How Can Small Businesses and Nonprofits Develop a Strategic Plan?

You’ve heard the old saying before: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” And while that little phrase may make for a great motivational poster, developing a usable, practical plan can be a difficult and overwhelming process for small businesses and nonprofits who don’t always have the time or resources to plan strategically.

That’s why we turned to Dr. Carol Poore, a strategic planning expert, in this episode of Financial Cents. As the president of Poore & Associates Strategic Planning and the author of “Strategic Impact: A Leader’s Three-Step Framework for the Customized Vital Strategic Plan,” she’s more than qualified to help us understand how small businesses and nonprofits can turn strategic planning into actionable, measurable goals that can take the organization to the next level.

“Strategic planning is a management process that envisions a future and develops current and new programs and strategies to achieve that future. A good strategic plan is vital, as in life-changing and life-giving to the organization and is a combination of three frameworks which revolve around a shared experience, a shared story and shared outcomes,” Poore says.

“Strategy talks about how we’re going to get where we’re going, but strategic planning encompasses the why and talks about who we are and who we want to be,” adds podcast host Brent Cannon, executive vice president and director of community banking at National Bank of Arizona.

But as Brent and Carol discuss in this episode, even plans with the best of intentions can turn into an obsolete “doorstopper” without accountability. Fortunately, Carol shares practical ways for small businesses and nonprofits to measure their success and rally their leadership team, ultimately helping to insure that the future that they envisioned comes to pass.

Financial Cents is hosted by Brent Cannon, executive vice president and director of community banking, and features real answers to the real questions that Arizona businesses and individuals have about money. With each episode featuring veteran bankers from National Bank of Arizona, Financial Cents provides the insights you can only get from a friend in the business.

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