Steve Meier

What is Strategic Planning

 Determines  Where an organization is going over the next year or more,  How it's going to get there  How it'll know if it got there or not.  Focus is on the entire organization

Contrast with Business Planning

 Focus is usually on a  Product  Service  Program.

Evaluation

What is the Purpose or Mission of the Lodge

• • • • What is the overall purpose of the plan or what is the plan supposed to achieve?

• • • Need to understand the purpose of your lodge What do you want your lodge to be What do you want your lodge to do May have multiple answers May have conflicting opinions Should include the mission statement or purpose of the organization.

Evaluate Forces Inside and Outside of the Lodge

 What driving forces or major influences might effect the lodge  Location  Competition from other organizations or establishments  Federal, state and local laws or ordinances  Tax code  Grand Lodge Statutes  Others

Assessment

 SWOT Analysis     Strengths of the lodge Weaknesses of the lodge Opportunities Threats to the lodge  Each needs to be evaluated  During this analysis, planners also can use a variety of assessments, or methods to "measure" the health of systems.

Establish Goals

 Goals are based on the analysis and lodges mission  Goals build on strengths of the lodge and membership  Do you know your membership’s strengths      Marketing Accounting Management Food Prep Computer skills  Review Applications  Survey the members for skill sets and interests

Other Aspects of Goals

 Take advantage of opportunities provided by your lodge  What opportunities can you take advantage of   Golf course Building Size  Building up weaknesses of the lodge  Marketing to build up membership  Lack of volunteers  Ward off threats to the lodge  IRS, cost of food items by other establishments

Establish Strategies to Reach Goals

 Depends on  Cost  Practicality  Efficiency

Establish Objectives to Achieving Goals

 Objectives must be:  Timely  Indicative of progress toward goals  Measurable

Associate Responsibilities and Time Lines With Each Objective

 Assigned responsibilities include:  Who does what  When is it to be accomplished.

 Alternatives (not consequences) if something is not accomplished.

 Generally, deadlines are set for meeting each responsibility.

Write it Down and Communicate the plan to the Membership

 If it is not written down it does not exist.

 Information is organized,  Written into a document  Distributed to the organizers and membership  Post on the wall in large font

Why

      Members do not know what is happening Members and organizers may not understand who is doing what Members and organizers do not know or forget what they are to do Organizers often forget that others don't know what the organizers know. As plans change, it's difficult to remember who is supposed to be doing what Key stakeholders ( Grand Lodge, County Commissioners, customers, grant funders may request copies

Acknowledge Completion and Celebrate Success

 Is often ignored  Can eventually undermine the success of many of your future planning efforts.  Can create apathy, skepticism, or cynicism  Plan addressed some problem, you solved it  Acknowledge your success.

 Let others know it was successful

Involve the Right People in Planning Process

 Critical to exchange feedback to function effectively  Get input from stakeholders  Everyone who is responsible for any part of the plan, Representatives from groups who will be effected by the plan.  Individuals who are responsible to review and authorize the plan.  May be within the lodge, or Grand Lodge

Goals and Objectives Should Be SMARTER

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Specific:

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Measurable:

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Acceptable:

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Realistic:

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Time frame:

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Extending:

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Rewarding:

Program Planning

• Five Steps • Assessment • Capacity • Planning • Implementation • Evaluation

Assessment

 Assess needs and assets.  Assess readiness for some change  Identify the most pressing need that needs changed 

Capacity

 Start with your core group.  What skills and resources are available  What skills and resources do you need  Assess membership readiness  Do we need this  Publicize the issue and encourage participation.  Use targeted participation  People usually step up when asked directly

Planning

    Assemble a planning team. Create an overall plan for the effort. Present the plan to the leadership and membership and gather support. Who does what is important here

Implementation of the Plan

 Stick to your plan for the implementation process.  May evaluate to see if changes are needed  Continue to pay attention to resources.  Keep the community informed.

Evaluation

 Evaluate the process.  Evaluate the impact of the program.  Evaluate the outcomes.  Use the evaluation results to adjust the program to be more effective.

Conclusions

 Use planning in your lodges  What do you want your lodge to do – the Objective  When do you want to have the objective accomplished  How will you accomplish the objective  Who will accomplish it  How do you know if it is accomplished

Planning

 Can be used as a guide for the entire lodge  Can be used to  Increase membership  Involve membership  Prioritize and direct resources  Increase participation in some program  Americanism, Drug Prevention, Hoop Shoot, Food Caravan

NOTE: Planning

 Takes time to do  Takes energy  Takes people to do the planning

What Do You Need To Do Next

 Identify the problems you may have in your lodge  Identify what you may want to do  Implement the process

With No Planning

 You continue to have the same problems  The problems are broadly defined (if you know what they are)  Solutions are trial and error  No immediate or long term strategies for a problem  No changes occur except discussion  New officers have the same problem you had 5 years ago.

Questions