Consider whether your plan of action worth the paper it’s written on? Are you able to put a dollar figure on the value of your Plan and its impact on the customers or community you serve? You would be surprised how a well-thought-out and effective Plan could double your income and boost your credibility. These are the strategic plans that we use for supporting funding requests for clients. We’re not seeing enough of them.

What are these outstanding strategies appear like?

What makes them so effective?

There are five ways to make the most of your Plan, build your reputation and boost your income:

1 Plan for three to five years

The goal of a strategic plan is to produce results over a 3-to-5 year time frame, not just 12 months. Anything less than the longer time frame is operational. To be sustainable or grow requires a variety of elements, including the ability to access human resource as well as research and development financial management, governance and infrastructure, as well as the ability to gauge your progress within realistic time frames. If you haven’t clearly defined objectives, how do you create efficient marketing, human resource and financial plans? What are the ways that people can help to shape the direction of the organization if it’s not clearly articulated?

2. Seek outside help right from the start

If you’re preparing to create a new strategic plan, consider engaging an external facilitator from the beginning. They can help with planning, information gathering, facilitation, and making an overall Plan. They bring objectivity to the process, and advantages include:

Reducing time and money in the process by outsourcing leg work
Minimizing the risk of having an unintentional influence on the shape of the Plan that could occur if an internal person is the one who drives and facilitates the content of the Plan
It enables all parties to be a part of the process on an equal basis in discussions and consultations when drafting plans.
3 Incorporate a well-researched situation analysis

Some organizations rely on their in-depth information and their perceptions to determine the state of the external environment and to make use of this knowledge to analyze the current situation and anticipate future trends. We live in a fast-changing world, so it is only natural that we look at demographic and economic information, data on competitors, stakeholders, and government policy to stay ahead of the game. This is what drives innovation. To learn how a thorough analysis of the situation can help to create an enviable 3-5-year outlook take a look at local government council plans. In google that you don’t, you may be able to pay Gypsy Rose Lee to look at her crystal balls.

4. Goals and strategies aren’t your programs, products, and services.

If you’re focused on your business, take a take a step back and concentrate on your vision and mission. If you want to get results, the programs, products and services are only parts in the process. Take a look at ‘how, when what, why whom, what, and where, starting with ‘what needs to be done to take us from A to B in the time x to enable us to reach y (y = goal to reach = vision). When it comes to products, programs, and services, utilize the strategic planning process to think outside the box and create some new solutions.

5 Measure your results

This is the life essence of the Strategic Plan that sets apart the winners from the rest. This is the area that many strategies gloss over possibly because it’s too hard to think about or as a sign of the Board/Committee of Management does not recognize its responsibility in setting and monitoring the direction of the business. Some million-dollar companies fail to measure their results beyond the balance sheet.

If you wish to establish your business as credible How can you achieve this without proving it? How can you determine what direction your organization is doing?

Working with clients large and small The people who were able to secure significant amounts of money and demonstrate their credibility have the following in place:

The Board exercises its role in driving the organization
It undergoes a diligent strategy-based planning process that allows to discover gaps and opportunities that they could take advantage of.
They assess improvements. The benchmarks, employ qualitative and quantitative data and evaluate efficiency and efficiency. They analyze every aspect of their work, not just for continuous improvement, but also to show evidence of the impact they have made. Even in socially oriented operations there is the possibility to gather testimonials and stories that give a personal experience to the information.
If you were going to fund the organization of your choice, what one would you choose? One that demonstrates it has its finger on the pulse, sets its objectives, and strives to achieve them effectively and efficiently or one that even when all the chips are down can’t demonstrate the difference it can make for those they serve? Our clients who evaluate the performance of all departments and incorporate this into their strategic Plan are the ones we find are most successful in attracting large grants. A properly planned and executed strategic planning process can double your income and increase your credibility.