Strategic planning starts by focusing on the strengths of an organization and its stakeholders’ values and shared vision.

Strategic planning is a dynamic process of continuously looking at your current situation and plotting your next move. Strategic planning is a critical step that any healthy association must undertake. This is a vital activity that enables the organization to get a sense of where it is going, how it will reach where it wants to go, when, and with what means. The best organizations are always engaged in some form of strategic planning as a living and dynamic process.

Methodology
Most conversations during the process of discovery, analysis, and strategy development will include aspects related to SWOT Analysis and Appreciative Inquiry (AI). SWOT is analysis oriented, while AI is action oriented. SWOT focus on weaknesses and threats, AI on strength and opportunity, SWOT focuses on planning, AI on implementation, SWOT focuses on gaps, AI on results. umewe uses a combination of the two frameworks in the discovery phase to create a solid foundation of where the organization has come from, where they are, where they want to be, and what they want to accomplish by outlining the organization‘s Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Threats, Aspirations, and Results.

During the process of strategy development, the foundational information from SWOT and AI are considered but the focus may shift to a VOICE framework. All discussions during the strategy session will stem from and be tied back to the Values of the organization. The Opportunities derived during discovery and strategic discussion will be capitalized on during the session. If it is determined that there are any Impediments or obstacles in the way of achieving the vision or goals, the group will acknowledge them as opportunities, and find ways to work through them, around them, or to incorporate them into the way forward. Determining Commitment to reach the vision and achieve the desired goals will assist in understanding competing commitments, allocation of resources, and steps required to engage in new opportunities. Engagement is about the actual activities to be done, and setting the organization and individuals up for successful participation. It is about being accountable, sharing the vision and commitments so that others can support the organization in moving forward.

Successful goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time. umewe will propose a scorecard tool that best suits the organization to document, and monitor the long-term goals, short-term objectives, key initiatives, deliverables, indicators and measures of success, targets for performance and time, priorities, champions, resources, stakeholders, and personal commitments.