Deciding Whom to Involve in Strategic Planning: Tactics, Strategy, Priorities

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Three people at a conference table with idea-generating tools in front of them.

Categorize all the people you think you’ll invite to participate in your nonprofit’s strategic planning project into one of three categories: Tactics, Strategy, or Priorities.

The purpose here is to segment people according to the type of information you’ll expect them to provide as you “involve the people who know.”

You can ask each group different types of questions in interviews leading up to the strategic planning retreat, thus maximizing the amount and quality of decision-support information you receive.

Tactics

  • Provide information on how tactics (i.e., day-to-day business processes) are working.
  • Use their “on the ground” knowledge to suggest improved tactics.
  • Daily, weekly view of the implementation of initiatives.
  • Typically, an organization’s line staff and some managers fall into this category.

Strategy

  • At a higher level, what we’ll not do (most importantly!) and will do to create and review progress on initiatives designed to accomplish goals.
  • Monthly, quarterly, annual view of the implementation of initiatives.
  • Typically, an organization’s leadership team and some managers fall into this category.

Priorities

  • These people set the no more than five things we’ll accomplish to advance our mission in the next ___ years. “If everything’s important, nothing is.”
  • Annual to multi-year view of the implementation of priorities.
  • Typically, an organization’s board of directors and leadership team fall into this category.

Exercise 1: Make Three Lists

Make three lists of people to involve, following the Tactics-Strategy-Priorities model. Then, answer these reflection questions:

  1. What patterns do you see in the lists you made?
  2. What surprises you about the lists you made?
  3. What organizational capacity and development opportunities and challenges are coming up for you right now?
  4. How can the strategic planning process you design best serve people in each of the four groups?
  5. How would strategic planning be a personally meaningful win for people in those groups?

Exercise: Strategic Thinking Committees

It can be handy to appoint strategic thinking committees to answer certain sets of strategic questions. Use the Idea Joggers below to create committees.

Idea Joggers

  • Each major business line/functional area (e.g. a NeighborWorks affiliate might have Homeownership Services, Real Estate Development, and Community Building)
  • Sustainable funding
  • Internal operations
  • Talent development
  • Board development

Reflection Questions

  1. What strategic thinking committees will you create?
  2. Who leads the process?
  3. Who from senior leadership is involved?
  4. Which other employees are involved, and in what role?
  5. Who from the board is involved?