Belief
We believe every organization can plan like it means to win.
At the heart of every strong organization is a movement, and a movement runs on a core belief. Strategize is our premier strategic planning process. We approach it like a campaign: with a story, a base of people who love your work, a clear goal, and something for every person to do.
You don't have to rewrite the mission statement to get strategic. Sometimes the answer is to double down on who you are, with more clarity and more courage.
A different kind of plan.
A traditional plan often puts people last. In a Strategize plan, your people are in every step.
| A traditional plan | A Strategize plan |
|---|---|
| Executive summary | Audience mapping: who are your people? |
| Organizational overview | Message: what is your truth? |
| Analysis (SWOT) | PESTLE with your community: what do the people around you see? |
| SMART goals | Goal setting: one macro-level goal, one scoreboard |
| Operational plan and financials | The strategic priorities and a workplan that fits the team you have. |
| Team (people are last) | Your people included at every step. |
A four step process to building your movement
Step 1: Reflect.
Assessment and messaging architecture.
Before we decide where you are going, we look at where you have been. We open with a retreat, then assess your communications and brand, and listen to the people who love your work through one-on-one conversations across your staff, board, funders, volunteers, partners and the people you serve. Then we help you name your core belief and write the story of who you are and the future you believe in.
- Opening retreat with your inner circle
- Assessment of your communications and brand
- Listening conversations across your community
- A key insights report to guide your message
- Messaging architecture: the stories and key messages that help you speak to your people
Step 2: Plan.
PESTLE analysis with your community, and goal setting.
With your truth clearly defined, we decide where to go. We open with a retreat to ground in the goal setting framework and to plan together how to engage your community in the process. Then we run a PESTLE analysis with your community: the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental forces around your work. It is your chance to learn from the people you serve, and to earn their buy-in to the goal before it is set. Then we set your goal. Plan ends with one macro-level goal for your organization or your campaign, a goal that can organize all of your work.
- Opening retreat with your inner circle
- PESTLE analysis with your community, so you learn what they see and need
- Goal setting, with your community in the room, so they own the goal
- One macro-level goal for your organization or campaign, your scoreboard, that everyone can see
Step 3: Activate.
Three strategic initiatives and a work plan that fits your team.
A plan only matters if people do the work. We open with a retreat for the people doing the work to provide space for reflection on current processes. Then we identify the strategic initiatives that will make the goal real, ones your teams can act on. The result is a work plan that fits your current staff, your capacity and your resources, with tactics, owners and a rhythm of accountability. We finish with 4 to 6 weeks of coaching, so the project management training turns into habits your team actually uses.
- Opening retreat with your team
- Your goal operationalized into strategic initiatives
- A work plan built around your current staff, capacity and resources: tactics, owners and timelines
- Meeting rhythms that keep the goal in view
- 4 to 6 weeks of coaching to make sure project management training is being put to use
- A celebration to launch the plan
Step 4: Live.
Your plan, in your hands.
When Activate is done, you have a plan, a scoreboard and a team that knows its part. From there, you Live it. Your organization carries the plan forward on its own, with the confidence and the habits to keep going. That is the point. We want you to need us less, not more.
Every step we guide begins with a retreat.
A retreat gives your leaders time and space to think together, away from the inbox. Each one runs about a day and a half to three days. We plan all of it: the agenda, the activities, the materials and the logistics. You show up ready to think and talk.
We recommend staying overnight, because the best ideas often come over dinner or on a walk. If you prefer, we can do the whole process locally and adjust the retreat to fit your place and your schedule.
- We plan everything. Agenda, activities, materials and logistics are ours to handle.
- Overnight is best. We recommend it. It is not required.
- Local works too. We can hold every retreat close to home if that suits you better.
- Venue, lodging and meals are included. When you choose the retreat option, the venue, lodging and meals are built into your final fee. There are no surprise add-ons.
How it starts, step by step
- Book a free consultation. Tell us about your organization and pick a time. It is 30 minutes and it is free.
- Talk it through. We listen, ask questions, and see together whether Strategize is the right fit.
- Get a proposal. You receive a written proposal shaped to your staff, board and community. It is good for 90 days.
- Begin. We plan your opening retreat and start with Reflect.
What you get
- A report on what your community told us
- Your core belief and messaging architecture
- A PESTLE analysis with your community, and one macro-level goal they helped shape
- Three strategic initiatives and a work plan that fits your current staff, capacity and resources
- 4 to 6 weeks of coaching so project management training is put to use
- Three retreats, each planned and run by SYT, with venue, lodging and meals included when you choose the retreat option
- The confidence to live the plan on your own
Ready to plan like you mean to win?
Strategize starts with a free conversation. Tell us about your organization, and we will set up a time to talk.
