Strategic Planning

Strategic plans lead to more dumb decisions than anything else in America.
– Charlie Munger.

It’s really easy to do strategic planning wrong. And when you do, they absolutely lead to some really dumb decisions. Which might lead you to ask, “why do them at all?”.

Because when done right, they give you a lot:

  • Prioritization – The ability to prioritize your limited resources where they’ll be most impactful
  • Proactivity – A way to get out of reactive mode, and focus on the things that allow scalability and long-term growth 
  • Adaptability – A method for incorporating environmental change and flowing with it instead of fighting against it
  • Purpose – A connection to “why” that can drive and motivate your entire organization
  • Consistency – Leaders who are aligned and on the same page, not sidetracked by their own siloed focus 
  • Indelibility – A guide and direction for every member of your organization that they champion and cannot forget

So Do Them Right

Here’s what the difference looks like:

Ineffective Strategic Plans

  • A set of ambitious objectives (goals)
  • Disconnected or prescriptive plans
  • Vague in direction
  • Not specific to your unique business environment

ThriveLab Strategic Plans

  • More compass than roadmap
  • Well-informed
  • Iteratively executable (and alive)
  • Accessible for all
  • Framework & guardrail-driven

Our Approach

We root in the principles of Human-Centered Design, co-creation, and inquiry-led listening. Which means that every strategic plan we help our clients create includes:

Research

To ensure we’re taking an informed approach

Grounding

In the needs of all those who will be affected by the plan

Consensus

From the entire team involved in the planning process

Vision

That is easy for everyone in your organization to see themselves in

Priorities

In the form of only 3-4 key strategic initiatives

Steps

To achieve those initiatives, crafted as experiments

Roles

And responsibilities that are clear and agreed-upon

Measurement

To gauge success and iteration milestones

For Best Results

Our priority in working with you is to ensure clear value and ROI, and we do that most effectively by staying engaged throughout the implementation of solutions and changes for ~6 months – especially with the strategic plan, as this is the timeframe when it’s most tenuous, and likely to need iteration and adoption support.

ROI

Each client is different. Which means their results are different.

On average, though, our clients can expect to see 5-10x ROI in tangible $ savings or growth within the first year after working with us.

Hard-value ROI is calculated in a variety of ways, but almost always includes cost savings related to retention, efficiency, and productivity loss, and revenue increases related to sales, customer acquisition, or donations.

Let’s chat

The best way to see if we’re a fit is to jump on a discovery call. Reach out to [email protected] to schedule some time!