Presented at OLA 2011 Superconference: Why library strategic planning goes wrong, and how to prevent it

1. OLA Super Conference 2011
Library Strategic Planning
Feb 2011
Presentation Notes from: OLA Conference: Feb. 5,
2011
Copyright: dmA Planning and Management
Services – Not to be reprinted, circulated or
presented without the prior written permission of
the dmA.
dmA Planning & Management Services Inc.

2. A Lost Opportunity?
 All planning is a good thing
 There are good Strategic Plans
 But there are also good plans
that are Not Strategic Plans –
and that is the lost opportunity
dmA Planning & Management Services

3. My Presentation
1. Planning 101 – Master Plans vs.
Strategic Plans
2. Strategic Plans – The Essential
Elements
3. Avoiding Lost Opportunities - -
Why Strategic Plans Fails
dmA Planning & Management Services

4. PART ONE
PLANNING 101 – Strategic Plans, Master Plans
and Management Plans

5. Three Simple Questions
1. What Do We Hope to
Accomplish by Providing
Library Services?
2. What Do We Need to Provide?
3. How Should We Provide It?
dmA Planning & Management Services

6. Three Different Answers
Strategic Plan
What We Hope to
Accomplish?
Master Plan Vision, Goals,
Strategic Management Plans
What Do We Need to Directions/
Action Plans How Will We Provide
Accomplish Our Facilities/Services to
Goals? Meet Our Goals?
Library Master Plan Marketing Plans
Feasibility Studies for New Organizational Reviews
Libraries Policy Analysis
Collection Development Staffing Review
Strategy
dmA Planning & Management Services

7. PART TWO
THE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF
STRATEGIC PLANNING

8. Overview: Steps in the
Master Planning Process
1. Where are we now? • Inventory
2. What factors will affect future • Demographics/Trends
demand? • Research/Benchmarks
3. What are other communities doing?
4. What does the public want? • Public Participation
• Recommendations –
5. What do we need to provide? Facilities, Services
• Fixed Term Review
6. When should we update our plan? or Funding Cycle
dmA Planning & Management Services

9. Overview: Steps in the
Strategic Planning Process
1. Where are we now?
• Situation Audit
2. How did we get in this situation?
• Environmental Scan
3. What will likely happen if we • Research
continue as we are?
• Vision Values
4. Where do we want to go?
• Goals
5. How do we get there? • Strategic Directions
• Action Plans
6. How do we know we’re there? • Monitoring
dmA Planning & Management Services

10. The Difference Between…
Master Planning & Strategic Planning
Where We Master Planning Where We
Are At Are Going
Strategic Planning Where We
Want to Be
dmA Planning & Management Services

11. Critical Balance in SP
Managing for Change Managing for Stability
• Adaptability • Desired features
• External Forces • Valued attributes
• Continued relevance • Core values
dmA Planning & Management Services

12. The Structure of the Strategic Plan
Situation Audit Environmental Scan
strengths/weaknesses opportunities/constraints
SWOT
Vision
Preferred future (Year 2025)
Retain all that is positive/essential
Change to prosper/remain relevant
Long Term Strategic Directions
Complementary Plans/Projects
Facilities and Services Plan
Short Term Action Plans Marketing strategy
Staff development/training
Ongoing customer satisfaction research
Monitoring & Evaluation
dmA Planning & Management Services

13. Definition of a Strategic Plan
Strategic Planning is the process by which the
guiding members of an organization envision its
future and develop the necessary procedures
and operations to achieve that future
dmA Planning & Management Services

14. PART FOUR
LOST OPPORTUNITIES – WHY STRATEGIC
PLANS FAIL

15. Five Lost Opportunities
1. Ineffective Vision
2. Limited Attention to Future Forecasting
3. Poor Leadership
4. Inappropriate Use of Community Input
5. Not Enough Time Committed to the
Planning Process
dmA Planning & Management Services

16. Why We Fail: Lost Opportunity 1
Ineffective Vision
dmA Planning & Management Services

17. “ Vision statements … are also
the most overused, abused, and
poorly written part of strategic
planning you will ever see”
Peter Wright
http://www.planningbootcamp.com
dmA Planning & Management Services

18. What a Vision is NOT
Lazy – a tagline or slogan
Familiar – a description of your library today
Boring – unimaginative, unexciting,
uninspiring
Self-Serving – focused on past
accomplishments rather than future
expectations (dreams)
dmA Planning & Management Services

19. An Effective Vision
 Addresses the SW and the OT in the
SWOT
 Communicates a Clear Picture of a
Preferred Future
 Focused on the Need for Major Changes
 Directly Tied to Goals / Strategic
Directions and Ultimately
Recommendations
dmA Planning & Management Services

20. Why We Fail: Lost Opportunity 2
Limited Attention to Future Forecasting
dmA Planning & Management Services

21. The Extreme Future
 Ability to predict and adapt to extreme
change
 Enlightened leadership – a bold new vision
 Investment in innovation
 Immigration and new lifestyles
 Global security threats – terror and global
democracy – free minds, free speech
 Quality public education
 Transformed workforce
dmA Planning & Management Services

22. My Four Rules of Forecasting
 #1 – Forecasts are incorrect as often as not
 #2 – There is no right answer – just differing
assumptions
 #3 – Forecasting is based on analysis not
guesswork – and you can often spot a bad
forecast
 #4 – Notwithstanding Rule #1 – any forecast is a
good thing if it makes you question your
assumptions; think creatively about the future;
and act to anticipate a different future
dmA Planning & Management Services

23. Why We Fail: Lost Opportunity 3
Poor Leadership
dmA Planning & Management Services

24. Leadership in Strategic Planning
“The only way a leader is going to
translate a vision into reality – an ability
that is the essence of leadership – is to
anchor, implement and execute that vision
through a variety of policies, practices,
procedures and systems that will bring in
people and empower them to implement
the vision”.
Warren Bennis
dmA Planning & Management Services

25. Why We Fail: Lost Opportunity 4
Inappropriate Use of Community Input
dmA Planning & Management Services

26. Community Consultation
“Consultation with the public at
large, and other stakeholders, is
a key element of this Plan”.
RFP for a Library Strategic Plan
dmA Planning & Management Services

27. Why We Fail: Lost Opportunity 5
Not Enough Time Committed to the Plan
dmA Planning & Management Services

28. The Structure of the Strategic Plan
Situation Audit Environmental Scan
strengths/weaknesses opportunities/constraints
SWOT
Vision
Preferred future (Year 2025)
Retain all that is positive/essential
Change to prosper/remain relevant
Long Term Strategic Directions
Complementary Plans/Projects
Facilities and Services Plan
Short Term Action Plans Marketing strategy
Staff development/training
Ongoing customer satisfaction research
Monitoring & Evaluation
dmA Planning & Management Services

29. Summing Up
dmA Planning & Management Services

30. A Good SP? Six Questions
1. Is it a Strategic Plan or a Master Plan?
2. Does the Vision describes a Library that
would not be recognized as your Library
today?
3. Did you forecast the future – address major
social/economic changes?
4. Does the Plan consider, and likely change,
key outcomes and priorities?
5. Does the Plan lead rather than follow public
opinion?
6. Does it reallocate resources?
dmA Planning & Management Services

31. Thank You
&
Your Questions
dmA Planning & Management Services