Need to recalibrate priorities and think into the future, too? Consider a Strategic Plan.

Special event or single-focused initiative launch? Look at an Action Plan.

Neither of these fit your situation? I design custom planning services.

I have refined and flexed the highly participatory planning approaches I offer over 25 years so they can be comprehensive or streamlined to fit unique needs and situations. Comprehensive means the strategic plan encompasses and integrates all aspects of the organization's or enterprise's functions. Streamlined means it is possible to combine a mix of plan components that match what you need. 

I deliver planning services in person and virtually, offering a modular approach that fits your group's schedule. For example, an in-person strategic plan, you need two to two and half days of concentrated time; for a virtual comprehensive strategic plan, you may need 6-7 sessions that are about 3 hours each, over a two-week period. If you are launching a single-focused, time-sensitive initiative, one 5-hour in-person session will fit the bill or, if virtual, 1-3 two-hour Action Plan sessions over 1 or 2 consecutive days. The planning design and schedule is developed in direct response to your desired outcomes.

The modular approach also means some modules can be delivered as "stand alone" sessions, e.g., Practical Vision, Actions Brainstorm, and Crafting or Updating a Mission Statement.

Vital Clarity Commitments

1) Honor, align, and include a wide range of perspectives and ideas throughout all planning phases
​2) Build authentic consensus, time efficiently
3) Maintain a neutral facilitation stance to ensure the plan content is yours and your team's.

All virtual services apply easy-to-use technology platforms seamlessly.

Participatory Strategic Planning Process Overview

Discovery (not depicted in the graphic):
• Determine what you need a strategic plan to do for you
• Collect basic input from stakeholders
• Recap recent accomplishments
• Take a snapshot of your current situation and available data.

Design Meeting determines primary purposes for developing a plan.
• A subset of the larger planning group participates in a Focused Conversation to articulate key topics to be addressed
• A participant list takes shape, being sure to include those who stand to be affected by the plan
• Decisions about relevant documents to be referenced or circulated are made, along with other logistics

All planning sessions build, sequentially, on each previous session for an integrated, cohesive plan.

Planning Phases - approx. 2.5-3 hours per session
• Inventory of National Trends - Capture emerging & established national trends specific to your industry
• Practical Vision for 3-5 years into the future - Describe the new reality you want to see in place at least 3 years out
• Underlying Contradictions - Articulate existing patterns and subtle mindsets that block effective action
• Strategic Directions - Generate a wide scope of action ideas & organize them into 3-4 Strategic Directions
• Project Implementation Calendar - Strategic Directions teams identify specific, measurable projects to implement for the first 4 quarters​ of the plan

Implementation Phase
• Orientation to Plan Coordination and Strategic Direction Team Member Roles
• Meeting schedules established and shared
• Teams outline all implementation steps & relevant considerations for 1st quarter projects
• Facilitation Training for Plan Coordinator(s) and Team Leads
• Quarterly Progress Meetings scheduled for whole planning team as well as the 1st Annual Plan Update Session