Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, 5th Edition

CHAPTER TWELVEGetting Started with Strategic Planning

With hope it is, hope that can never die,

Effort, and expectation, and desire,

And something ever more about to be.

—William Wordsworth, The Prelude

Previous chapters presented an overview of strategic planning, an introduction to the Strategy Change Cycle, detailed guidance on working through the process, and a discussion of the leadership roles in strategic planning. This chapter will present a number of guidelines on how public and nonprofit organizations and communities interested in strategic planning might proceed with the process.

THE THREE EXAMPLES REVISITED

How have our three examples—one government organization, one nonprofit organization, and one major international collaboration—fared with strategic planning? Each has achieved notable successes, and each also has encountered challenges to its ability to think, act, and learn strategically. Exhibits 12.1 12.2, and 12.3, respectively, provide brief updates on the City of Minneapolis, the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) efforts.

Exhibit 12.1. The City of Minneapolis Changes Under the 2014–2017 Strategic Plan.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges in particular has emphasized the One Minneapolis goal (see Exhibit 7.1), but a strong majority of the council also supports the goal. As Hodges (2017; Belz, 2017) described it in her 2017 State of the City Address, “One Minneapolis ...