Why is strategic planning important?
Strategic planning is not only important - it is essential for an organization's long-term sustainability and success. In our rapidly-changing world, information organizations such as libraries must be prepared to compete for access to resources, reliable sources of funding, community support and other assets alongside their more business-minded neighbors. Information organizations can easily fall behind their competitors or be "blindsided" by unexpected circumstances; however, when an organization invests in the strategic planning and environmental scanning process this often "results in greater anticipatory management", a telling feature of a successful and surviving organization (Albright, 2004, p. 40).
Managers must work incredibly diligently to create a strategic plan based on data gathered from internal and external factors impacting the information organization. Asking the right questions, looking in the right places, setting the right goals, building the right relationships - these elements are critical for protective planning for an organization's future success.
As Evans and Alire note, "[strategic] plans are like charts setting forth where you are and where you want to go" (2013, Ch. 4, The Planning Process, para. 3). Thinking of strategic plans as a chart or a map for the organization's future can help to combat worry about hazards such as risk, doubt and uncertainty in the internal and external operating environment.
Evans and Alire (2013) devote some discussion to these hazards in their Chapter 4 discussion on the planning process. While uncertainty is "incalculable", they note that risk "is something you can calculate" to a degree while doubt is likely inevitable at some part of the process; generally, an organization may know "what it wants, but not how to get it" (Ch. 4, The Nature of Planning, para. 2). It is important to account for and be aware of these elements in the strategic planning process, as ignoring them will likely be at the organization's peril.
Dealing with risk, uncertainty, and doubt both wisely and timely can make or break an organization's ability to be prepared for whatever the future brings. One scholar noted "if libraries and other organizations create realistic plans in a realistic amount of time, plans can be very relevant" (Stephan, 2010, p. 190). Otherwise the risk is run of having an irrelevant strategic plan document that is outdated, no longer serves a meaningful purpose, and does not support the organization's future plans.
Two additional issues that can greatly impact the success of strategic planning are "lack of administrative support and lack of buy-in from the organization" (Stephan, 2010, p. 191). These possible problems must be prepared for from the outset of the planning process and "triage" reactions should be set in place if the process starts going off track. Ultimately, the strategic planning "framework is only a means, not an end" for the information organization to be able to demonstrate the meaningfulness of the data collected from the environmental scan and a method of communicating that "value to the stakeholders" (Sayed, 2013, p. 104).
Managers must work incredibly diligently to create a strategic plan based on data gathered from internal and external factors impacting the information organization. Asking the right questions, looking in the right places, setting the right goals, building the right relationships - these elements are critical for protective planning for an organization's future success.
As Evans and Alire note, "[strategic] plans are like charts setting forth where you are and where you want to go" (2013, Ch. 4, The Planning Process, para. 3). Thinking of strategic plans as a chart or a map for the organization's future can help to combat worry about hazards such as risk, doubt and uncertainty in the internal and external operating environment.
Evans and Alire (2013) devote some discussion to these hazards in their Chapter 4 discussion on the planning process. While uncertainty is "incalculable", they note that risk "is something you can calculate" to a degree while doubt is likely inevitable at some part of the process; generally, an organization may know "what it wants, but not how to get it" (Ch. 4, The Nature of Planning, para. 2). It is important to account for and be aware of these elements in the strategic planning process, as ignoring them will likely be at the organization's peril.
Dealing with risk, uncertainty, and doubt both wisely and timely can make or break an organization's ability to be prepared for whatever the future brings. One scholar noted "if libraries and other organizations create realistic plans in a realistic amount of time, plans can be very relevant" (Stephan, 2010, p. 190). Otherwise the risk is run of having an irrelevant strategic plan document that is outdated, no longer serves a meaningful purpose, and does not support the organization's future plans.
Two additional issues that can greatly impact the success of strategic planning are "lack of administrative support and lack of buy-in from the organization" (Stephan, 2010, p. 191). These possible problems must be prepared for from the outset of the planning process and "triage" reactions should be set in place if the process starts going off track. Ultimately, the strategic planning "framework is only a means, not an end" for the information organization to be able to demonstrate the meaningfulness of the data collected from the environmental scan and a method of communicating that "value to the stakeholders" (Sayed, 2013, p. 104).