Implementing and Sustaining Your Strategic Plan: A Workbook for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Based on John Bryson's acclaimed comprehensive approach to strategic planning, the Implementing and Sustaining Your Strategic Plan workbook provides a step-by-step process, tools, techniques, and worksheets to help successfully implement, manage, and troubleshoot an organization's strategy over the long haul. This new and immensely practical workbook helps organizations work through the typical challenges of leading implementation for sustained change. It spotlights the importance of effective leadership for long-term successful strategic plan implementation. The authors include a wealth of tools designed to help with goal and objective setting, budgeting, stakeholder analysis, prior- ity reconciliation, strategies in practice, special leadership roles, cultural changes, and more. The workbook's conceptual framework, step-by-step process, and worksheets can be applied in a variety of ways. It can be used as a whole, or selected parts can be used by board members, boards of directors, senior management teams, implementation teams, and task forces on a regular basis throughout the process of sustained implementation. The workbook's individual worksheets, or combinations of worksheets, can be used as needed to address a variety of implementation-related tasks.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii The Authors xix PART 1 UNDERSTANDING IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSING READINESS 1 Step 1 Understanding Implementation and Assessing Readiness 3 Worksheets 1 Interviewing People About the Upcoming Implementation Process 25 2 Implementation Readiness Assessment Questionnaire 32 3 Key Implementation Design Choices 44 PART 2 GETTING ORGANIZED 53 Step 2 Leading Implementation 55 Worksheets 4 Implementation Process Sponsors 71 5 Implementation Process Champions 73 6 Identifying Possible Members of the Implementation Coordinating Committee 75 7 Developing a Charge for the Implementation Coordinating Committee and Related Subgroups 78 8 Understanding and Linking Forums, Arenas, and Courts 82 9 Values to Sustain Innovation and Change 88 Step 3 Understanding How and Why the Strategic Plan Came to Be 91 Worksheet 10 Agenda for Follow-Up Meeting to Assess Results of Interviews of Strategic Plan Preparers and Adopters 95 Step 4 Clarifying Who the Implementation Stakeholders Are 99 Worksheets 11 Implementation Stakeholder Identifi cation 102 12 External Implementation Stakeholder Analysis 104 13 Internal Implementation Stakeholder Analysis 106 14 Power Versus Interest Grid 108 15 Implementation Support Versus Opposition 110 16 Creating the Supportive Coalition 111 17 Engaging External Implementation Stakeholders 113 18 Engaging Internal Implementation Stakeholders 116 PART 3 CLARIFYING STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL DIRECTIONS 119 Step 5 Articulating What the Organization’s Mandates, Mission, Vision, and Values Mean for Implementation and Alignment 121 Worksheets 19 Gaining Clarity About the Implications of the Organization’s Mandates for Implementation 124 20 Understanding What the Organization’s Mission Means for Implementation 125 21 Understanding What the Organization’s Values Mean for Implementation 127 22 Understanding What the Organization’s Vision of Success Means for Implementation 128 23 How and Why the Organization Creates Public Value 131 Step 6 Getting Clear About Strategies That Will Continue, Will Be Started, or Will Be Phased Out 133 Worksheets 24 Evaluating Priorities for Existing Strategies, Programs, Products, Services, and Projects 135 25 Evaluating Priorities for Proposed New Strategies, Programs, Products, Services, and Projects 136 26 Reconciling Priorities Among Existing and Proposed Strategies, Programs, Products, Services, and Projects 137 27 Strategy, Program, Product, Service, or Project Statement and Component Elements 139 PART 4 RESOURCING AND STRUCTURING IMPLEMENTATION, ALIGNMENT, AND ONGOING LEARNING 147 Step 7 Budgeting the Work 149 Worksheets 28 Developing a Budget for Strategic Plan Implementation 152 29 Developing a Summary Budget for Implementation 155 30 Developing a Strategic Annual Budget for Large, Complex Organizations 157 Step 8 Creating an Implementation Management Structure 159 Worksheets 31 Project Assignment 167 32 Assignment of Work to Project, Program, and Portfolio Categories 169 33 Assignment of Projects, Programs, Portfolios, and Other Work 170 Step 9 Developing Effective Implementation Teams 173 Worksheets 34 Creating Implementation Recommendation and Action Teams (I-Teams) 176 35 ICC and I-Team Tasks, Membership, Competencies, Roles, and Responsibilities 186 36 Team Leader Self-Assessment 190 37 Meeting Agenda 192 38 Meeting Summary 195 39 Meeting Evaluation 197 40 Team Self-Assessment 200 Step 10 Organizing Alignment and Learning Processes 203 Worksheets 41 Alignment Checkup 208 42 Designing Learning Forums 210 43 Facilitating Dialogue Guidelines 212 44 Identifying Needed Formative Evaluations 215 45 Employee Performance Self-Review 218 46 Performance Review and Development Plan Process 222 47 Coaching for Successful Implementation 228 48 Professional Development Request Form 231 Step 11 Putting It All Together in Strategy Maps and Action Plans 233 Worksheets 49 Board Action Plan 241 50 Action Planning 245 51 Action Planning for the Stop Agenda 248 52 Microsoft Project Schedule Template 251 53 Summary of Actions and Responsibilities 259 54 Strategy/Action Status Report Form 260 55 Implementation Communications Plan 261 56 Creating an Elevator Speech 263 PART 5 MAINTAINING, READJUSTING, OR TERMINATING STRATEGIES 265 Step 12 Staying the Course—Or Changing It 267 Worksheets 57 Improving Existing Strategies 269 58 Identifying Needed Summative Evaluations 270 59 Improving the Implementation Process 273 60 Improving the Strategic Planning Process 276 RESOURCES 279 A Brainstorming Guidelines 281 B Snow Card Guidelines 283 Glossary 285 Bibliography 289