How long does it take to create a strategic plan?
As nonprofit strategic planning consultants, we receive many questions about strategic planning.
One line of questions has to do with time.
Specifically – what is the smallest amount of time we can invest and still emerge with a good result (1 day? 2 days? 1 month?)?
Not long ago, someone asked us whether a group of thoughtful people could come together over an extended retreat weekend and build a strategic plan for a nonprofit organization.
We get it: People are busy and attention spans are getting shorter. For some, watching long-form YouTube videos has been replaced by TikToks (many about 1 to 3 minutes and none more than 10 minutes) and 90-second Instagram reels. In that context, a four-to six-month process may be an eternity!
Yes! You can create a quick plan if you have a startup organization with a few people making decisions and a small budget. In that case, you probably can create a strategic plan fairly quickly.
But if you have more complexity in terms of budget, people impacted by the work, decision-making, and organizational and funding partners, you will want to allow at least four-to-six months to create a quality plan.
Why it takes time to create a strategic plan.
Our process, pictured in the graphic below, includes five stages: Kickoff, Discovery, Prioritization, Planning, and Implementation.
Although we have seen strategic planning portrayed as a linear process, we are using a spiral to illustrate the process – intentionally. Because it isn’t linear – information and reflection from each stage impacts the other stages.
Sample Strategic Planning Timeline
Here is a timeline we have used for a number of recent clients:
Kickoff - Contracting and Design - 3-4 weeks - includes determining who will be involved in strategic planning in terms of decision-making as well as whose opinions will be solicited in data gathering.
Discovery and Data Gathering - 4-8 weeks – conducting interviews, focus groups, survey (if relevant), fiscal review, and creating a Discovery Document that summarizes what has emerged in the Data Gathering process.
Reflection and Visioning Retreat (Prioritization) - daylong in-person or virtual retreat. We have done retreats of up to two full days. In our experience, this is intense “brain work,” so people do get tired after a day and a half – this is our recommended maximum.
Implementation planning – 4-6 weeks – continuing the work that was done at the retreat and creating one-year implementation plans for all departments.
Evaluation and Closure – 3-4 weeks – wrapping up closing details including the creation of a public-facing version of the strategic plan.
We have used that timeline with nonprofit organizations working in a variety of areas: education, the environment, social services, legal advocacy, and others.
In total, you're safely looking at 14-22 weeks for this process to take shape and run its course. That's, at a minimum, over three months and as many as six until the process has come to a close.
A good strategic plan needs to “ripen”
We have an apple tree in our front yard – a favorite of the local deer 😊. Hopefully, you have a fruit tree somewhere in your world too.
Apples appear on the tree in the Spring.
Then – they “hang out” on the tree for a while and ripen.
Ripening cannot be rushed. Standing by the tree doesn't make the apples become ready. Only time does.
Strategic plans – that are owned by the staff and board – also need to ripen.
We facilitate conversations in which staff and board come together to reflect on the strengths and challenges of the organization and to build a vision for the organization.
As group members learn from each other and think together, a lot is figured out.
But not everything gets figured out in a one-day (or a three-hour) meeting, and that is okay:
Sometimes a small group needs to go off and wordsmith the mission statement or other parts of the plan.
Sometimes leaders would like to reach out to additional staff members, partners, or community members to get their thoughts about the specifics of the plan.
Sometimes, group members forgot about a part of the organization’s work, and that now needs to be added back in.
As consultants, we balance a sense of spaciousness with keeping the process moving forward.
Allowing time for planning leads to a better product that becomes actionable.
Obviously a strategic plan takes time to be done properly. It takes time to involve community members and partners. It takes time to evaluate a course of action. It takes time to consider options and make these important decisions. They shouldn't be rushed, but to run the course necessary for proper alterations. That time is precious, as is every step along the way.
I'll also share that we've had many hesitant partners join us on this journey - yet none have regretted the time it takes to properly finish the course.
If you're interested in taking your organization through such a process, please reach out. This is a critical decision for many organizations and involves a lot of people. We encourage you to lean on our expertise as we walk you through the steps to properly create and engage a strategic plan for your organization.
This is the Part 1 of a 6-part series. Learn more about the steps of strategic planning:
Discovery - How looking at organizational secrets can be “almost fun”
Prioritization- How strategic planning helps answer the difficult questions
How planning gets everyone on the same page and builds commitment
Other resources to support strategic planning:
Join our upcoming Strategic Planning course, live online at Cal State East Bay.
Purchase our new strategic planning workbook