Top Takes: Stop Calling It Strategic Planning

Take another look at the post that, as of this writing, has the most pageviews on this entire blog:

Stop Calling It Strategic Planning

I stand by it. Whatever you choose to call it, to be effective, associations need a methodology to accomplish the following five things:

1. They need a mission that everyone can support, that defines why they exist, and around which they will dedicate their resources and activity.

2. They need a vision for the future, a single or set of envisioned states of being, that inspires people and keeps them stretching to achieve more than they might have thought possible.

3. They need to develop a set of programs that are clearly aligned with their mission and which are capable of moving them towards their vision. These programs should both serve the interests of their members and engage them in the process of their development and execution.

4. They need to develop and employ the appropriate resources so that the programs have the best chance of success.

5. They need to monitor the progress of the programs and evaluate their impact on their mission and their ability to move them closer to their vision. They must make adjustments based on this evaluation, striving for a cycle of continuous improvement.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.