Presentation

Creating a Consistent Process for Setting and Reviewing

Goals, Objectives and Plans



Preamble



A metaphor for the planning process involves linguistics (vocabulary agreement), syntax

(the order in which things are done), and the cultural context of the organization. People

often assume that those who read something will have the same context as the author.

However, most of us realize we should not assume that to be true.



Main Causes of Failure in Planning



1. Staff not involved in planning

2. Objectives and vision are unclear

3. Process takes too long (things change before they can be implemented)

4. Lack the necessary information to make decisions

5. Lose sight of the real objective and get off track

6. Lack understanding of planning terms and meanings

7. Strategic planning process is confusing (lots of time spent but no results)

8. Planning jumps around (process gets out of sequence)

9. Process generally does not take a long term view

10. Often the right people are not involved

11. Lack processes or an interim plan during chaotic periods of change

12. Waiting for direction and decisions from senior management

13. Preconceived notions about how to “fix” issues (but not sustainable)

14. Lack commitment from top management

15. Lack commitment to establish a planning team

16. Lack knowledge about how the planning process works

17. Results are not measurable (a lot of process is measured instead)

18. Lack resources to plan and/or implement (or too many resources)

19. Lack balance throughout the steps in the process



Increasing visibility, better organization of infrastructure, decentralizing responsibilities,

and establishing a long term time frame can begin to address these issues.



Ecology of an Organization



1. Environmental Scanning / Forecasting

 How are things going to look 5 years from now?

 Forecast in areas you don’t have control, plan in the areas where you do

 Cannot control the world, but you can control your response to it.

 Firmly establish in people’s minds the mission, vision and values, and

from there develop the roles, responsibilities and reporting systems.

 Focus on doing a better job with the planning process and be concerned

with the futurity of your decisions. Identify the longer term decisions that

would help your short term decision requirements because they relate.









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2. Mission and Vision

 Mission defines the area in which goals must be set in terms of the results

 In a results-oriented mission, emphasis is placed on defining the areas in

which it is critical to have acceptable results, not the processes or goals.

 It might include a description of enabling conditions or other critical areas.

 Conditions are things that have a downstream effect on the main focus.

 Eg. the negative effects of urban lifestyles on the environment; the extent

of the damage; successes of alternative habits and practices.

 Enabling conditions might involve an appeal to public morale and innate

consciousness; health and safety issues, condition of the environment,

public satisfaction, and financial conditions.

 Vision creates an image of what it will be like in 5 years. A clear idea of

the mission is necessary, as the two complement each other.



3. Values

 Guiding ethos of an organization; how people behave with one another;

management principles that guide specific actions that you live by. If they

are not adhered to, staff will become cynical.

 Eg. trust, respect, honesty, openness, integrity and accountability

(fighting suggests differing values)



4. Policy Formulation

 It is not procedures, regulations, guidelines or directions from above.

 Policy is about process aimed at achieving goals(s), but is often unstated.

 Eg. Privatization is not a goal, but a way to reduce costs, so it is a policy.

An issue becomes large enough that it changes the way you do things.



5. Roles and Responsibilities

 Roles are not job descriptions.

 Responsibilities typically list the areas that a person is responsible for,

written in results style.

 Job descriptions help create a standard, and should simply state the

areas in which the individual needs to focus.

 Roles and responsibilities for line staff often consist of the goals from the

Mission Statement being passed down to the wrong level.

 Managers need to determine areas of responsibility to ensure staff have

adequate information to perform their jobs and know their responsibilities

 Need to know the overall critical results that the organization wants to

achieve, and the critical results that each individual needs to achieve.



6. Reporting System

 Organization chart simply that tells you who reports to whom.

 Avoid dotted lines if at all possible – they cause confusion in terms of

reporting priorities and responsibilities.



7. Goal, Standard and Objective Setting

 Defines the quality and quantity of your results

 Goals are large, broad statements that have to do with results









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 The acronym SMART may be known to many of you. It is a tool that

captures the key components of goal setting. The letters stand for

Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and Timely, and are a handy

reference guide to use in checking goal statements.

 Once a Mission is established, you can create goals by adding one of

these words to each statement: reduce, increase, improve, or maintain.

 The goals in effect become the programs, ie. decrease negative effects of

urban lifestyles on the environment; reduce health and safety issues,

improve environmental consciousness; and improve public satisfaction

 Once goals have been identified, staff can identify ideas and ways in

which the goals can be accomplished.

 Goals will change over time as the organization’s actions are successful

in achieving current ones, and new goals are identified.

 Monitor the plan and watch for policy changes - if your policy responses

change, adjustments have to be reflected in the Mission and Goals.

 If you want to improve quality, it has to be defined, which may need public

input. To assess it, it has to be measured, and standards are needed

against which to assess it.

 Managers can only manage or eliminate variances (sporadic departures

from the standard). The approach is to create a variance between the old

and the new, using numbers because they are more accurate than using

adjectives. It provides managers with direction on what to do.

 The number of sales call made per day is a measure of process, whereas

the number of sales made per day measures results.

 To be useful in measuring and monitoring results, objectives should have

numeric targets, eg. dollar value of sales, number of new members to

attract, calendar dates for completing tasks, etc.



8. Strategy Development

 Strategies represent directions you’re going to take to reach your goals

 Plans are the details that need to be done to reach next year’s goals.



9. Resource Allocation and Budgeting

 Identifies the time and costs estimated to achieve the desired results.



10. Information Systems

 Formal (15%) and informal (85%) ways of communicating information.

 Monitoring systems target on client-focused results, and the key ones

need to provide repetitive critical feedback to those in charge.



11. Financial Management and Accounting Reporting Systems

 Two critical areas that need to be monitored for management information



12. Evaluation Systems

 Formative evaluation conducted in advance of the event is primarily

aimed at improving future performance.

 Summative evaluation occurs after the event.



13. Trained and Qualified Personnel







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Building Blocks for Effective Planning



 Often there is a failure to differentiate between results and process.

 Attention is best focused on results, balance, measures, staff and

stakeholder involvement, and organizational context.

 In a goal-oriented organization, what you do today is determined by what

you want to achieve in the future, not by what you achieved yesterday.

 If you want to own the result, but set staff’s objectives in terms of process,

then all they can do is perform a task.

 Start with the issues identified through surveys of staff and stakeholders.

 Bring together the right people, including those that carry out strategy

 Adapt planning cycles to the needs of each business

 Implement a strategic performance management system. Put in place a

strategic system to measure and monitor progress in order to track the

execution of strategic initiatives. It’s not limited to financial tracking, but

includes other metrics such as the number of projects in various stages of

development, the number of skilled persons involved on a project, etc

 Transparency is achieved through regular reviews.



The Planning Cycle



Planning is best done through a series of steps tied to an organization’s fiscal year:

 Strategic review and analysis, including clarification and confirmation of

mission, vision and values

 Development of a business plan

 Development of an operational plan

 Mid-year or quarterly review and evaluation

 Year-end review and evaluation.

These steps, along with specific timeframes, form the basis of the Planning Cycle. To ensure

success, an effective planning cycle will include:



 Pre-determined planning cycles and reviews as part of the process

 Planning as an ongoing process rather than a one-time project

 Monitoring and review as a key component of the planning cycle.









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The Sustainability Model - Definitions of Key Concepts

Sustainability Implementation of effective governance, operational,

financial, and knowledge management practices to achieve

short-term and long-term viability of an organization.

Sustainability is also defined by ongoing planning and review

to ensure best practices.



Vision Broad statement of the future an organization seeks



Mission Concise statement identifying an organization’s purpose,

activities and key stakeholders.



Values Fundamental beliefs underlying an organization’s mission

and vision that provide the context for day-to-day operations.



Governance Processes and structures that direct and manage an

organization’s operations and activities. Governance

establishes mechanisms to achieve accountability and fiscal

responsibility among stakeholders, the Board of Directors

and management.



Strategic Plan 3-5 year plan designed to lead, manage and change an

organization in a well-integrated fashion based on core

strategies. The strategic plan should drive and inform the

business plan.



Business Plan 1-3 year plan that serves as the principal operating tool for

an organization and outlines strategies for operational and

financial sustainability. The business plan should drive and

inform the operational plan. An effective business plan will

include plans and strategies for:

 Governance

 Marketing and communications

 Human resources

 Resource/fund development

 Financial management

 Administrative procedures, and

 Technology supports.



Operational Plan A 1-year plan that provides details of annual operations

linked to the budget.



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info@thecentrepoint.ca www.thecentrepoint.ca









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Evaluation of the Planning Process Checklist



Outstanding Issues and Conflicts

 Are there any outstanding issues or challenges facing the organization that the

plan has not addressed? How critical are these?

 What are the consequences of not responding to these issues in the near future?



Leadership is Engaged

 Are formal and informal leaders involved in and supportive of the plan?

 What have they done to show their support?



Realistic and Credible

 Is the plan realistic and practical? Is there a balance between the dream and

reality?

 Does the organization have access to the resources (time, talent and money) to

accomplish the plan?



Implementation

 Has implementation been addressed?

 Are individuals who will implement the plan involved and engaged?



Stakeholder Communication

 Have stakeholders bought in to the plan?

 Is there a communications plan to distribute information, share the plan and to

acknowledge successful implementation?



Management Reporting

 Has a method been established to inform management of progress (monthly

meetings, reports, etc.)?



Ongoing Review

 Is there a plan to update the plan as external and internal environments change?



Legal and Ethical

 Are there any outstanding legal or ethical considerations?

 Is there any aspect of the plan that may threaten or harm participants?



Process

 What worked well during the business planning process?

 What would we do differently next time?

 What pitfalls would we identify for next year’s planners?

 How should we celebrate our success?









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