From strategy to action: your goal is not the creation of a strategic plan, but of a guide to action. (Marketing).

There are probably few phrases that cause a greater group groan on most campuses than "strategic planning." The fact is, most colleges and universities look at strategic planning as a path to pain, rather than a path to plenty. As a consequence, the universal response to the completion of a strategic plan is, "Whew, finally! Now I can get back to work."

Over the past several years, as I have helped colleges and universities with their strategic plans, I have isolated a number of reasons for higher education's love/hale relationship with strategic planning. I'd like to address a handful of those concerns--with "lessons learned" right behind them. Let's begin by getting a clear idea of what strategic planning should be all about.

THE PURPOSE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

At its most basic, strategic planning is all about creating an alignment between an organization's day-to-day activities and its environment--an alignment that facilitates the flow of resources to that organization. This definition has at its core four basic tenets of strategic planning:

1) Strategic planning recognizes the relationship between the organization and its environment.

2) Strategic planning is based on a robust and defendable situational analysis that incorporates solid, defendable marketing research.

3) The resultant strategic plan is the central organizing principle around which the institution organizes its daily activities.

4) Strategic planning involves monitoring and evaluating return on investment of time, talent, and treasure.

CONCERNS ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANNING

Roger Williams, writing in "Out with the Old, In with the New" in the January 2000 Currents, says that strategic planning "lies still and vapid like a tired old fox terrier on the couch. An occasional bark, but no bite." He then cites four ways in which higher education has "neutered" strategic planning:

First: Fear of hard derisions. Hard, unpopular decisions can wreak havoc, so leaders avoid making them.

Second: Passive-aggressive behavior at the institutional level. Particularly in large universities, the tendency is to mandate strategic planning at the unit level--the constituent colleges, schools, and departments--but to ignore any rigorous thinking (i.e., decision-making) at the top, institutional level.

Third: Fuzzy, unmeasurable goals. There are institutional or system-level strategic plans, of course, but look at the language: One state system wants to "foster collaboration between units." A major private university wants to be "the leader in the integration of teaching and research." A comprehensive university stakes its future on "increasing access to knowledge resources."

And finally: The "all things to all people" syndrome--the institution that wants to "elevate our faculty and its teaching, research, and scholarship" and "globalize the university community."

LESSONS LEARNED

Unfortunately, Williams' perception of strategic planning is consistent with most people's--and colleges'--experience. But, let's see if we can offer a few insights that might give strategic planning back some of its strategic bite.

It's not the plan--it's what you do with the plan. Begin your planning process with an important understanding: The goal is not the creation of a strategic plan. Rather, the goal is a sense of direction and institutional coordination created by an effective strategic planning process. In other words, the plan is a guide to action.

Begin with the end in mind. It's called a vision, and in today's cynical times, some believe that visions are less important than they one were. Actually, visions are more important than ever. Like the top of a jigsaw puzzle box, a vision provides important and shared understanding of what the organization should look like as the strategic plan is implemented. Good visions inspire. Good visions challenge. Without a vision, your plan will never have the over-arching direction it needs.

Understand the tools. Let's try an analogy here. If you want to build a piece of furniture, you need a set of tools. Probably a saw. Some chisels. A tape measure. Some glue. In the same fashion, there are a handful of institutional tools that you will need to execute your strategic plan. These domains, or essential task areas, include:

* Finance and budget

* Academic affairs

* Student recruiting and financial aid

* Student development/retention

* Institutional advancement/alumni relations (fundraising)

* Facilities planning

* Information technology

* Brand marketing/image building

* Human resources 

As your planning process unfolds, you should be asking yourself: How can facilities planning be used to advance the overall vision? What about human resources? Or IT? It is through these nine domains that your plan will be executed. In the final analysis, strategic planning is all about how you orchestrate these nine domains to achieve your vision.

Standardize terms and recognize the hierarchy. It is amazing how often colleges and universities jump into a strategic planning process without taking time to define key terms. While planning purists insist there are important differences between strategies, goals, objectives, and actions, most people do not care about that much detail. With an eye toward a common--and simple--vocabulary, I would suggest the following terms and hierarchy:

* Strategic issue--A problem or opportunity that the institution wishes to address or take advantage of. Strategic issues typically involve several or all of the nine essential task areas. For example, a strategic issue might be declining enrollment.

* Goal--A specific, measurable statement of what will be done to address strategic issues. Using the above example, a strategic goal might be to increase enrollment 3 percent for each of the next five years.

* Action--An activity that helps to accomplish a goal. Sometimes called tactics, actions are framed in action plans that detail: a) responsibility b) timeline c) resources required to complete the activity d) how the action will be assessed.

Answer the "What's in it for me?" question. Ultimately, people don't work for institutions; they work for themselves or their immediate peer group. Recognizing this, the strategic plan must answer for these people the important question, "What's in it for me?" If individuals don't see how the plan, their participation in it, and its success will improve their lot in life, they will likely not participate or not participate fully. People must see and value how the plan will increase the flow of resources--dollars, equipment, time, access--to them.

What gets measured is what gets done. Lofty goals are just that: Lofty. As such, they are often ill-conceived, ill-defined, and ill-measured. A successful strategic plan--a plan that guides action--is built on clear goals that are themselves built on solid data. If the plan calls for improving your image, you must know what your current image is and you must be prepared, at some midpoint in the plan's implementation, to measure your image again, to determine your progress. If you don't take the time to quantify your goals, you will have great difficulty measuring your progress at a later date.

Clarify who does what when, and hold people accountable. It's not institutions and departments that do things--people do. Good strategic planning is built on a clear sense of who will be doing what, when they will do it, the resources that will be consumed, and when and how the activity will be evaluated. Without this kind of operational detail, the strategic plan will likely accomplish little.

Link plans to budgets, and actions to rewards. As you develop your strategic plan, take the time to link plans to budgets, and actions to rewards. Without these linkages, your plan will likely fail.

PLANS AND BUDGETS

Too often, plans are written without a nod toward the budget: Either the plans are too grandiose for the dollars that are available, or the plan is written and then dollars are sought. Both approaches lead to disappointment. It's much better to plan within your means. As you think about budgets, remember that strategic planning is more often about the reallocation or redirection of existing dollars, than the use of new dollars. The nine essential task areas outlined above already consume a great number of dollars. A good strategic plan will coordinate those dollars toward one end--the fulfillment of your vision.

Then, you must link actions to rewards. Unfortunately, higher education is fixated on an egalitarian approach that means that all people should be treated equally. In today's budget climate, this means all people--regardless of their contribution--are treated poorly. A successful strategic planning effort rejects this notion of egalitarianism. It believes that people who perform should be rewarded to a higher degree than people who do not. To treat performers and non-performers the same way sends the signal that their contribution does not matter. This will likely undermine their desire to contribute further.

IN THE END ...

Strategic planning is part science, part art, and it remains a powerful tool for advancing a college or university's vision. Let your higher education competitors view strategic planning with a dash of disdain; the handful of lessons learned we've shared here will improve your overall strategic planning process and dramatically increase the likelihood that your plan will lead to action.

Bob Sevier is a senior vice president of Stamats Communications (www.stamats.com). Twice monthly, he writes a free electronic newsletter called QuickTakes that focuses on strategic planning and brand marketing. A complete glossary of marketing and strategic planning terms is also available. For more information, e-mail [e-mail].