We recently came across an article with the above title. This time of year and the start of the new is a time when many boards are looking back and starting to think about strategic planning for the future (once the festivities are over!). So we thought that the article may be of use or interest to our readers. We are grateful to the author, Mike Burns, to reproduce the introduction here and to link to the full article.
It’s not uncommon for strategic planning to be treated primarily as a staff exercise, with the board brought in to react to or approve a finished plan. This approach can overlook the important role of nonprofit boards in strategic planning as a core expression of governance. Let’s explore why strategic planning is a shared responsibility of the board and CEO, how board members can be involved throughout the process, and what added value they bring to the planning effort.
What Strategic Planning Is and Is Not
Strategic decisions are fully informed, big picture (often multi-year) and results-focused.
Business management experts, including Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great and the Social Sectors,” view strategic planning as a mechanism for stimulating disciplined thought. Similarly, Peter Drucker, the consummate nonprofit management guru, said that “strategic planning is the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial decisions systematically and with the greatest knowledge of their futurity.”
Strategic planning is not the same as management or operational planning, nor is it about day-to-day decision-making. Strategic planning does not give the board or its members license to oversee and direct the daily activities of the nonprofit. Those responsibilities are the purview of the CEO or executive director … Read the full article here: Role of Nonprofit Boards in Strategic Planning – NonProfit PRO