Story + Goals = Strategic Plan

Story + Goals = Strategic Plan

We all know it’s not that simple. But, when you boil it down, a strategic plan is all about tying your organization’s story to your organization’s goals. 

Let’s unpack that. 

Strategic plans contain many terms that can be confusing, and you may find yourself in the midst of a strategic planning process wondering, what even is a strategic plan? What should it look like? What is its purpose? Should we have a mission or a purpose? A vision or guiding principles? What’s a manifesto anyway?

These are all terms that, when boiled down to their essence, are ways to refer to your organization’s story. Stories develop, evolve, grow, and adapt in the same way organizations develop, evolve, grow, and adapt.

Being clear on your story invites anyone who interacts with your organization – your clients, customers, stakeholders, and staff – to see themselves in you.

A strategic plan is your story. It tells people who you are, what you’re about and why you do what you do. It also informs where you are as an organization, where you want to go and what you want to be. A truly comprehensive strategic plan also lays out how you will accomplish your goals.

At MacPhie, we offer strategic planning support that is comprehensive in building your story, emphasizing how integral your brand is to that story, operationally implementing that story, and providing the tools to measure and hold your organization accountable to its goals.

Common elements of a strategic plan include:

• Purpose – Why do you do what you do.
• Vision – Your ideal future state and what your organization will always be trying to achieve.
• Mission – How your organization will strive to achieve its vision.
• Guiding Principles – The values you follow and incorporate in how you work within your organization.
• Manifesto – A written statement declaring your intentions, motivations or views of your organization.

Our process is all about co-creation. We want to work with you and key stakeholders to build a strategic plan to achieve your goals.

Visit our strategic planning page for more information on our process!