How do you create a strategic plan and budget with board input?

Well said, I will add few points from my point of view; *Involve different stakeholders in the plan creation. This will ensure better plan, alignment, committment. *Monitoring execution *SMART objectives, we always repeatedly saying objectives should be SMART, but forget to craft it in the plan. *Execution is the most critical part, should have clear execution (plan who is doing what by when, clear KPIs to measure performance) *Plan should be flexible, change it as needed Hope this add something to anyone

In my experience working with small businesses, I ask them 7 questions to help them determine their strategic plan: 1) What is your purpose? 2) What is your positioning (external view)? 3) What is your identity (internal view)? 4) Who is your target market? 5) What are your strategies/tactics to reach your purpose? 6) How are you gonna get there? 7) How much is it going to cost you? Answering these 7 questions… using SWOT Analysis, target & territory analysis, organizational constraints analysis, etc… will help your organization determine your journey. You can determine where you want to go, where you are now, what the obstacles/opportunities are to overcome, and the way you’re gonna track your successes (and failures).

We should not only look out for external factors but also account for the internal environment of the company, especially team dynamics. It is critical to understand and proportionally address the interests of the major internal stakeholders and their representatives on the board. One of the keys to balancing the interests of the internal stakeholders could be setting up a congruent performance management system in the company. Congruent performance management can avoid or reduce conflicts of interest within the company. This not only develops coherence, stability, and rational allocation of resources but also enables focus on ever-changing critical external factors. Performance management system plays a crucial role in budgeting.

When assessing your current situation, consider these four readiness questions: 1. Does our organization have a clear and widely understood core purpose? If not, how can we articulate this? 2. Are we willing and able to make tough calls about how to redistribute resources in our organization? 3. Do our staff and/or volunteers have the capacity to implement a new strategy? If not, how can we develop and support this capacity? 4. Do we really need a new strategic plan? Or are we hoping that strategic planning will resolve other tensions in the organization (i.e. unsustainable revenue model, HR issues, governance problems)?

Creating a strategic plan and budget with board input is a collaborative process that involves aligning the organization's goals, priorities, and financial resources. Before involving the board, gather relevant information about the organization's current financial status, performance, and any previous strategic budgets. Schedule a board meeting or workshop specifically for discussing the strategic plan and budget. Set clear objectives and outcomes for the strategic planning and budgeting process. Collaboratively set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals with the board's input. Work with the organization's finance team to develop a budget that supports the strategic plan. Communicate the plan to stakeholders.

Involvement and buy in is key to ensure alignment at all times . This also brings a wider skill set into the organisation . Ensure it is the right contribution and not operational detail

Sharing the SWOT analysis and gaining board input can be a valuable exercise for deepening and refining the strategic plan. Board members may have market knowledge or other insights about external trends and opportunities that the executive team may not possess. In addition, the discussion can provide the executive team with perspective about organizational strengths and weaknesses. This perspective can validate or challenge the executive team assessments and help strengthen decisions about priorities, resource allocation, and strategies for achieving objectives.

The Value Additions are always made by Original Patrons-Members -Workers executing the Organization's objects for the ultimate Beneficiaries. The periodic meetings as per defined Internal control's are the event's that help in taking corrective actions to ensure matching the defined Standards. An open session with Workers-Beneficiaries helps in reviewing the Planned Strategy to meet the Key Objectives. The monitoring of actual funds spent and utilisation is a continuous process under guidance of designated authorised Member as per Strategic Budgetary Planning. The Feed Back-Surveys-Interactive Session is used to review the periodic activities, of the Mission and efforts for Public-Government participation are made in a planned manner.

The promoter or entrepreneur would have a fair idea of what he wants to achieve, however he needs the support from the operating team and the finance team to make him understand the current market and the potential market in near foreseeable future for say 5 years, post which factors such as the industry growth rate and the representative market growth has to be factored in, the geographical growth diversity also needs to taken in to account. Further the opportunity available to the Company in new markets and the launch of new products and products in research pipelines needs to be factored .Once the above is freezes on, understanding the capacity requirements and capability building has to be worked on.

I think there are some specific challenges for non-profits here. In the UK, 'charitable objects' have to be considered. If the strategic plan is outside of the objects, this could cause legal issues, and the plan and the objects need to be brought in line. Also, I think that charities and non-profits have to be even more sensitive to how they are seen by stakeholders such as donors, volunteers, beneficiaries and customers. If any of these groups don't understand or buy in to the plan, it can create friction. So strategies that take the organisation into new areas, or exit existing ones, need to be properly communicated and accepted.

Vis?o Geral. O Top Down ou Bottom up n?o funcionam mais. Em fun??o da minha atividade em Gerenciamento de Negócios, criei e utilizo o "Abreast On". O "elo" fundamental entre o Estratégico, que geralmente "inventa" o "Planejamento Estratégico", e quem executa, "shop floor", é o do "meio", porém, o Abreast On funciona, também, em "linha", nos 03 (Três) níveis, Estratégico, Tático e Operacional. O principal fator de sucesso, em qq organiza??o, é que a comunica??o ocorra em todos os níveis. Em uma organiza??o, todos s?o importantes, portanto, o sucesso deve ser de todos e n?o pode ter "pai". Responsabilidades definem remunera??o. Ganhos n?o.