1. The document discusses strategic planning for economic development organizations. It provides guidance on developing a strategic plan including conducting research, identifying priorities and goals, developing strategies and actions, and establishing performance measures. 2. Key components of the strategic planning process covered include conducting a SWOT analysis, developing a vision and goals, prioritizing issues, selecting strategic initiatives, and outlining implementation steps. 3. The presentation emphasizes that an effective strategic plan must be based on research, address identified priorities and problems, and include accountability through measurable outcomes.

1. Dr. David R. Kolzow
Team Kolzow, Inc.

2.  Is planning important to our daily lives?
 Is planning important for the future of our
communities?
 Do economic development organizations
need to plan?
 Are these obvious questions?
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Failing to plan is planning to fail

4.  What makes planning “strategic?”
 Why is a “comprehensive” plan not
necessarily a “strategic” plan?
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5.  Design
 Assess
 Envision
 Prioritize
 Strategize
 Evaluate
 Modify
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6.  Takes a proactive rather than reactive approach
 More likely to result in the solution of difficult problems
 Provides a more efficient process for reallocating resources
to meet changing conditions
 Creates a forum of dialogue between stakeholders and local
development organizations and government agencies
 Serves as an education to stakeholders about the operation
of the organization and why certain programs are important
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7.  Provides an opportunity to focus on the forest
rather than the trees
 Emphasizes taking time out from the “urgent” to
do what’s “important”
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 What benefits have you found strategic
planning to have for your community?
 What problems have you encountered?

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 Why do community leaders often tend to
wait to see what the future will bring rather
than try to influence that future?
 Do you want to “manage change” (exciting)
or be at the mercy of it (depressing)?

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WEED PATCH
 Unplanned
 Unpredictable Change
 Movement and Activity
 Reactive
GARDEN
 Planned
 Improvement
 Progress
 Proactive
or

11.  How much control do the community’s
development organizations have over the
business investment decision?
 What is the role of the ED organization
regarding business investment and job
creation?
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The process is facilitated through:
 Developing a skilled workforce
 Investing in the physical infrastructure
 Attracting new jobs at higher wages
 Improving the business environment
 Availability of marketable land and buildings
 Restoring a healthier natural environment
 Enhancing the local quality of life
 Promoting the community and region

13.  Who Are We?
 Who DoWeWant to Be?
 How DoWe GetThere?
 How DoWe Know If We GotThere?
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15.  The economic region served by the E.D.
organization:
 What are our locational assets and liabilities?
 As viewed by local leadership
 As viewed by outside investors
 The economic development organization:
 What are our organization’s strengths and
weaknesses?
 As viewed by local leadership
 As viewed by clients and prospects
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 Leadership survey
 Citizen survey
 Business survey
SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang

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 Information Inventory
 Analyzing the Local Economy
 S.W.O.T. Analysis

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 Demographic trends
 Income trends
 Labor force trends
 Employment base
 Retail trends
 What drives our local and regional economy?
 What do these trends tell us about our future
if we continue on our present course?

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 What unique or strong assets do we have that
are competitive?
 What is hindering our ability to compete?
 Opportunities – potential target industries
 Threats:
 Globalization
 Knowledge-based economy
 Economic slowdown
 Transformation of manufacturing & distribution
 Skilled labor shortages
 Etc.

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What are other communities doing to be more
competitive?
How does our community compare to similar
communities?
What do our ED organizations need to do to be
more effective and competitive?

21.  The organization must know what its
capabilities and capacities are before it
can decide what it’s strategic plan should
pursue:
 Managing expectations
 Dealing with realities
 Not “biting off more than it can chew”
 Reducing disappointment due to lack of
results
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23. “There is no more powerful engine driving an
organization (or region) toward excellence and long-
range success than an attractive, worthwhile, and
achievable vision of the future, widely shared.” (Burt
Nanus, Visionary Leadership)
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24. What’s the difference between a vision
statement for a region and for an
organization?
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25. What/who should be the primary source of a
regional vision?
For an organization’s vision?
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 Not much changes in a community that isn’t desired
by key leadership – true or false?
 What do local leaders bring to the visioning and
strategic planning process that the typical residents
don’t?

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 Widely shared
 Clearly articulated
 Strongly committed to
 Challenging but attainable
 Highly desirable; a substantial improvement
on the present
 Concise and memorable

29. 29
PERSONAL
VISION
PERSONAL
VISION
PERSONAL
VISION
COMMUNICATION
SHARED
VISION
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30.  TheTennessee Valley Region is a globally
competitive community, as evidenced by its
outstanding education system, its highly
educated and skilled workforce, a highway and
transportation system that provides smooth
traffic flow and connectedness with the rest of the
U.S. and the world, its affordable and high quality
health care system, an outstanding quality of life,
and a high level of cooperation and collaboration
among the various local governments and
stakeholders that serve the region.
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31. Visioning clarifies what the organization or region
wants to become and where it wants to go;
Strategic planning clarifies how the vision will be
achieved
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 On what issues should
the strategic plan be
focused?
 To what do we need to be
paying most attention if
we are going to achieve
our vision?
 Given our resources and
our economic realities,
what can we and should
we attempt to
accomplish?

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 Balancing:
Leadership concerns
Business investment concerns
Community concerns
Local government concerns

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 Review past studies
 Conduct competitive assessment
 Survey employers
 Use a task force of key leaders
 Survey the community and/or its leaders
 Conduct a workshop/retreat

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 Who should be
invited?
 How should they be
invited?
 Where should it be?
 Who will make
arrangements?
 Who will help
facilitate?
 What resources will
be needed?

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 Introductions
 Ground rules
 Education on major
trends
 Findings of surveys and
assessments
 Visioning process
 Identification of priority
issues
 Reviewing the “path
forward”

38.  2,500 new primary jobs resulting in 4,875
total jobs, paying $37K annually
 Generate direct payroll totaling $172,975,000
annually from new or expanding businesses
in targeted sectors
 Increase new capital investment by
$150,000,000
 Encourage 25 new business startups with
innovative or tech-related concepts
 Recruit 25 “best-fit” companies
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39. 1. The region’s standard of living as reflected in its per
capita income has grown faster than that of the State
2. The regional economy has a healthy diversity that
enables it to weather economic downturns and that
continues to create wealth
3. The quality of life continues to be a major draw for
business and residents
4. The recruitment of new business and industry is
targeted to those that have a “best fit” with the assets
of the region, are high growth, and provide higher
paying wages
5. The region provides strong support for
entrepreneurial activity (an entrepreneurial culture)
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40. 1. Need for equal educational quality county-wide that
is at a consistently high level.
2. Expansion of hospital and medical facilities in the
County.
3. A stronger level of cooperation and collaboration
among government entities and development
organizations.
4. Maintaining a highly desirable quality of life in the
County.
5. Improvement of transportation between the east and
west areas of the County.
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41. 6. Traffic congestion in the major highway corridors,
especially during rush hours.
7. Improved job training opportunities for workers
seeking advanced workplace skills.
8. Increased focus on attracting a diversity of
economic activity.
9. Increased availability of quality housing for young
professionals and technology workers.
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42.  Who should set the priorities for the organization?
 What role do the local/regional priorities play in
setting the E.D. organization’s priorities?
 If the priorities of the Board and stakeholders are not
in agreement with those of the organization’s
executive director and staff, what should be done to
remedy the situation?
 Goals should reflect the organization’s priorities as
well as those of region.
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43. 1. The recruitment activity of the MEP is focused on those
employers with higher than average wages and that
provide expanded opportunities for the “underemployed”
and more skilled and educated workforce
2. MEP has an effective business retention and expansion
program, and works closely with existing business and
industry to help them grow
3. Our regional economic development program is
aggressive and effective in its efforts to attract and retain
job growth and capital investment
4. We target those firms that help to diversify and grow the
regional economy
5. We have expanded funding opportunities for entrepreneurs
by developing venture capital and “angel” networks
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44.  Find a time and place that maximizes stakeholder
participation in a workshop
 Before or during the workshop, provide information and
background to stakeholders so they can have a more
realistic perspective
 Structure the meeting/workshop/retreat environment so
that priorities for the organization can be identified in an
effective manner
 Rank order priorities so relative importance of each can be
determined
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45. 45
Obstacles are those frightful things you see
when you take your eyes off your goal.
Henry Ford
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 Issues and problems tend to be negative in nature;
they are questions looking for answers
 Goals tend to be positive statements about the
future; they reflect the achieving of a condition or
status that is desirable
 Start the action development process with problems
and their causes; convert issues into goals for the
written strategic plan

47.  Goal 1: The marketing and promotional efforts of
MCEDA have successfully resulted in attracting new and
diverse business investment and the creation of higher
wage employment. This diversity builds on the mix of
existing manufacturing operations, and expands the
outreach to business and professional firms, office
operations, distribution, and defense contractors.
 Goal 2: The educational and training system in Morgan
County is continuing to prepare the local workforce for the
job skills needed now and into the future.
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48.  Improving organizational accountability
 Defining desired outcomes that can be measured
 Determining performance measures that can
demonstrate progress and achievement
Everybody is in favor of progress. It’s the change they
don’t like.
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49. Well written
outcomes are
SMART:
 S pecific
 M easurable
 A ggressive, but
Attainable
 R esult-oriented
 T ime-bound
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50.  Goal: The organization is adequately funded to achieve the
implementation of its action plan.
 Outcome: Within the next 12 months, the executive director
and Board will raise $1 million in public and private sector
monies for the organization’s funding.
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51. 51
“Strategies that don’t make use of identified strategic
advantages, address key priorities, or resolve
major problems aren’t really strategies, just nice
ideas.”
What do you think
we ought to do?
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 Develop consensus from the leadership on the
priority development issues that need to be
addressed
 Research these issues and possible actions that can
be taken
 Develop a set of “strategic” actions for each priority
issue/goal

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 If local problems were easily solved, strategic
planning wouldn’t be necessary
 Solving problems and resolving issues requires
“innovative” thinking; out-of-the-box
 Actions need to be potentially effective in addressing
local priorities if they are to be strategic
 Frequently, local leaders tend to come up with the
same things that they are familiar with rather than
new ideas
 New ideas can come from focused facilitation,
research, and outside expertise

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Problem: Manufacturing jobs are decreasing locally
Causes:
 Low and moderate wage manufacturing jobs are going
overseas
 Increased use of technology reducing need for workers
 Companies increasingly serving a global market
 Local workforce doesn’t possess necessary work skills for
high technology industries
An expensive recruitment effort, by itself, may not be
the answer

55.  Goal: New business parks are in various stages of quality
development.
 Outcome: A minimum of 200 acres of new business parks in
the City are attractively developed and offer a variety of high
quality options to meet the space needs of new and expanding
firms.
Strategic Action 1: The organization will form a “Real Estate
Action Team” to guide the organization in the planning and
development of new business parks and commercial areas.
 Performance measure: Team organized and chartered with an
adopted schedule of meetings
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56.  Organizational goals and
priority issues
 Creating maximum
positive impact for the
organization’s programs
 Amount & type of
resources available
 Level of commitment of
organization’s leadership
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57. STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
• Organization must use critical thinking and
research when selecting initiatives
(strategic actions)
• Too many initiatives cause the organization
to lose focus
• A good strategic initiative clearly addresses
the priority issue/goal.
• Management must communicate carefully
regarding the initiatives that are selected.
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58.  Action words to avoid:
Promote
Encourage
Focus on
Pursue
Enhance
Review
Continue to use
Study
Collaborate with
 These words lack accountability
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59.  Who is responsible for implementation?
 How much will it take to do?
 What kind of resources and staffing will it
take?
 What is the timeframe?
 What will we gain from it; what will be the
benefit?
 How will we measure our progress?
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60. 60
 Why is a written strategic plan important to
the community or region?
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61.  Organization assessment and mission statement (Who are
we?)
 Vision statement (Who do we want to become?)
 Goals and outcomes (priority issues) (Where do we want
to go?)
 Strategies (How do we get there?)
Staff responsibilities
Funding needs and sources
Timing
Desired impact or results
 Evaluation & adjustment procedures (How will we know if
we got there? )
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 Volunteers and citizens do not implement
most strategic actions; organizations do
 Each strategic action requires a clearly
identified organization to take on the
responsibility of implementation
 Each organization responsible for some
phase of activity needs to buy-in to their role
in the implementation
 Some overview group is usually desirable to
monitor and coordinate implementation
among the organizations

63. 1. Review the local/regional assessment
2. Determine the key elements of leadership’s vision
for the area
3. Determine leadership’s development priorities:
a) Survey
b) Workshop
4. Translate priorities into goals and measurable
outcomes
5. Develop strategic actions for each goal
6. Determine organizational responsibility for each
goal
7. Set up oversight committee
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65.  What’s the difference between a strategic plan and
an organization work plan?
 Why is the work plan crucial to the effective
implementation of the strategic plan?
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66.  Managing use of staff time and talent on projects
 Allocating organizational resources effectively
 Expending funds according to budget
 Staying within the timing constraints
 Knowing where each project is in terms of
progress and achievement
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67. TASK Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
Prepare leader
survey
Identify local
leaders
E-mail leader
survey
Phone follow-up
Tabulate results
Publish results
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 Reassessing priorities
 Reallocating resources
 Changing programs and activities
 Modifying the basic plan

69. 69
“It is the successful transformation of the
community (or organization) that is
ultimately important; not the successful
implementation of the plan.”
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70.  Telephone:
 615-972-4801 – Dr. David Kolzow
 E-mail:
 drkolzow@bellsouth.net
 Address:
Team Kolzow, Inc.
505 Leicester Ct.
FranklinTN 37067
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