This document introduces a 7 part planning toolkit from THINK Consulting Solutions. The toolkit includes guides on planning cycles, understanding the internal and external environment, crafting strategic objectives, developing alternatives, managing people, budgets, and implementation. Each part contains tools to navigate different stages of planning. The goal is to bring together all aspects of developing and executing a plan into a coherent process.

1. THINK Consulting Solutions
Welcome to the Planning Toolkit:
this is number 1 of 7

2. The THINK planning toolkit
There are seven toolkits in
this THINK mini series,
designed to help you
navigate your way
through planning.
1. Planning cycles; 2. The Truth; 3. Assertions;
4. Alternatives; 5.People; 6. Money; 7. Fulfil.

3. Health warning:
Misuse of planning tools can lead to a
ridiculous and un-implementable plan.

4. Toolkit 1 of 7: Planning Cycle
Adopting a Planning Cycle enables you to bring together
all aspects of devising and delivering a plan into a
coherent, unified process - mapped out over an agreed
timeframe.
Planning Cycles can be adapted to work at different
levels within an organisation and for different types of
plans e.g. an income generation plan may place financial
parameters at the beginning (how will we meet this
target), the middle (where will this get us to) or the end
(how much will this enable us to raise). The can also be
used at different levels to help .

5. A Modern
Planning Cycle
Source: Seth Godin

6. Source: Seth Godin

7. all the salient facts – internal
and external brought
together and analysed
Source: Seth Godin

8. the heart:
strategic
objectives,
outcomes,
targets etc.
Source: Seth Godin

9. plan b – what to do
if plan a does not
work out
Source: Seth Godin

10. the key element:
who we have / who
we need to deliver
– competencies
and attitudes
Source: Seth Godin

11. income, expenditure
and all other associated
money issues
e.g. resourcing
Source: Seth Godin

12. THINK’s addition...
Source: Seth Godin with a little help from THINK

13. giving it life THINK’s addition...
Source: Seth Godin with a little help from THINK

14. Traditional
Planning Cycle
budget

15. The THINK planning toolkit
There are seven toolkits in
this THINK mini series,
designed to help you
navigate your way
through planning.
1. Planning cycles; 2. Truth; 3. Assertions;
4. Alternatives; 5.People; 6. Money; 7. Fulfil.

16. Here at THINK we all hope that
you enjoyed toolkit 1 of 7 and
found it useful.
If you need any help with any of
the aspects of this toolkit, please
do contact strategy@thinkcs.org

17. Toolkit 2 of 7: The Truth
Getting to The Truth enables you to understand your
world as it is.
The Truth toolkit includes a range of tools that will
support you to review the external and internal
environment e.g. PESTLE analysis, defining competitors,
comparators and benchmarks, carrying out a SWOT
analysis leading to an understanding of bridges and
barriers, how to map stakeholders and dependencies as
well as how to analyse your portfolio including the
BOSTON matrix. Etc. Etc.

18. Toolkit 3 of 7: The Assertions
Devising your strategic Assertions is critical to getting to
the heart of what it is you want to do.
The Assertions toolkit includes a range of tools that will
provide you with the skills to craft strategic assertions
from figuring out what frameworks might work like the
balanced scorecard, logframes, OGSM etc right through
to how you might want to present your objectives in a
way that is smart. Etc. Etc.

19. Toolkit 4 of 7: The Alternatives
As Robert Burns said, The best laid schemes o' Mice an'
Men, Gang aft agley’, or in planning terms, if it doesn’t
work out as you intended you will need Alternatives.
The Alternatives toolkit includes a range of tools that
will help you to figure out what parts of your plan are at
most likely to be impacted on by internal and external
factors through the use of risk registers and how to
mitigate against the challenges these identify, as well as
how to create realistic Alternatives through scenario
planning. Etc. Etc.

20. Toolkit 5 of 7: People
We all know that our People – what they do, how they
behave and their attitudes - define how we work and
our likelihood of success.
The People toolkit includes a suite of approaches to help
you figure out your staff and volunteers from traditional
models like Belbin and Myers Briggs that help us see our
strengths and weaknesses and figure out how to work
together, through to leadership models as well as ways
to look at the impact of organisational culture and how
to create change. Etc. Etc.

21. Toolkit 6 of 7: The Money
Everyone in THINK comes from an income generation
background and we know better than anyone that any
plan in our sector scrutinises The Money.
The Money toolkit contains all you need to figure out
budgets, margins of error in discipline specific
fundraising plans, acceptable ROI, corrective action.
Etc. Etc.

22. Toolkit 7 of 7: Fulfilment
The Fulfilment toolkit is a THINK addition to the great
thinking of Seth Godin.
We recognise that any strategy is only as good as its
Fulfilment or implementation and we have a range of
tools that will help you effectively do that such as the
Denning Cycle, how to set strategic and tactical kpis,
effective monitoring and evaluation programmes.
etc. etc.

23. Toolkit 2 of 7: The Truth
Getting to The Truth enables you to understand your
world as it is.
The Truth toolkit includes a range of tools that will
support you to review the external and internal
environment e.g. PESTLE analysis, defining competitors,
comparators and benchmarks, carrying out a SWOT
analysis leading to an understanding of bridges and
barriers, how to map stakeholders and dependencies as
well as how to analyse your portfolio including the
BOSTON matrix. It also looks at how you can keep
abreast of trends. Etc. Etc.

24. For more information or if
you have suggestions for
the toolkits please contact:
THINK Consulting Solutions
Central office: +44 (0)1280 824297
E-mail: strategy@thinkcs.org

25. If you would like to be kept up-to-
date with THINK developments,
please email admin@thinkcs.org
with a request that we add you to
the list of people that we regularly
keep up to date with current
THINKing.
Thank you.