11 Tips for Your Next Evolution: Building an Engaging and Effective Strategic Plan Process

I recently sat down with Stephanie Seliga of the Just Garden Project, a program that was adopted by Seattle Tilth this year. Over a couple hours we talked about their efforts to build a new vision and strategic plan for the organization now that it is part of the Seattle Tilth family. It felt good to be able to share the insights and lessons from my own experience co-leading GRuB’s evaluation and evolution of its vision, mission, values, and strategic goals. Our conversation also reminded me how important it is to create a strong process and to involve the right people. Here are a few tips for those of you who might be starting your own evolutions.


1. Don’t rush it! Set aside enough time for people to truly be part of the process. Your finished product should be a work of many minds. You’ll be amazed at how much energy and commitment you’ll see as a result.

2. Create a leadership team. Whether you do the planning, facilitation, and synthesis yourself, or hire an outside consultant, you will need people who can devote time to organize gatherings, collect data, create and lead activities, and keep communication active.

3. Evolutions arise when you've outgrown your origins. Part of the leadership team’s task is to build a compelling narrative as to WHY your organization is going to devote time, resources, and energy to this great undertaking. Focus your message on what you can become rather than on what is wrong with who you are now.

Building 5 year goals activity. Used with permission from GRuB

4. Decide who should be at the table… and for which course. Staff and board members are obvious, but what about your stakeholders, donors, volunteers, or organizations you partner with? Ask different staff and board members who they see as the invested “superstars.”

5. Consider alternative ways to gather information from those who won’t be part of the main process. Are there specific times you want someone involved even if they don’t need to be part of the whole thing?

6. Create a transparent process. You are asking people to devote a lot of time, energy, and heart. Make sure you lay out a clear timeline and let folks know how you are going to report back. Be clear about how you are going to communicate internally and how you will communicate publicly.

7. Have at least one person ready to write up the notes from each activity and to organize and hone the information throughout the process. Then report it back (#3) so everyone stays part of the conversation and is ready to move ahead next time you get together. Their follow-up work allows you to keep the momentum across your various meetings.

8. When you first get together, take time to celebrate who you are and what you've accomplished. It’s always tempting to jump straight into planning for the future, but you’ll miss out on important information if you don’t gather the gems before moving ahead.

9. Be strategic about gatherings. At times you’ll need everyone’s voice in the room. However, it’s a lot of work to get that many people together at one time -so use that time wisely. Use your whole group meetings to connect, make decisions and move the process forward. Get your sub-groups (programs, board, staff, etc.) to meet separately to do a certain amount of brainstorm work on their own before coming back to the next meeting. For example, GRuB staff worked with youth participants to brainstorm and hone their 5 year goals for the organization. They brought a short list of priority goals to the next full group session, ready to discuss and integrate.

Enjoying good food after some hard planning work. Used with permission from GRuB.

10. Seize the opportunity to connect. How often do you have so many people who care about your mission all in one place? Take some time to facilitate activities that give folks a chance to share their values and stories, to make friends, and to have fun. You’ll feel a positive shift in people’s energy, find unexpected inspiration, and build more effective participation when you get down to work.

11. Good Food! Set aside some of your budget to take care of yourselves. Folks are often giving up a weekend or evening to come to these planning meetings. A tasty meal is a great way to say “thank you” and to keep everyone energetic. Local restaurateurs who support your work are usually willing to donate some of their bounty.