Dust on the pages… Why do so many strategic plans fail? All too often, a lack of understanding about the wants and needs of the community, poor communications, unrealistic goals, and a lack of emphasis on implementation lead to failure. The end result… Plans written with the best of intentions and lofty ideas end up being set aside on shelves, to be forgotten and do nothing more than gather dust on their pages.

When discussing strategic planning, I am often asked two questions. The first is, “Why do planning initiatives fail?” The second is, “What differentiates your strategic plans from other plans?”

The answer to the first question can be very complex. Many planning projects fail because of inadequate planning preparation, poor communication, a lack of leadership during the planning process, failure to reach out to the community to obtain homeowner input, and an inability to motivate the volunteers who will have to carry out the plan. These problems are often compounded after planning is completed as a result of poor implementation and insufficient board oversight to ensure that objectives are properly met.

The answer to the second question is relatively simple. The strategic plan template that I use isn’t much different than other templates that can easily be found on the Internet. The real difference is the CAPSERV Strategic Planning Process. I developed this process to help community association volunteers avoid the pitfalls that cause so many plans to fail. It’s a formal process that organizes planning functions into three distinct phases:

• PHASE 1: Advance preparation work and research is conducted to make certain that planning session participants know what they will be required to do; that they understand the expected outcomes of the planning session; and that they have information about the association and community that they will need to develop a viable plan.
• PHASE 2: A planning session is held that is structured to enable participants to stay on task with enough time to thoroughly develop the plan’s goals and the strategies required to achieve those goals.
• Phase 3: After the strategic plan has been written and approved by the board of directors, association volunteers are given the opportunity to establish and initiate action steps required to carry out the plan’s various strategies. These action steps are added to the plan as they are developed. Work is closely monitored with sufficient board oversight to ensure timely completion of plan initiatives within the framework of the association’s budget.

CAPSERV simplifies the process and emphasizes an important factor that many planners overlook… a practical well organized common-sense approach that reinforces the benefits of sound planning leadership, effective communications, and the need to promote the planning agenda at all times in order to secure the support of the volunteer base and community.

Always remember… A good plan serves as a road map to success. It will tell you where you are going, how to get to your destination, and how you will know when you have arrived.