Top 10 Why Strategic Plans Fail

Written by Bostrom

Bostrom’s Top Ten List- Why strategic plans fail
10.  Sits on the shelf collecting dust
9.   Lacks competitive and environmental context
8.  Board does not monitor progress on a regular basis
7.  Outstrips capabilities and resources of the organization- too ambitious
6.  No organizational focus
5.  Intuitive, not knowledge based
4.  Lacks Board buy-in and or oversight
3.  Lacks staff buy-in and or involvement
2.  Few if any measurable outcomes
1.  Not focused on increasing member and stakeholder value

How best to mitigate these potential stumbling blocks?

10. Make the CEO/ED responsible for the plans implementation

9.  Conduct a market and environmental scan to serve as a foundation for the plan

8.  Make the Strategic Plan review is item one on each Board meeting agenda.  Set up a scorecard or dashboard to highlight the plans progress

7.  Develop an implementation plan that includes 1) what’s to be done; 2) how it will be done:3) when it will be done; 4) who has ownership; 5) associated revenues and costs.  Review and get commitment from the Board and CEO that the plan can be accomplished.  Usually this requires some prioritization of what’s to be done.

6.  The Board is responsible for setting direction in the strategic plan which should serve as a roadmap to drive the organization forward.  All organizational initiatives and activities should in some form or another  tie back to supporting the strategic plan

5.  Make sure decisions driving the plan are based on facts from research and not individual opinions

4.  Board needs to sign off on plan and acknowledge the organization has the resources for its successful implementation

3.  CEO and staff need to reach mutual agreement with the Board that the plan can be successfully implemented

2.  All plan objectives should have measurable outcomes to allow for tracking and correction if need be

1.  Make sure the plan is a focused on increasing member and or stakeholder value

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