Basic development of mission/vision/values statement

Developing a Mission Statement

1. Basically, the mission statement describes the overall purpose of the organization.

2. If the organization elects to develop a vision statement before developing the mission statement, ask “Why does the image, the vision exist -- what is it’s purpose?” This purpose is often the same as the mission.

3. Developing a mission statement can be quick culture-specific, i.e., participants may use methods ranging from highly analytical and rational to highly creative and divergent, e.g., focused discussions, divergent experiences around daydreams, sharing stories, etc. Therefore, visit with the participants how they might like to arrive at description of their organizational mission.

4. When wording the mission statement, consider the organization's products, services, markets, values, and concern for public image, and maybe priorities of activities for survival.

5. Consider any changes that may be needed in wording of the mission statement because of any new suggested strategies during a recent strategic planning process.

6. Ensure that wording of the mission is to the extent that management and employees can infer some order of priorities in how products and services are delivered.

7. When refining the mission, a useful exercise is to add or delete a word from the mission to realize the change in scope of the mission statement and assess how concise is its wording.

8. Does the mission statement include sufficient description that the statement clearly separates the mission of the organization from other organizations?

Developing a Vision Statement

1. The vision statement includes vivid description of the organization as it effectively carries out its operations.

2. Developing a vision statement can be quick culture-specific, i.e., participants may use methods ranging from highly analytical and rational to highly creative and divergent, e.g., focused discussions, divergent experiences around daydreams, sharing stories, etc. Therefore, visit with the participants how they might like to arrive at description of their organizational vision.

3. Developing the vision can be the most enjoyable part of planning, but the part where time easily gets away from you.

4. Note that originally, the vision was a compelling description of the state and function of the organization once it had implemented the strategic plan, i.e., a very attractive image toward which the organization was attracted and guided by the strategic plan. Recently, the vision has become more of a motivational tool, too often including highly idealistic phrasing and activities which the organization cannot realistically aspire.

Developing a Values Statement

1. Values represent the core priorities in the organization’s culture, including what drives members’ priorities and how they truly act in the organization, etc. Values are increasingly important in strategic planning. They often drive the intent and direction for “organic” planners.

2. Developing a values statement can be quick culture-specific, i.e., participants may use methods ranging from highly analytical and rational to highly creative and divergent, e.g., focused discussions, divergent experiences around daydreams, sharing stories, etc. Therefore, visit with the participants how they might like to arrive at description of their organizational values.

3. Establish four to six core values from which the organization would like to operate. Consider values of customers, shareholders, employees and the community.

4. Notice any differences between the organization’s preferred values and its true values (the values actually reflected by members’ behaviors in the organization). Record each preferred value on a flash card, then have each member “rank” the values with 1, 2, or 3 in terms of the priority needed by the organization with 3 indicating the value is very important to the organization and 1 is least important. Then go through the cards again to rank how people think the values are actually being enacted in the organization with 3 indicating the values are fully enacted and 1 indicating the value is hardly reflected at all. Then address discrepancies where a value is highly preferred (ranked with a 3), but hardly enacted (ranked with a 1). 5. Incorporate into the strategic plan, actions to align actual behavior with preferred behaviors.

WHAT IS STRATEGIC PLANNING

What is strategic planning?
Summary:
Strategic planning can be used to determine mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc.

Answer:
Overview

Strategic planning is a management tool, period. As with any management tool, it is used for one purpose only: to help an organization do a better job - to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust theorganization's direction in response to a changing environment. In short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future.

(Adapted fromBryson's Strategic Planning in Public and Nonprofit Organizations)

A word by word dissection of this definition provides the key elements that underlie the meaning and success of a strategic planning process: The process is strategic because it involves preparing the best way to respond to the circumstances of the organization's environment, whether or not its circumstances are known in advance; nonprofits often must respond to dynamic and even hostile environments. Being strategic, then, means being clear about the organization's objectives, being aware ofthe organization's resources, and incorporating both into beingconsciously responsive to a dynamic environment.The process is about planning because it involves intentionally settinggoals (i.e., choosing a desired future) and developing an approach toachieving those goals.The process is disciplined in that it calls for a certain order and pattern to keep it focused and productive. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine experience, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present, and anticipate the environment in which the organization will be working in the future. Finally, the process is about fundamental decisions and actions because choices must be made in order to answer the sequence of questionsmentioned above. The plan is ultimately no more, and no less, than a setof decisions about what to do, why to do it, and how to do it. Becauseit is impossible to do everything that needs to be done in this world,strategic planning implies that some organizational decisions andactions are more important than others - and that much of the strategylies in making the tough decisions about what is most important toachieving organizational success.The strategic planning can be complex, challenging, and even messy, butit is always defined by the basic ideas outlined above - and you canalways return to these basics for insight into your own strategicplanning process.
Strategic Planning and Long-Range PlanningAlthough many use these terms interchangeably, strategic planning andlong-range planning differ in their emphasis on the "assumed" environment. Long-range planning is generally considered to mean the development of a plan for accomplishing a goal or set of goals over aperiod of several years, with the assumption that current knowledge about future conditions is sufficiently reliable to ensure the plan's reliability over the duration of its implementation. In the late fifties and early sixties, for example, the US. economy was relatively stable and somewhat predictable, and, therefore, long-range planning was both fashionable and useful.On the other hand, strategic planning assumes that an organization must be responsive to a dynamic, changing environment (not the more stable environment assumed for long-range planning). Certainly a commonassumption has emerged in the nonprofit sector that the environment isindeed changeable, often in unpredictable ways. Strategic planning,then, stresses the importance of making decisions that will ensure theorganization's ability to successfully respond to changes in theenvironment.

Strategic Thinking and Strategic Management

Strategic planning is only useful if it supports strategic thinking andleads to strategic management - the basis for an effective organization.Strategic thinking means asking, "Are we doing the right thing?" Perhaps, more precisely, it means making that assessment using three keyrequirements about strategic thinking: a definite purpose be in mind; an understanding of the environment, particularly of the forces that affector impede the fulfillment of that purpose; and creativity in developing effective responses to those forces.It follows, then, that strategic management is the application ofstrategic thinking to the job of leading an organization. Dr. JagdishSheth, a respected authority on marketing and strategic planning,provides the following framework for understanding strategic management: continually asking the question, "Are we doing the right thing?" Itentails attention to the "big picture" and the willingness to adapt tochanging circumstances, and consists of the following three elements:
formulation of the organization's future mission in light of changingexternal factors such as regulation, competition, technology, andcustomers
development of a competitive strategy to achieve the mission
creation of an organizational structure which will deploy resources tosuccessfully carry out its competitive strategy.Strategic management is adaptive and keeps an organization relevant. Inthese dynamic times it is more likely to succeed than the traditionalapproach of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
What Strategic Planning Is Not

Everything said above to describe what strategic planning is can alsoprovide an understanding of what it is not. For example, it is aboutfundamental decisions and actions, but it does not attempt to makefuture decisions (Steiner, 1979). Strategic planning involvesanticipating the future environment, but the decisions are made in thepresent. This means that over time, the organization must stay abreastof changes in order to make the best decisions it can at any given point- it must manage, as well as plan, strategically.Strategic planning has also been described as a tool - but it is not asubstitute for the exercise of judgment by leadership. Ultimately, theleaders of any enterprise need to sit back and ask, and answer, "Whatare the most important issues to respond to?" and "How shall we respond?" Just as the hammer does not create the bookshelf, so the data analysis and decision-making tools of strategic planning do not make the organization work - they can only support the intuition, reasoningskills, and judgment that people bring to their organization.

Finally, strategic planning, though described as disciplined, does not typically flow smoothly from one step to the next. It is a creativeprocess, and the fresh insight arrived at today might very well alter the decision made yesterday. Inevitably the process moves forward and back several times before arriving at the final set of decisions.Therefore, no one should be surprised if the process feels less like a comfortable trip on a commuter train, but rather like a ride on a rollercoaster. But even roller coaster cars arrive at their destination, aslong as they stay on track!

Strategic Planning Reading (4)

Model Two - Issue-Based (or Goal-Based)

PlanningOrganizations that begin with the “basic” planning approach described above, often evolve to using this more comprehensive and more effective type of planning. The following table depicts a rather straightforward view of this type of planning process.

Summary of Issue-Based (or Goal-Based) Strategic Planning(Note that an organization may not do all of the following activities every year.)

1. External/internal assessment to identify “SWOT” (Strengths and Weaknesses and Opportunities and Threats)

2. Strategic analysis to identify and prioritize major issues/goals 3. Design major strategies (or programs) to address issues/goals 4. Design/update vision, mission and values(some organizations may do this first in planning)

5. Establish action plans (objectives, resource needs, roles and responsibilities for implementation)

6. Record issues, goals, strategies/programs, updated mission and vision, and action plans in a Strategic Plan document, and attach SWOT, etc.

7. Develop the yearly Operating Plan document(from year one of the multi-year strategic plan)

8. Develop and authorize Budget for year one(allocation of funds needed to fund year one)

9. Conduct the organization’s year-one operations

10. Monitor/review/evaluate/update Strategic Plan document

Strategic Planning Reading (3)

Model Three - Alignment Model

The overall purpose of the model is to ensure strong alignment among the organization’s mission and its resources to effectively operate the organization. This model is useful for organizations that need to fine-tune strategies or find out why they are not working. An organization might also choose this model if it is experiencing a large number of issues around internal efficiencies. Overall steps include:

1. The planning group outlines the organization’s mission, programs, resources, and needed support.

2. Identify what’s working well and what needs adjustment.

3. Identify how these adjustments should be made.

4. Include the adjustments as strategies in the strategic plan.
Model Four - Scenario PlanningThis approach might be used in conjunction with other models to ensure planners truly undertake strategic thinking. The model may be useful, particularly in identifying strategic issues and goals.

1. Select several external forces and imagine related changes which might influence the organization, e.g., change in regulations, demographic changes, etc. Scanning the newspaper for key headlines often suggests potential changes that might effect the organization.

2. For each change in a force, discuss three different future organizational scenarios (including best case, worst case, and OK/reasonable case) which might arise with the organization as a result of each change. Reviewing the worst-case scenario often provokes strong motivation to change the organization.

3. Suggest what the organization might do, or potential strategies, in each of the three scenarios to respond to each change.

4. Planners soon detect common considerations or strategies that must be addressed to respond to possible external changes.

5. Select the most likely external changes to effect the organization, e.g., over the next three to five years, and identify the most reasonable strategies the organization can undertake to respond to the change.

Model Five - “Organic” (or Self-Organizing) PlanningTraditional strategic planning processes are sometimes considered “mechanistic” or “linear,” i.e., they’re rather general-to-specific or cause-and-effect in nature. For example, the processes often begin by conducting a broad assessment of the external and internal environments of the organization, conducting a strategic analysis (“SWOT” analysis), narrowing down to identifying and prioritizing issues, and then developing specific strategies to address the specific issues.
Another view of planning is similar to the development of an organism, i.e., an “organic,” self-organizing process. Certain cultures, e.g., Native American Indians, might prefer unfolding and naturalistic “organic” planning processes more than the traditional mechanistic, linear processes. Self-organizing requires continual reference to common values, dialoguing around these values, and continued shared reflection around the systems current processes. General steps include:

1. Clarify and articulate the organization’s cultural values. Use dialogue and story-boarding techniques.

2. Articulate the group’s vision for the organization. Use dialogue and story-boarding techniques.

3. On an ongoing basis, e.g., once every quarter, dialogue about what processes are needed to arrive at the vision and what the group is going to do now about those processes.

4. Continually remind yourself and others that this type of naturalistic planning is never really “over with,” and that, rather, the group needs to learn to conduct its own values clarification, dialogue/reflection, and process updates.

5. Be very, very patient.

6. Focus on learning and less on method.

7. Ask the group to reflect on how the organization will portray its strategic plans to stakeholders, etc., who often expect the “mechanistic, linear” plan formats.

Strategic Planning Reading (2)

Model One - “Basic” Strategic Planning

This very basic process is typically followed by organizations that are extremely small, busy, and have not done much strategic planning before. The process might be implemented in year one of the nonprofit to get a sense of how planning is conducted, and then embellished in later years with more planning phases and activities to ensure well-rounded direction for the nonprofit. Planning is usually carried out by top-level management. The basic strategic planning process includes:

1. Identify your purpose (mission statement) - This is the statement(s) that describes why your organization exists, i.e., its basic purpose. The statement should describe what client needs are intended to be met and with what services, the type of communities are sometimes mentioned. The top-level management should develop and agree on the mission statement. The statements will change somewhat over the years.

2. Select the goals your organization must reach if it is to accomplish your mission - Goals are general statements about what you need to accomplish to meet your purpose, or mission, and address major issues facing the organization.

3. Identify specific approaches or strategies that must be implemented to reach each goal - The strategies are often what change the most as the organization eventually conducts more robust strategic planning, particularly by more closely examining the external and internal environments of the organization.

4. Identify specific action plans to implement each strategy - These are the specific activities that each major function (for example, department, etc.) must undertake to ensure it’s effectively implementing each strategy. Objectives should be clearly worded to the extent that people can assess if the objectives have been met or not. Ideally, the top management develops specific committees that each have a work plan, or set of objectives.

5. Monitor and update the plan - Planners regularly reflect on the extent to which the goals are being met and whether action plans are being implemented. Perhaps the most important indicator of success of the organization is positive feedback from the organization’s customers.
Note that organizations following this planning approach may want to further conduct step 3 above to the extent that additional goals are identified to further developing the central operations or administration of the organization, e.g., strengthen financial management

Strategic Planning Reading(1)

Basic Overview of Various Strategic Planning Models
(including Basic, Issue-Based, Alignment, Scenario, Organic)
© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation.
(The reader might best be served to first read the information in the topic Strategic Planning.)

There is no one perfect strategic planning model for each organization. Each organization ends up developing its own nature and model of strategic planning, often by selecting a model and modifying it as they go along in developing their own planning process. The following models provide a range of alternatives from which organizations might select an approach and begin to develop their own strategic planning process. Note that an organization might choose to integrate the models, e.g., using a scenario model to creatively identify strategic issues and goals, and then an issues-based model to carefully strategize to address the issues and reach the goals.
The following models include: “basic” strategic planning, issue-based (or goal-based), alignment, scenario, and organic planning.

Pemimpin Yang Ikhlas

Kisah ini sebagai Rujukan dan peringatan bagi diriku:

Khalifah Umar Al Khattab selalu memantau kakitangan kerajaan dan gabenor di bawah pemerintahannya untuk memastikan mereka melaksanakan amanah yang diberikan.
Beliau telah melawat wilayah Syam untuk melakukan tinjauan. Sehinggalah akhirnya beliau tiba di Hims. Penduduknya bertemu dan mengucapkan salam kepada beliau. Umar bertanya: “Apa pandangan kamu tentang gabenormu?”.
Lalu mereka mengadu kepada Umar dan menyebut empat perangai ‘buruk’ gabenor mereka iaitu Sa’id Bin Amir al Jumahiy seperti berikut:-

i. Sa’id tidak bertemu dengan orang ramai sehingga matahari meninggi.
ii. Beliau tidak melayan sebarang pengaduan pada waktu malam
iii. Dalam satu bulan ada satu hari Said tidak menemui orang ramai.
iv. Said sering pengsan. Ini menyebabkan beliau tidak menyedari sesiapa di dalam majlisnya.

Kata Umar: “Saya akan temukan Said dengan mereka (orang yang membuat aduan). Saya berdoa agar sangkaan saya terhadap Said tidak salah. Lantaran saya berkepercayaan penuh terhadapnya.”
Apabila menjelang pagi penduduk Hims dan gabenornya bersemuka di hadapan Khalifah Umar Al Khattab. Lalu Umar meminta mereka menyatakan aduan mereka terhadap gabenor mereka satu persatu.

Untuk aduan pertama (tidak bertemu dengan orang ramai sehingga matahari meninggi) Said berkata: “Demi Allah! Saya tidak suka memperkatakannya. Namun saya terpaksa berterus terang. Keluarga saya tidak memiliki orang gaji. Setiap pagi saya bangun menguli tepung. Setelah itu saya perap adunan tersebut sehingga naik. Kemudian barulah saya bakar untuk makanan keluarga saya. Selepas itu saya mengambil wuduk dan keluar bertemu orang ramai.”

Bagi aduan kedua (tidak melayan sebarang pengaduan pada waktu malam) Said menjawab: “Demi Allah! Saya juga tidak suka menghebahkan perkara ini...Sebenarnya saya peruntukkan siang untuk mereka. Manakala malam untuk Allah ‘Azza Wa Jalla.”

Manakala jawapan bagi aduan ketiga (ada satu hari dalam sebulan Said tidak menemui orang ramai) Said menjelaskan: “Seperti yang saya katakan tadi, saya tidak memiliki orang gaji wahai Amirul Mukminin. Saya juga tidak memiliki pakaian lain selain pakaian yang saya pakai ini. Saya membasuhnya sebulan sekali dan saya tunggu sehingga ia kering. Kemudian barulah saya keluar bertemu mereka pada lewat petang.”

Mengenai aduan keempat (sering pengsan), Said menceritakan bahawa beliau telah melihat peristiwa pembunuhan Khubaib Bin ‘Adiy, dan ketika itu beliau masih lagi seorang musyrik. Khubaib ditanya oleh orang Quraisy yang memotong-motong anggota badannya (Khubaib) : “Adakah kamu suka jika Muhammad menggantikan tempatmu?” Lantas Khubaib menjawab: “Demi Allah! Saya tidak rela sekiranya saya selamat, duduk bersama isteri dan anak-anak, sedang Muhammad dicucuk duri.”
Kata Said: “Demi Allah! Saya tidak mampu mengingati tragedi ngeri tersebut. Bagaimana saya boleh membiarkannya diperlakukan sedemikian sedangkan saya tidak membantunya. Saya merasakan Allah tidak mengampunkan kesalahan saya tersebut.... sebab itulah saya jatuh pengsan.”

Dengan nafas lega Umar berkata: “Segala puji-pujian bagi Tuhan yang tidak mengecewakan sangkaan baik saya terhadapnya.”
Kemudian Khalifah Umar Al Khattab menghantar 1,000 dinar untuk membantu Sa’id mengurus kehidupan sehariannya.

Apabila si isteri melihatnya, dia berkata kepada si suami: “Segala puji- pujian bagi Tuhan yang telah mengurniakan kekayaan dan kamu tidak perlu lagi bersusah payah melayani kami. Belikanlah makanan dan carilah orang gaji untuk saya.”
“Adakah kamu ingin perkara yang lebih baik daripada itu?”, tanya Sa’id.
“Apa dia?”, tanya isterinya ingin tahu.
Jawab Sa’id: “Kita pinjamkannya kepada Allah (menginfaqkan harta di jalan Allah) dalam bentuk pinjaman yang baik.”
“Bagaimana?”, tanya isterinya lagi.
“Kita berikan dinar ini kepada orang yang datang memerlukannya, sekalipun kita lebih memerlukannya.”, jelas Sa’id.
“Baiklah... mudah-mudahan kamu dianugerahkan kebaikan.”, balas isterinya.
Belum sempat beliau meninggalkan majlis tersebut, beliau mengambil wang dinar dan mengagihkannya ke dalam beberapa uncang. Sa’id berkata kepada salah seorang ahli keluarganya:
“Pergi dan berikan uncang ini kepada janda si polan, anak yatim si polan, orang miskin keluarga si polan dan orang fakir keluarga si polan.”
Mudah-mudahan Allah meredhai Sa’id Bin Amir Al Jumahiy. Beliau lebih mengutamakan orang lain berbanding diri dan keluarganya sendiri meskipun mereka sendiri hidup dalam keadaan yang amat susah dan memerlukan.

Rujukan:
Dr Abdul Rahman Ra’fat Al- Basha, 65 Gambaran Kehidupan Sahabat, Jilid 1, terjemahan oleh Ust Abdul Hakam Bin Jaafar & Ust. Mohd Noor Bin Daud, Pustaka Salam Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Mac 2006