An Example of a Strategy Agenda

Four weeks ago, I wrote about the essential elements of a Strategy Agenda, the new term I've introduced in my association to describe the essential work product of our Board of Directors. Its focus is a clear description of what the association will achieve and how the association will measure its success in achieving it, and it is made up of the following four elements. Our:

1. MISSION, our overall purpose, from which we derive our
2. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, how we will achieve our mission, from which we set our
3. ENDS STATEMENTS, the outcomes each strategic priority will achieve for our members, from which we identify our
4. SUCCESS INDICATORS, the metrics by which we'll know that we're achieving the outcomes.

This week I wanted to provide a concrete example of each of those elements, based on the actual terminology and language my association leadership has determined. As described above, each element is derived from and nests within the element that comes before it. Visually, this can be represented as a kind of organizational chart with our mission at the very top, our three strategic priorities stemming from it on the row below, our seven ends statements stemming from the three strategic priorities below that, and our twenty-six success indicators stemming from the seven ends statements below that. What follows, therefore, is one of twenty-six possible journeys down that organizational chart, from our mission to one particular strategic priority to one particular ends statement and to one particular success indicator.

Our mission is to "Strengthen the fluid power industry." This is our overall purpose, the thing that would not be done in the world if not for our organization.

From that mission, we have identified three areas of strategic priority, the essential things that we do that help us achieve that mission. We call one of those strategic priorities "Technology," and we define it as our effort to "Promote fluid power technology and foster an innovative environment for the fluid power industry."

Within that strategic priority, we have defined two ends statements, the specific outcomes that don't currently exist and which we wish to achieve for our members. We call one of those ends statements "Knowledge Development," and we define it as a state in which "Government agencies and universities engage with NFPA to develop fundamental knowledge of fluid power and educate the next generation of scientific and engineering leaders in the field."

And finally, within that ends statement, we have identified four success indicators, metrics that will indicate that we are making progress towards the ends statement. We call one of those success indicators "Industry Donations," which we define as "Industry donations to the NFPA Foundation are increasing and being used to fund more fluid power research and education within universities."

With these concrete examples I hope the linkages between the elements of our Strategy Agenda are more clear. By increasing industry donations to our Foundation and using those resources to fund more fluid power research and education within universities (success indicator), we begin to create a world in which government agencies and universities work with us to develop fundamental knowledge of fluid power and educate the next generation of scientific and engineering leaders in the field (ends statement), which is an essential change we need to see if we are to promote fluid power technology and foster an innovative environment for the fluid power industry (strategic priority), which helps us strengthen the fluid power industry (mission).

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This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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