Ever wonder why organizations lose focus as their strategic plans gather dust on the shelf? Ever wonder how to keep everyone on the same page during implementation, and preserve the energy and excitement generated during the strategic planning process? Want to build a culture of focus that can knit together key organizational processes (planning, communications, evaluation and organizational learning) for sustainable high performance? Tired of that "flying by the seat of our pants feeling?" Successful organizations make the shift from "what" (visioning) to "how" (implementation) by building the infrastructure of implementation. Join me in a practical discussion of what you can do create a focused, effective organization.

1. Operational Planning: The Key to
Building a Culture of Implementation
and Focus
Anthony Reese
February 13, 2013
A Service
Of: Sponsored by:

2. INTEGRATED PLANNING
Advising nonprofits in: www.synthesispartnership.com
• Strategy
• Planning (617) 969-1881
• Organizational Development info@synthesispartnership.com
A Service
Of: Sponsored by:

3. Affordable collaborative data
management in the cloud.
A Service
Of: Sponsored by:

4. Today’s Speaker
Anthony Reese
CFO and Vice President
of Financial Management Practice
Assisting with chat questions: Olive Grove Consulting Hosting:
Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
A Service
Of: Sponsored by:

5. ACHIEVING ORGANIZATIONAL
FOCUS

6. Between the Idea
And the Reality
Between the Motion
And the Act
Falls the Shadow
--T.S.Eliot

7. The questions seem eternal:
“Why do so many organizations suffer from internal
instability and a lack of focus on program
outcomes?”
“What investment can you make to generate
organizational focus, stability, and efficacy?”

8. ACHIEVING ORGANIZATIONAL FOCUS
Organizational Life Cycle
Entrepreneurial
Institutionalizing
Mature
Reorganizing

10. Resource Allocations
Evaluation Program theory
Staff Allocations
Activities/Events
Assumptions

12. How Do We Achieve Focus and Coordinated Action?

13. OPERATIONAL PLANNING: THE MISSING
PIECE
• A critical companion to
strategic planning.
• A method of shaping a
sustainable organizational Operational
Planning
culture and creating focus.
• The seminal element of
creating a culture of
implementation.

14. COMPONENTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Operational planning engages key internal
audiences in a comprehensive process to:
• Identify Focus - by translating strategic goals into a
specific one-year implementation plan containing timelines,
roles, responsibilities and measurable outcomes.
• Maintain Focus – by creating processes for planning,
communications, evaluation, and organizational learning to
manage the implementation of the annual plan.

15. IDENTIFYING FOCUS
Identifying focus requires engaging the expertise
and experience of the staff and senior management
to operationalize the Board of Director’s strategic
vision into a detailed one-year implementation plan
• Mission – What is the role of each department in achieving
the organizational mission?
• Goals – What each department must achieve to both meet
existing commitments and move the organization one year
closer to the strategic plan goals?
• Measurable Objectives - What broad areas of activity
must be pursued to reach the goals? What conditions will
indicate that success was achieved?
• Learning Agenda – What key questions does each
department need to answer to improve its operations?

16. IDENTIFYING FOCUS
Once major goals and objectives have been
identified and agreed upon, a deeper level of
planning ensues in order to yield program and
individual action plans that contain:
• Action Steps – The tasks required to complete each
objective.
• Task Responsibilities – The staff person assigned to the
action step.
• Preliminary Timetables for Completion - The time horizon
and due date of each action step.

17. REVISION YEAR
• Board performs external environmental scan
• Board conducts community needs assessment/survey
• Board reviews similar organizations
• Board performs internal environmental scan report (using staff input)
• Board meets at triennial strategic planning retreat
• Board reviews operational results from first three years of previous strategic plan
• Board evaluates Org. X strengths and weaknesses
• Board develops new five year plan
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
• Limited external environmental scan
• Board receives summary of operational results and recommendations from the ED
• Board makes one year adjustments to strategic plan if necessary
• Board directs the Executive Director to develop an operational plan based on resource and
policy adjustments
• Executive Director prepares draft operational plan (program plan and budget) for board
approval
• At mid-year board reviews program and financial performance

18. FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN
Annual Operational Plans
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Prog. 1
Prog. 2
Program Plans
Prog. 3
Prog. 4
Prog. 5
Prog. 6
Prog. 7

19. YEAR 1 OPERATIONAL PLAN
Prog. 1 Prog. 2 Prog. 3 Prog. 4 Prog. 5 Prog. 6
Objective Person Responsible Due Date
• Action Step 1 AR 4/21/03
• Action Step 2 DC 6/03/03
• Action Step 3 LF 9/15/03
Objective Due Date
•Action Step 1 4/21/03
•Action Step 2
•Action Step 3

20. MAINTAINING FOCUS
Building and maintaining the infrastructure of focus
requires formalizing and calendaring the key processes
that support implementation, efficacy and sustainability.
Planning
Communications
Evaluation
Organizational Learning

21. MAINTAINING FOCUS
• Planning - The process and path of organizational
decision-making regarding philosophy, programs and
resources.
• Communications - The structures for routine
communication of critical organizational information and
feedback.
• Evaluation - The processes for reviewing organizational,
program, and individual performance.
• Organizational Learning - The processes through which
the organization learns from and improves upon its
operations.

22. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
• Annual implementation plan and summary of
organizational focus
• Departmental goals and objectives Departmental
action plans
• Individual work plans
• Organizational calendar
• Written frameworks and protocols
 Master schedule of organizational activities

23. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
An annual implementation
plan and summary of
organizational focus…
… which details targeted
areas for organizational
performance and learning.

24. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Departmental goals
and objectives…
…including timelines
and indicators of
success.

25. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Departmental
action plans…
…containing action
steps, timelines, and
responsibilities

26. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Individual work
plans…
…and updated job
descriptions and
personal
development plans

27. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
An organizational
calendar…
… containing key
processes and
events.

28. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Written frameworks and
protocols…
… for planning,
communications,
evaluation, and
organizational learning.

29. PRODUCTS OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
A master schedule
of organizational
activities…
… sortable by staff
person and due
date.

30. OUTCOMES OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Organizations that have undergone Operational
Planning have enhanced their capacity to:
• Communicate organizational priorities and achievements to
funders and external audiences
• Increase programmatic coordination
• Anticipate peak periods in organizational workload
• Manage external demands for programmatic expansion
• Properly align resources with program objectives

31. OUTCOMES OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Organizations that have undergone Operational
planning have increased their capacity to:
• Maintain staff and board focus on organizational objectives
• Develop organization-wide standards/expectations
regarding performance and success
• Respond to emerging opportunities in their communities
• Increase programmatic quality through capturing lessons
learned and innovation
• Retain staff and avoid Executive Director burnout

32. OPERATIONAL PLANNING SCOPE OF WORK
Major engagement activities include:
• Reviewing existing organizational culture, processes and
materials
• Facilitating group and individual meetings with staff to
establish annual goals and organizational processes,
• Constructing and analyzing process and planning
documents
• Assisting the development of an organizational budget
• Coaching and skills transference to key staff
• Providing follow-up monitoring and technical assistance.

33. Find listings for our current season
of webinars and register at:
NonprofitWebinars.com
A Service
Of: Sponsored by: