Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, 5th Edition

CHAPTER NINEImplementing Strategies and Plans Successfully

Strategy without tactics is the longest road to success. Tactics without strategy is the quickest road to failure.

—Attributed to Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese military strategist

Well-executed implementation (Step 9) furthers the transition from strategic planning to strategic management by incorporating adopted strategies throughout the relevant system. Creating a strategic plan can produce significant value—especially in terms of building intellectual, human, social, political, and civic capital—but that is not enough. Developing effective initiatives, programs, projects, action plans, budgets, and implementation processes will bring life to the strategies and create more tangible and intangible value for the organization (collaboration or community) and its stakeholders as mandates are then met and the mission fulfilled (see Figure 2.4).

Initiatives, programs, projects, action plans, and budgets are necessary in order to coordinate the activities of the numerous executives, managers, professionals, technicians, and frontline practitioners likely to be involved. The implementation process itself should allow for adaptive learning as new information becomes available and circumstances change. Such learning will lead to more effective implementation and to the cognitive, emotional, and practical basis for emergent strategies and new rounds of strategizing. Recall that realized strategies are a blend of what is intended ...