Constituents That Should Be Involved In Strategic Planning

Too often, one of the biggest mistakes made in strategic planning processes is only interviewing/surveying internal candidates. Whether the focus is only on board members, the c-suite, or the staff organizations, failing to look outside your organization will cause you to miss out on critical input. Unfortunately, internal groups are all biased, not necessarily intentionally or negatively, but it is never safe to assume you know better about what your client wants, or the people you serve want. Beyond the simple distinctions of internal and external, it’s important to make sure that you are gaining insights from groups with high levels of control as well as groups with low levels of control. Providing comprehensive insight helps to alleviate potential risks, as well as provide opportunities for growth.

Internal Groups

Internal groups are the common practice, especially at a high level, but remember to get inputs from all levels. Think of a store, if you only interview management back at headquarters and leave out the front-line worker who is dealing with the clients every day, will you really get the full picture? No, you’ll miss critical insights and the opportunity to make sure staff feels engaged and a part of your future.

Board Members

This is the group responsible for setting your strategy, this group needs to be involved in every step of your strategic planning process and typically every board member should be interviewed (this is perhaps the only group for which that holds true). Board members need to be able to provide deep, open, and honest insights about the organization looking at the good and the bad. They need to envision the future of the organization, and they need to discuss how each level of the organization will be empowered to their success.

C-Suite

The c-suite is similar to the Board Members in many aspects, but different in the fact that this group typically has a better pulse on the day-to-day activities of the organization. The questions involved here likely match the Board discussion with the exception that they likely cannot comment on themselves and you will shift their focus to board performance, interest, and needs.

Staff

Staff typically get questioned on aspects critical to their own success, pulling out what they are hearing, how they operate, what would make them more successful, and how their efforts integrate into the company. Staff needs to be able to speak freely about co-workers, bosses, direct reports, etc. while also talking about how they understand the direction and mission of the company.

External Groups

Many times in strategic planning, especially when a strategic plan is done internally, external groups are left out of the equation, however, in doing this you are missing out on critical insights. To truly create a future vision, you need to incorporate insights from top to bottom and inside and out. One thing to keep in mind however is that these are external groups, and if their suggestions/thoughts veer from the strategic direction of the organization, this should be weighed at a leadership level instead of just jumping in headfirst.

Suppliers

Suppliers often have a unique take on an organization that can play both a strategic and a planning role. Often times they have thoughts and insights into how things are being done, how to lower costs, improve quality, or in some cases provide suggestions on a new direction. Think of a chip maker that provides chips to both Dell and Lenovo, these groups have a unique perspective on the direction of the CPU market. All suppliers may not have this much insight but likely can provide a critical perspective towards your own organization’s future.

Customers/Donors

Contrary to historical perspectives, it’s often not best to tell people that you know better what they want than they do. There are obvious exceptions here. Henry Ford knew better what the consumer wanted for travel, Mark Zuckerberg knew better about how people wanted to connect, many times fashion designers set the trend before we know we want it. There are numerous others that have done the same. However, in most cases for nonprofits or small businesses, asking the customer or donor what they think and what they want is a much better practice than assuming you know better.

Partners

Who do you think recognizes scope creep with a nonprofit first? It’s not typically internal. Partners are the first ones to recognize it. They can also recognize breaks in the chain of command, differing visions, and where your organization is more successful. This is a group that typically can do it with your best interest in mind. Gaining their perspective often comes with the added benefit of making them feel more important in your partnership and more trusted to move forward.

How You Should Engage These Groups

Interviews

Interviews should be saved for the highest value groups, these are the most labor-intensive and thus can be costly to perform. Groups that are common here would be Board Members, Staff, and high-value clients/donors. There may be some other constituents that are deemed high level. You may not be doing focus groups or other external options and thus need to engage a higher number of interviews in an effort to gain critical insights from varying other perspectives.

Board/Staff Retreats

It is fairly self-explanatory on who gets invited to a board or staff retreat. There are some great ways to make a board retreat as impactful as possible. Since the purpose of this is to gain insights, finding ways to liven up the experience is critical. Some good ideas are to bring an individual or two from the external groups in to speak about what your organization means to them, as well as making sure this doesn’t come across as a lecture. Remember, if it put you to sleep in college it likely will do the same here. Break into groups at times and have each group focus on a unique topic, or bring in an illustrator to illustrate the discussion. There are a variety of paths that could be taken here. Innovation is the key.

Focus Groups

Focus groups can be a great way to create discussion on your organization, especially if you are public-facing. If your organization has a premise of selling high dollar value items to just a few then you are likely much better served by interviewing those few directly. However, if you are an organization that tries to reach many, like a museum, a park, or a store, gaining the insights of the public is critical to understand their willingness to visit and support your organization. Focus groups become a great way to do this, but a few things should be kept in mind here. There are professional companies that do this every day, use them. As a part of the focus groups, they should never hear directly from the organization, that brings in a bias that you don’t want.

Surveys

Surveys are another great way to reach a broad audience. They are also typically the cheapest way to reach a broad audience. At NMBL we’ve typically found that these are most successful when the organization has a large email list and/or large social media following. Sometimes it’s good to offer a reward for participation, like every participant gets 10% off at our store or five people will win a $100 gift card. Sometimes rewards are not necessary if your following is passionate and engaged enough. Just make sure that you are asking the appropriate questions of the group being surveyed. Asking them for input on strategy is likely inappropriate, but asking them about price points can be extremely valuable. You also don’t want to make the survey too long. It will deter people from responding. If it’s an external group, 10-15 minutes or less is probably a good length. Internal constituents typically have a longer attention span.

Need help with input for a strategic plan, business plan, or new launch? Contact NMBL Strategies today to find out how our team can ensure your success.