Vi. Action Plan: Sixth Step of Strategic Planning & Management:

VI.               Action Plan: Sixth Step of Strategic Planning & Management:

This is the most flexible part of your plan.  The "A" in VMOSA -- After you develop your vision, values, mission, objectives, and strategies.

 It is the part that you will use to help stay focused, keep you from being overwhelmed, and make sure that you stay on track with your goals.  Try to break objectives and goals into manageable chunks so that you can get started on putting this plan into action now. Plan to “re-plan.”  Once you know more, you can plan more.  Come back to this action plan at least every few months to check in on your progress.

Actions are the specific activities to be undertaken in that year to progress the key improvement strategies. There may be more than one action for each strategy or significant project. In breaking down the key Improvement strategy into actions, the organization may differ in the level of specificity in which they list these actions. Some organizations may choose to include a detailed list of actions, while others may like to include only the main actions, leaving the detail to become part of a specific project plan that is used by those who will implement the action.

Difference between Strategy and Action Plan:

A strategy is simply a course you choose to take to achieve your goals and objectives. To complete the course, you have to take specific steps that propel you forward. These are your action steps.  

The Seven Steps of Action Planning:

1. Define the Problem(s).
2. Collect and Analyze the Data.
3. Clarify and Prioritize the Problem(s).
4. Write a Goal Statement for Each Solution.
5. Implement Solutions: The Action Plan.
6. People who will be in charge of carrying out each task.
7. When will these tasks be completed (deadlines and milestones)?
8. Resources needed to complete the tasks.
9. Monitor and Evaluate.
10. Restart with a New Problem, or refine the old problem.
11. 
    

Benefits of Action Plan:

Here are some benefits of an action plan you should know;

1.      It gives you a clear direction.

2.      It will give you a reason to stay motivated and committed throughout the project. 

3.      With an action plan, you can track your progress toward your goal.

4.      Since you are listing down all the steps you need to complete in your action plan, it will help you prioritize your tasks based on effort and impact

 

Action Plan Framework:

Quarter 1 (Dates:    write date here                )
Action to take	Related Objective	Start Date	End Date	Resources Cost, time, people

 

Quarter 2  (Dates:                  )
Action to take	Related Objective	Start Date	End Date	Resources Cost, time, people

 

 

Quarter 3  (Dates:                  )
Action to take	Related Objective	Start Date	End Date	Resources Cost, time, people

 

Quarter 4  (Dates:                  )
Action to take	Related Objective	Start Date	End Date	Resources Cost, time, people

 

Marketing and communication plan:

What groups do we need to serve most?	What do they need to hear from us?	What is the best way to find and communicate with them?	When will we communicate with them?  How often?	How will we know if they have heard our message?
Try to divide your audience into groups – service users, community leaders, funders, etc.  There may be several groups but they will need you to communicate slightly different messages to them.	What need do they have?  What problem can you solve for them?   In the case of community leaders, etc., what do they need to hear about us?	Where are they?  Do they communicate online?  In-person? Are there networking groups, events, or training that you can participate in to allow communicating with them?	Will you reach out to them daily?  Hold networking events once a month? Hold a supporter’s luncheon? Send out a quarterly newsletter?	If this works, how will you know they have heard you?  What will success look like?

 

People Development Plan:

In any business/organization, it is important not to neglect the life-blood of the organization – the people!  Your Board, Managers, Staff and Volunteers will need the right skills and knowledge to work together to deliver your goals.  Use the template below to help guide you in planning how you’ll make sure they have what they need to do this important work.

 

Area of Development Needed	What will be done	When	Cost of this development (Both in terms of time and money)
Example:  Communication skills, teaching skills, accounting, assessment skills etc.	Attend a course, read a book, talk to someone and get tips	By the end of April	2 days; $125

Operating Budget Plan:

 

 Use the framework below to help you determine if the activities and plans you want to undertake are achievable with the financial resources you have available to you this year.  You can keep this fairly high level, and supplement it with detailed balance sheets, cash flow statements, etc. in an appendix if these are needed.

 

This worksheet is a very simplified version of a profit/loss ledger.  Consult your accountant or bookkeeper for advice on developing a more detailed financial planning document.  There are plenty of software options available on the market that can help you develop more detailed financial plans, which can help you monitor and track your costs closely.  These are definitely worth the investment!

Estimated Operating Budget Framework:

	Estimated Amount	Actual
Expected Income
Sale Grants Services Fundraising Interest Other income TOTAL:
Expected Expenditure
Staffing Costs Office running costs (rent, etc.) Supplies Mileage Staff development Marketing Other costs TOTAL:
Programs/Project Costs
Program 1 (may relate to Objective 1) Development costs Marketing Costs Running Costs Staffing Costs TOTAL:   Program 2 (may relate to Objective 2) Development costs Marketing Costs Running Costs Staffing Costs TOTAL:
TOTAL EXPENDITURE:
TOTAL Profit/Loss: (Income – Total Expenditure)

 

 Checklist for developing the school strategic plan

Now, this is a time to check either you have followed all the steps of strategic planning or not.

Getting Started       Getting started	Profile (Situation analysis, vision, values, mission, objectives, strategies and actions.)	·         Determine the composition of the organization planning team ·         Determine a strategy for engaging staff, students, organization council, regional office, and the wider community ·         Design and set up Collaborative Spaces for collaborative planning across the organization ·         Determine the timeline for completion of the consultation process and development of a plan. ·         Schedule focus groups and/or meetings with staff, community, region and organization council. ·         Schedule planning sessions.
Situation Analysis   Situation Analysis     Gathering input		·         SWOT Analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threads) ·         PEST Analysis
Vision		·         Develop a vision statement ·         A vision statement should be SMART ·         Vision means where you want to go.
Mission		·         SMART Mission ·         Mission means how you will reach at your destination. ·         Develop your mission statement
Objectives		·         Define your goals, targets and objectives ·         Objectives must link with your Vision and mission.
Strategies		·         There is a clear link between the key improvement strategies chosen and the organization’s goals and targets. ·         Strategies should be complete, comprehensive and feasible. ·         Strategies must be implemented.
Action Plan		·         Actions are the specific activities to be undertaken in that year to progress the key improvement strategies.
School endorsement		·         The signing of a plan by the organization council/authority.
Regional endorsement		·         Submit a plan to the Regional Director for sign-off (If applicable)    Submission to DEECD.
Implementation and monitoring		·         Plan implementation of the key improvement strategies. ·         Establish a cycle of ongoing review and monitoring of progress against plan.

 

Implementing the Strategy:

It's no good for developing a strategy if you don't implement it successfully, and this is where many people go astray.

When you’re putting your strategy in place, consider the Three Cs of Implementing Strategy – Clarify, Communicate and Cascade. Let’s look at each one in a little more detail.

Clarify Your Strategy:

Your strategy needs to be understood by staff at all levels of your organization, not just in the boardroom. Make sure that you can express it in terms that are easy to connect with, and be sure to avoid business jargon and “corporate speak.”

Communicate Your Strategy:

Use every means at your disposal to communicate your strategy to your organization, both electronically and face-to-face. Your strategy will affect everyone, so it's vital that they understand your new focus and direction, and how it will inform their work.

Cascade Your Strategy:

Work out the "nuts and bolts" of implementing your strategy throughout the organization. Consult with managers and task them with the practicalities of applying it to their departments, including any training requirements or process improvements that need to be made. This is how your strategy becomes a reality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategy process checklist:

STRATEGY PROCESS CHECKLIST
Process Stages		Timeframe		Completed
1. Set up a multi-disciplined strategy development team who      are responsible for completing the process and presenting their final decision on the strategy that most suits and achieves the organization's mission or objective.
2. Ensure you have defined your market or industry correctly.
3. Confirm your mission statement is still correct and relevant.
4. Create an initial strategy statement, which like a hypothesis        you need to test and research for validity.   •   Create a SWOT analysis.
5. Define your internal capabilities about a chosen   Strategy.
6. Assess and judge the best strategy for your external   environment. From the factors, you identify formulate your research approach to assess and create the best strategy for your organization. •   PEST Analysis
7. Collate and analysis your competitors in a similar way so   that you have sufficient intelligence to judge how they will respond to your proposed strategy. This should be at least a SWOT and PEST analysis for each competitor so that you can identify what aspects are out of their control and will have an impact on their operations and structure.
8. You may want to involve an external specialist at this stage of the process, who can facilitate the further refinement of your strategy options.
9. Investigate and quantify the financial implications of each strategy option.
10. Strategy development team make an informed decision and select the strategy that fulfils your organization's mission or objective meeting the financial constraints of your organization.
11. Present this to the board of directors, and if the appropriate key investors, for their final approval.
12. Formulate and agree with an implementation based on the formally agreed strategy.

 

 

Top Reasons Why Strategic Plans Fail:

a.      Lack of Team Work:

You can't execute a strategy alone! Indeed, as the owner of your strategic plan, you should be one of the least important people when it comes to execution. Teamwork is vital to achieving organizational objectives.

b.      Unclear Objectives:

Strategic planning is both easy and hard. Coming up with ideas about what your organization needs to do and knowing how to do it aren't usually a problem – but structured plans with well-written objectives are much rarer than they should be!

c.       Loss of Momentum:

Initially, we are full of enthusiasm but with time, we lose momentum which ultimately leads to the failure of our strategic plan.

d.      Unwillingness to iterate:

Changes should be iterative rather than dramatic. On only very rare occasions should you be looking to make changes to your Vision, Values or Focus Areas?

e.      Lack of Alignment:

Alignment means that everyone in the organization can clearly (and accurately) articulate how their own set of goals and tasks are contributing to the strategic plan.

f.        Failure to Celebrate Success:

Sometimes we get so caught up in the doing and the outcome that we fail to recognize the great things we achieve along the way which also leads to pessimism.

We can understand the whole process of Strategic Planning by this metaphor.