Conscious Strategy

What if strategy was all about identifying the most expansive things the organization could do in the next few years that would provide the greatest possibilities for the organization, staff and stakeholders?

What if this strategy was constantly challenged and changed according to awareness of what was occurring in the environment generally?

What if strategy actually provided guidance without prescription, awareness without contraction, value without bureaucracy?

Conscious strategy has the following attributes

* Key stakeholders provide their points of view and strategic awareness, not just staff or Board

* Awareness and possibility are focused on, rather than trends and history

* The vision statement is used as a guiding principle

* The strategic plan has a robust set of timelines, measures, ethical analysis and risk opportunities

* The strategies are embedded into all aspects of the organization, from the Board to staff to stakeholders

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STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT

A selection of checklists to assist the CEO understand where their Board is functioning strategically, and elements to consider when developing a strategic plan. These strategic planning tools have been developed through research and facilitation of many hundreds of strategic plans by our conscious governance facilitators. Check out Strategic Planning Toolkit

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Strategic Awareness-A Primer An introduction to strategic awareness that explores why strategic plans don't work, what strategic awareness is all about, and tips for creating a culture of strategic awareness at the Board level

Creating a Strategic Planning team The most effective strategic planning process involves a planning team that consists of those people who can add value to that planning process.

Creating Strategic Awareness from your Vision Statement One of the most powerful tools for creating strategic awareness in your nonprofit organization is your Vision statement. This article provides some guidelines for developing and using your vision statement so it truly facilitates strategic awareness throughout the organization.

Scenario Planning for Nonprofits Scenario planning is the development of several varied scenarios of equally plausible futures with the aim to bring forward surprises and unexpected leaps of understanding. No matter what future takes place, an organization is more likely to be ready for it and influential in it, if it has seriously considered scenarios.

Strategic Action Plans-the true enablers of a strategic plan To ensure a strategic plan is effective, there need to be specific action plans for each of the strategies. This is the step where practical details are added to the strategies adopted. Without these action plans, the strategic plan runs the risk of being just a simple wish list of high sounding ideals.

Embedding ethics into strategic planning Ethical implications of proposed action plans need to be considered at the action planning stage. Identifying and analyzing ethical implications of proposed action plans can add robustness to your strategic planning that will add value to the actions and protect the organization.

What Corporates can learn from Nonprofit Strategy Setting The nonprofit sector has had to be very innovative in managing its future, as it has traditionally been called upon to do more with less, year after year. As a result, some of the strategic tools, practices and accountability mechanisms developed by the Nonprofit sector have some salutary lessons for the corporate sector.

The true value of strategic foresight and planning! Without strategic foresight and subsequent strategic planning, a nonprofit organization will be impacted by environmental changes, and many other changes, without any idea of why or what they can do before these changes hit them.

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