As mentioned in the first post in this series, often the thought of preparing a strategic plan can at first seem daunting and it makes you think that you require a consultant with an MBA to come in to do it for you at a high cost.

This is not the case as the strategic plan is simply the process of getting the main ideas and processes down in a systematic way for the future.

As such, a good starting point is to do a bit of brainstorming to identify the key strategic objectives.

For example, identify the main issues that impact on your organisation.

These may relate to:

Another simple yet effective method is to use a SWOT analysis by identifying the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.  This can also be part of the brainstorming process.  You can use each of the categories to group together the initial ideas which can then be used to set the key objectives.

Also, note that while the suggestion to use brainstorming can imply just a lot of random ideas being pulled from the air, it can also be used based on existing information.  For example, the local government may have in their strategic plan an objective to provide more community services that your organisation can be part of and this could be achieved by obtaining a grant or funding.  Therefore, this method of informed brainstorming keeps the focus on relevant and practical issues that can impact on your organisation.   Remember too, that many good ideas come out of a brainstorming session, even if they appear to be a bit random at the time.

While there are many other methods that could be used, the important issue is that you identify a set of key objectives that directly relates to your organisation that can have a positive impact.  Once these key objectives have been detailed then the next step is to establish what resources are needed as well as and when it needs to be achieved by.

The next post discusses how to establish the actions to achieve the objectives.