Strategic Planning Manual - Facilitation Tools

Are You Responsible?
General Guidelines
How To Facilitate the Creation of
Vision Statement
Mission Statement
Goals
Strategic Directions
Objectives
Key Performance Indicators
SWOT Analysis

  Are you responsible for facilitating the strategic planning process with a planning group or reporting unit?

IF SO....

Check out: Tools for Facilitators!

  General Facilitation Guidelines

In general, a group size of approximately 8 to 12 works well in meetings designed to make strategic decisions!

This Strategic Planning Manual provides reference material and worksheets that are useful to anyone involved with the strategic planning process at EKU. The following information provides suggested frameworks for facilitating the creation of various elements of a strategic plan (vision statements, mission statements, goals, objectives, strategic directions, and key performance indicators). Additionally, a suggested process for facilitating a SWOT analysis is provided.

  Vision Statement

Length of Time Allotted: 25 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; 1/2sheets of colored paper; markers for group
Steps:

1. READ: A vision is: A statement reflecting the aspirations and values of the planning group
   a. A vision should be: Succinct and brief
   b. A vision should present an image of what success will look like
2. READ: EKU’s vision (or another example of a vision statement)
3. Flipchart “Where do you see Group’s Name in 5-10 years?”
   a. Have the group write down their ideas individually (allow 5 minutes)
   b. Using Round-robin technique, go around the group and have each person present their ideas to whole group (Facilitator: write key words on flipchart)
4. Once all the ideas have been presented and written on the flipchart, have the group divide into smaller groups and work on a vision statement that incorporates these ideas—each group could have their own flipchart to write statements on (allow 10 minutes)
   a. Note: Small Group size will vary depending on size of the whole group. It is recommended that the number of vision statements created should not exceed 3-5.
   b. Have each small group present their statements to the whole group
5. Wordsmith: Facilitator asks:
   a. Have participants “dot” (either with stickers or markers) the statement they prefer.
   b. Read the statements that have the greatest preference.
   c. Who will draft a vision statement based on the feedback from the meeting and present to the group at a later time (assign 2 people to this task)?
   

  Mission Statement

Length of Time Allotted: 25 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; 1/2sheets of colored paper; markers
Steps:

1. READ: Your mission is the ultimate purpose of the unit
   a. It should be a statement that is tied to EKU
   b. The length of your mission can vary. EKU has a one-sentence mission, but you have the flexibility to make it longer if you find it necessary. But, no longer than 1 page.
   c. READ: EKU’s mission is…
2. When you are thinking about your mission statement, it really should address two questions
   Who are we? & What do we do?
3. Flipchart: Who are we? (Brainstorm out loud; write on chart) (allow 5 minutes
4. Flipchart: What do we do? (Brainstorm; write on chart) (allow 5 minutes)
   a. Have the group get into smaller groups (of 2) and draft a mission statement (allow 5-10minutes)
   b. Using Round-robin technique, go around the group and have each person present their ideas to whole group (Facilitator: write key words on flipchart
5. Wordsmith: Facilitator asks:
   a. Have participants “dot” (either with stickers or markers) the statement they prefer.
   b. Read the statements that have the greatest preference.
   c. Work with the group in finalizing the exact wording of the statement.
   d. Is there consensus (write final mission on flipchart)

EDITING AN EXISTING MISSION STATEMENT

Length of Time Allotted: 20 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; 1/2sheets of colored paper; markers; copy of current mission statement
Steps:

1. Facilitator provides a copy of mission statement to the group. The mission is also displayed on a flipchart.
2. Facilitator divides group into smaller groups.
   a. Note: Small Group size will vary depending on size of the whole group. It is recommended that the number of statements created should not exceed 3-5.
   b. Have group consider the following questions (displayed on flipchart):Is the mission statement still relevant?; Are there items that ought to be added?; Does the statement address the six points suggested as being included in a mission statement (page 40); Does the statement effectively describe the unit to those who work within it as well as to those external to it?
   c. Have group edit the current mission statement and decide:What to keep? What to adjust? What to get rid of completely?
3. Bring to the large group and discuss the suggestions.
4. Facilitator assigns 2 people to take the suggestions and draft a revised mission statement.
   a. The revised statement should be reviewed by everyone at a later time.
   

  Goals

Length of Time Allotted: 35 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; 1/2sheets of colored paper; markers for group; sticky board; dots
Steps:

1. READ: Goals are fairly broad statements that support the vision, mission, and strategic directions of EKU
   a. Long-range intended outcomes
   b. When you are writing goal statements a few things to consider: make statements 1 sentence, start statement with a To…; use action words
2. READ: A few EKU goals
3. Flipchart: “What do you want to accomplish in the next 3 years?” given the resources that are available, mission and values that you’ve identified?
4. Have each person write 2-3 goals on the ½ sheets of paper (individually)
5. Start with Person 1—read the goals; ask if anyone has a similar goal; collect those and post on wall
6. Continue until all goals have been read
7. Once all the goals are on the wall; Facilitator asks:
   a. Are there any goals up here that you think should be clustered together/combined into one? Themes?
   b. Are there any up here that you want to eliminate?
8. Prioritization:
   a. Have each person come up and mark (dot) the 3 most important goals they see for the next 3 years
9. READ: 3 most dotted goals
10. Facilitator asks: Is there consensus then on keeping these 3 goals?
    a. Note: A unit must have a minimum of 3 goals for their strategic plan. If a group wants to keep more than 3, they can do so. It is advised to not exceed 5 in a given planning cycle.
    b. Can we move on; live with this?—this doesn’t mean scrap the others.

Facilitation Strategies with Goal development

• Use a brainstorming technique to collect all ideas from planning members
• During goal development, continue to ask, “Is this really a strategic goal? Will it leverage change in your organization?”
• While facilitating the meetings, use brainstorming to collect all ideas and process them. Use Post-It notes to organize ideas.
• To help refine and clarify ideas, consider asking “why” five times to each idea.
• To further explore a suggestion or an idea, ask the speaker if his or her statement is based on an assumption or solid data?
  

  Strategic Directions

Length of Time Allotted: 35 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; markers
Steps:

1. READ: Strategic Directions focus the groups work over the next 3 years in order for them to reach their goals
   a. Directions are the specific areas (components) of the goal that you will be focusing on
   b. Another way to define strategic directions is to think of them as the operational definitions of the goal
   c. Strategic directions should be directly related to one or more goals and they should be linked to a key performance indicator
2. READ: You are required to have 1 SD for each goal, but you can have more than that. You will want to make sure that you include a reasonable number that can realistically be accomplished in 3 years
3. READ: A few examples
4. Group Work:
   a. Focus on developing one SD for each goal
   b. Goal 1: What direction do you want to go in? (allow 10 minutes per goal)
   c. Brainstorm ideas aloud (write on flipchart)
   d. Which of these ideas has top priority
   i. Show of hands
   e. Write the goal and its strategic direction on the flipchart
   f. Do we have consensus on this?
5. REPEAT Goal 2 &3
   

  Objectives

Length of Time Allotted: 35 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; markers
Steps:

1. READ: Objectives are clear targets for specific action needed to meet the college’s goals
   a. Describe how a goal will be met
   b. It is more detailed than goals, have a shorter time frame, and may state a quantity
   c. Objectives are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound)
   d. Objectives should be linked to one or more goals and to key performance indicators
2. READ: An example (display)
3. READ: You are required to have at least 1 objective that has no additional budget request for each goal
4. Group Work:
   a. Focus on developing 1 objective, with no budget request, for each goal that you created
   b. Goal 1: What action do you want to take in order to reach this goal? (allow 10 minutes per goal)
   c. Brainstorm ideas aloud (write on flipchart)
   d. Which of these ideas has top priority
   i. Show of hands
   e. Write the goal and its objective on the flipchart
   f. Do we have consensus on this?
5. REPEAT Goal 2 &3
6. REPEAT process for educational objectives
   a. 3 educational objectives per program of study are required
   

  Key Performance Indicators

Length of Time Allotted: 30 minutes
Materials Needed: Flipchart; markers
Steps:

1. READ: A key performance indicator is a measure of an essential outcome of a particular organizational performance activity
   a. It is a measurement tool/evaluation method/criteria used to determine whether your goal is met
   b. Key performance indicators provide us with the data that allows us to evaluate our progress towards a goal
2. READ: You are required to have at least 1 KPI for each strategic direction/objective, but more KPI is better for assessment.
3. READ: An example KPI
4. Group Work:
   a. Have participants get into a group of 2
   b. Have each group choose a SD/objective and brainstorm KPI to assess the strategic direction/objective (allow 10 minutes)
   c. Have each group present their ideas to whole group
   d. What do others think of the KPI that group have come up with? (Consensus). You can always edit or come up with more at a later date
   e. Have open discussion of identifying criterion for each of these KPI (how do you know if they objective/strategic direction has been met?)
5. REPEAT for each group
   

  SWOT Analysis

Length of Time Allotted: 1 hour
Materials Needed: Flipchart; markers
Steps:

1. This information will allow you assess the current situation within your department and to determine what you might need to work on in order to get to where you want to be.
2. S—“What does GROUP NAME do well?” (list on flipchart)
3. W—“What are GROUP NAME weaknesses?” (list on flipchart)
4. O—“What external factors could be used to benefit this group (so, what opportunities are out there?)” (Flipchart)
5. T—“What external threats exist that might hold you back?” (Flipchart)
6. Clarify the SWOT’s if necessary (verify that everyone understands what is on the flipchart).
7. Prioritization:
   a. Have each person come up and mark (dot) the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (3 dots each) they see for the next 3 years
8. READ: the top 5 SWOT items.
9. PROVIDE: the TOWS Analysis worksheet to participants
10. Have participants get into smaller groups (3-5 people).
    a. Each group should be assigned a category (SO, WO, ST, and WT).
    b. Give the group ~10 minutes to identify strategies for their assigned category.
    c. Have the group write 1 strategy per ½ sheet of paper.
11. Participants read ideas generated and put ½ sheets onto the larger board for all to read.
12. Have a large group discussion surrounding the strategies (allow 15 minutes).
    a. Decide which to incorporate into current planning cycle.
13. Incorporate those strategies into goals and objectives for your strategic plan.