1.  Educate  2.  Inform  3.  Advocate  4.  Expand  business  opportuni/es  5.  Have  good  governance  

Mission & Goals – then details in grid

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Once  Mission  &  Goals  are  decided,  move  to  details  in  grid  format  

GOAL   ACTIVITY   RESPONSIBLE   TIMING   NOTE   PRIORITY  

1  Educate   1.1  Conference   Event  Mgr   May  ‘15   Meas   B1  

1.2  On  line  learning     External   Jul  ‘16   A3  

2  Inform   2.1  Newslecer   Comms  Mgr   Qtrly   Meas  

2.2  Website   Comms  Mgr   Ongoing   Meas   B2  

3  Advocate   3.1  Develop  policies   Board   Dec  ‘16  

3.2  Meet  Minister   President   Jan  ‘16   A2  

4  Expansion   4.1  Trade  mission   CEO   Aug  ‘16   Meas  

4.2  Economic  analysis   External   Nov  ‘16   B3  

5  Governance   5.1  New  database   CEO   Jul  ‘16  

5.2  Review  Cons/t’n   Sub  C’tee   May  ‘16   A1  

5.3  Govern  training   CEO   Nov  ‘16  

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Vital  components  necessary  to  achieve  mission  

•  Financial  capability  •  Organisa/onal  capability  •  Planned  sustainable  growth  •  Communica/on  of  our  ac/vi/es  •  Customer  service  capability  •  Innova/on,  crea/vity  and  wise  leadership  

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Environmental  scan  &  input  from  stakeholders  

•  If  resources  permit,  environmental  plans  provide  evidence  •  While  environmental  scan  and  input  from  stakeholders  may  

vary  in  scope  and  intensity,  it  is  a  useful  process  •  Prac/cal  sugges/ons  on  environmental  scanning:  

–  Seek  structured  stakeholder  input,  not  anecdotal  •  For  becer  resourced  associa/ons,  consider  scenario  planning  •  Planning  must  be  based  on  a  substan/ve  environment  review:  

–  External  stakeholder  research  – Member  &  client  research  –  SWOT  

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Board  &  CEO  must  be  con/nually  aware    

•  Planning  is  not  just  an  annual  process  •  Strategic  awareness  is  built  by  regularly  educa/ng  the  Board  through  discussing  current  strategic  issues,  and  asking  “what  if…?”  

•  This  process  builds  strategic  thinking  and  strengthens  Board  capability  

•  Strategic  discussions  may  result  in  out-­‐of-­‐cycle  changes  to  the  Plan  

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Example  of  Strategic  Issues  

•  Recent  government  policy  /  budget  changes  •  Regulatory  requirements  •  Demographic  changes  •  Technology  investment  (including  social  media)  

•  Emerging  sector  trend  •  Economic  &  environmental  trends  •  Compe//ve  threats  

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Management  response  to  dra]  Plan  by  Board  

•  Board  must  rank  priori/es  •  This  will  influence  CEO/management  planning  of  staff  &  financial  resource  alloca/ons  

•  A  rigorous  review  process  is  required  including  Stop  /  Start  /  Con/nue  

•  Plans  need  to  assess  capability,  including  quantum  and  poten/al  of  staff  &  need  for  external  resources  

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3:  A  TYPICAL  ASSOCIATION  PLANNING  DAY  

•  Prepara/on  for  the  Planning  Day  •  Typical  agenda  for  the  Planning  Day  •  Insights  from  experience  •  Next  steps  arer  the  Planning  Day  

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Prepara/on  for  the  Planning  Day  

•  Make  it  part  of  the  annual  Board  cycle  (eg  every  August,  then  Budgets  in  November  for  1  Jan  new  year)  

•  Allocate  adequate  /me  for  effec/ve  planning  •  Set  the  date  months  in  advance  •  Give  Board  members  brief  but  thought-­‐provoking  materials  &  key  informa/on  in  advance  

•  Small  key  group  to  set  planning  expecta/ons  •  Expert  external  facilitator  must  drar  the  agenda  

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Typical  Agenda  for  the  Planning  Day  

•  Session  1:  Big  picture,  reconfirm  Mission  &  Goals,  environmental  scan  &  strategic  priori/es  

•  Session  2:  Ac/vi/es  in  order  to  achieve  Goals,  sa/sfy  priori/es  and  improve  business-­‐as-­‐usual  

•  Session  3:  Review  ac/vi/es  to  achieve  goals  and  rank  priori/es  

•  Session  4:  Prac/cali/es,  resources  (especially  staff),  structures,  culture  and  next  steps  

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Insights  from  experience  (1  of  2)  

•  Boards  vary  greatly  in  their  expecta/on  &  experience  of  the  Planning  Day  

•  Expert  External  Facilitator  must  control  the  flow,  interac/on  &  ‘speakers  list’  

•  Establish  behavioral  protocols  •  Capture  words  live  via  laptop  and  data  projector:  everyone  will  see  the  words  develop  and  will  own  them  

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Insights  from  experience  (2  of  2)  

•  Move  discussions  ahead  swirly  enough  so  that  they  can  see  achievement  in  stages  

•  Don’t  close  off  produc/ve  discussions  &  force  decisions  early  

•  Expunge  previous  superseded  Plans  •  Set  reasonable  expecta/ons  and  outperform  

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Stakeholder  Analysis  (1  of  2)  

•  What  do  our  ‘members’  /  ‘customers’  want?  •  Recent  survey  results  (if  any)  •  Do  we  have  a  community  service  obliga/on?  •  Confirm  service  offering  •  Environmental  (external)  analysis,  including,  Poli/cal,  Economic,  Social,  Technological  analysis  of  organisa/on  

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Stakeholder  Analysis  (2  of  2)  

•  Is  our  membership  model  appropriate?  •  Is  our  organiza/onal  structure  conducive  to  delivering  the  desired  outcomes?  

•  Industry  &  compe/tor  analysis  •  Major  trends  •  Collabora/on  opportuni/es  •  Services  /  products  analysis  /  Compe/ng  services?  

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4:  PRACTICALITIES  AND  IMPLEMENTATION  

•  Selling  the  benefits  of  Planning  •  Moving  from  high-­‐level  planning  to  opera/onal  details  and  budgets  

•  Performance  management,  review  and  repor/ng  to  the  Board  

•  Risk  management  •  Monitoring  &  KPI’s  •  Communica/ng  the  Plan  and  “champions”  

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Selling  benefits  of  the  planning  process  

•  What  is  your  Board’s  adtude  to  Planning?  •  It  is  fundamental  to  good  Board  governance  •  Plans  establish:  

– Resource  alloca/on  priori/es  – Performance  management  criteria  – Timetable  for  achievement  

•  Delivers  stakeholder  value  proposi/on  

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From  high-­‐level  plans  to  opera/onal  details  &  budgets  

•  A  detailed  “ac/vity  based”  (or  cost  centre)  budget  will  then  need  to  be  developed  depending  on  the  suppor/ng  finance  system  capabili/es  

•  Ensure  the  plan  &  budget  are  in  sync  

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From  high-­‐level  plans  to  opera/onal  details  &  budgets  

•  Management  team  working  together  •  Develop  an  agreed  template  •  Consider  level  of  detail  (for  different  audiences)  •  Set  realis/c  /meframes  (may  extent  to  more  than  one  budget  cycle)  

•  How  will  your  systems  track,  new  programs,  budgets  &  measurement  

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A]er  the  Planning  Day  

•  CEO  leads  management  team  to  flesh  out  linked  opera/ons  plan  including  responsibili/es,  milestones,  budgets,  KPIs  

•  Undertake  a  risk  assessment  •  Prepare  communica/ons  to  staff,  members  &  stakeholders  

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Performance  Management,  Review  &  Governing  Commicee  Repor/ng    

Final  plan  encompasses:  •  Goals  

– Programs  •  Measurement  

–  Responsibility  »  Resources  

•  Deadlines  

•  Monitor  &  Report  

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Other  Implementa/on  Considera/ons    

•  From  priori/es  agreed  to  by  the  Board,  complete  documenta/on  (link  to  budget)  

•  CEO  confirm/challenge  capacity  to  achieve  it  

•  Consider  assessment  of  risks  •  Board  approval  in  cycle  with  budget  

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Risk  considera/ons  in  Plans  

1.  Does  the  ac/vity  align  with  the  Mission  &  strategic  plan?  2.  What  research  &  financial  analysis  supports  the  ac/vity?  3.  Do  we  have  the  financial  and  talent  resources  for  this  ac/vity?  4.  Is  the  /meframe  conducive  to  success?  5.  What  if:  costs  overrun,  funding  stops,  /me  blows  out,  

stakeholders  reject  the  ac/vity,  legisla/on  changes?  6.  What  is  the  risk  of  not  undertaking  or  failure,  of  the  ac/vity?  7.  Are  there  any  technical,  legal  or  reputa/on  issues  or  risks?  

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Monitoring  

•  Board  monitoring  and  staff  performance  review  cycles  in  synch  

•  Board  review  financials  each  mee/ng-­‐no  surprises  •  CEO  provide  strategic  porvolio  update  each  mee/ng-­‐Red  

flag/Green  Flag  •  Twice  a  year  CEO  provides  full  report  of  progress  against  

KPI’s/key  deadlines  

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Key  Performance  Indicator  (KPI)  

A  KPI  is  an  indicator  that  is:  •  A  measure  of  performance  •  A  part  of  a  ‘measurable  objec/ve’  Components  of  a  ‘measurable  objec/ve’:  

–  Direc/on,  KPI,  benchmark,  target,  /me  frame  –  E.g.  increase  membership,  from  1,600  to  1,800  by  30  June  2016  

(specific  quan/fied  targets,  SMART,  specific,  measurable,  achievable,  relevant,  /me-­‐defined)  

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Communica/ons  -­‐  the  ra/onal  bit    

•  Agree  clear  roles  for  CEO  and  Chair  •  Chair  is  the  #1  champion  of  the  plan  •  Ensure  key  messages  are  clear  and  unambiguous  •  Timetable  of  announcements:  Board,  staff,  stakeholders  

•  Co-­‐ordinate  newslecer,  website,  social  media,  Q&A’s      

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Communica/ons  -­‐  the  emo/ve  bit  

•  Good  CEO’s  use  listening,  persuasion,  influencing  •  Communicate  with  staff  in  small  groups  •  Take  /me  to  align  their  jobs  with  the  new  future  •  Listen  sensi/vely  to  their  concerns,  ques/ons,  accommodate  them  if  possible-­‐honesty  if  you  can’t  

•  Keep  key  messages  simple  and  repeated  

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Thank you and stay in touch

•  CEO  &  Chair  Symposium,  Grand  Chancellor  Hobart,  12-­‐13  February  2015  

•  Associa/ons  Forum  Na/onal  Conference,  Adelaide  Conven/on  Centre,  14  -­‐15  July  2015  

•  John  Peacock,  General  Manager  •  Associa/ons  Forum  Pty  Ltd  •  jpeacock@nfp.net.au  •  +61  2  9904  8200  

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