Basics of Identifying Strategic Issues and Goals

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation.

This activity is usually conducted as part of the overall strategic planning. Therefore, the reader might best be served to first read the information in the topic Strategic Planning.

Strategic issues and goals are usually identified near the end of the strategic analysis activity (which usually includes doing an environmental scan and SWOT analysis.)

1. Identify issues by addressing questions such as:
a) “What external changes could effect the organization?” Consider, e.g.,
- changing demographics of stakeholders, including number, values, resources, power, etc.;
- changing rules and regulations; expectations and resources from customers, vendors, etc.;
- expected shifts in needs for products and services; availability of leadership and staffing; and
- what other current or new organizations provide similar services?
b) “What could be the effects of these changes in terms of threats or opportunities?”
c) “What changes must we make to address the threats?”
d) “What strengths can we build on to take advantage of the opportunities?”
(If planners seem reluctant to address these questions, allocate half an hour for a highly focused discussion around their reasons for not addressing these questions.)

2. Use a round-robin technique to collect and organize members’ input.

3. Visit with each issue, whether it’s “important” or “urgent.” Often, issues seem very important when they're only urgent, for example, changing a flat tire is an urgent issue -- but you'd never put "changing a tire" in your strategic plan. Attend only to the important issues and not the urgent issues. Attend to the important issues and not the urgent issues.

4. Facilitate to gain consensus on the top three to five issues and goals, and them prioritize them.

5. Issues and goals usually come from strengths to be build on, weaknesses to be strengthened opportunities to be taken, and threats to be avoided.

6. Many issues are based on gut feeling or intuition, rather than on extensive external and internal assessments.

7. Issues that are too narrow do not warrant planning and issues that are too broad will bog you down.

8. Deal with issues that you can do something about.

9. Help planners realize they can overcome pending issues. Too often, because of shortage of resources, planners tend to be highly reactive, rather than proactive.

10. Issues should be clearly articulated so that another outside of the organization can understand the description of the issue.

11. It helps to temper ideas, i.e., verify them against reality by having someone in the group assigned to be the “devil’s advocate.” Their role is to ask straightforward questions in an effort to get group members to adequately examine the current suggestion or idea before accepting it.

12. Be careful not to ignore current major issues in the interest of pursuing more creative and forward-looking goals. Many organizations have faltered because their planning focused too far down the road and they ended up falling over their feet.

13. Have someone reword issues to goals. Note that goals should be worded such that, when they are reached, they will have addressed an issue. Planning members should review wording of the goals to ensure all members understand the goals and that the goals, when reached, will address each issue.

Return to the topic Strategic Planning.

For the Category of Strategic Planning:

Recommended Books

For-Profit Specific

Nonprofit Specific

For-Profit Specific

The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.

Nonprofit-Specific

Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation: by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Step-by-step guidelines to customize and facilitate planners to implement the best strategic planning process to suit the particular nature and needs of their nonprofit. This is one of the few books, if any, that explains how to actually facilitate planning. Includes many online forms that can be downloaded and used by planners. Many materials in this Library's topic about strategic planning are adapted from this book.