Planning for Success
Module
Eight
Reflecting on the Previous Session
• What was most useful from the previous
session?
• What progress have you made since
the previous session (such as
homework activities)?
• Any other comments or questions about the
previous session?
Session Overview
• Refining the Goal
• Identifying the ABCs of
Success
• Selecting Strategies
• Planning for Action
REFINING THE GOAL
Elements to Consider
National &
Regional
Data
Past &
Potential
Strategies
Community
Input
Regional
Goals
Regional
Assets
Potential
Barriers
IDENTIFYING THE ABCS OF
SUCCESSFUL PLANNING
Making Changes that Matter
Do You Know Your ABCs?
Attitudes,
Knowledge,
and Skills
Behavior
Conditions
Short Term
Intermediate
Long Term
Outcomes
Success
Moving Forward:
Start with the End in Mind
Successful planning means
thinking with the end goal in mind.
Success
Condition: Long-Term Outcome
Conditions are the overarching changes that
you hope to see as a result of your efforts.
Changes in conditions
take the longest to achieve.
How long to achieve?
Typically 5 or more years
Examples of Regional Conditions
•
•
•
•
Reducing the unemployment rate
Reducing outmigration of youth
Reducing rate of poverty
Improving the high school
graduation rate
• Expanding entrepreneurs/small
businesses activities
• Increasing the number of jobs
paying good, livable wages
Your Plan:
Start with the End in Mind
• Imagine that you have been successfully
addressing your regional goals for 5 years.
• What do you hope is different in your region?
• What condition do you hope to change?
Conditions
Success
Behaviors: Intermediate Outcomes
Behaviors are concrete actions that individuals
or groups take. Conditions change as a
result of changed behavior by individuals or
groups.
These require doing something.
How long to achieve?
Typically 1-2 years
Behavior Changes May Involve:
•
•
•
•
•
Individuals
Businesses
Government
Communities
Nonprofits
Examples of Individual Behaviors
Individuals may need to:
• Finish High School
• Complete Job Training
• Practice Effective Job
Skills
Examples of Business Behaviors
Businesses may need to:
• Develop a web presence
• Join and participate in a
business network or
cooperative
• Advertise effectively
Examples of Government Behaviors
Government may need to:
• Offer incentives for
new/expanding businesses
• Create incubators to foster
new business growth
• Expand services to existing
businesses
Your Plan:
Go back to the condition you identified.
What behaviors need to change to reach
that condition?
Who needs to participate in those changes?
Behavior
Conditions
Success
Attitudes, Knowledge, and Skills:
Short-Term Outcomes
Attitudes, knowledge and skills
are elements that individuals or groups can
learn or develop in a rather short time.
These require
“brain power”
or new learning.
How long to achieve?
Typically within the first 6-12 months
Individuals May Need To:
Attitude/Knowledge/Skill
• Believe in the Value
of a High School
Diploma
• Know How to
Access Job Training
• Learn Job Skills
Behavior
In Order To:
In Order To:
In Order To:
Work Toward
Finishing High
School
Enroll in Job
Training
Practice Effective
Job Skills
Businesses May Need To:
Attitude/Knowledge/Skill
• Learn How to Create
and Manage a Website.
• Understand the Benefits
of Business Networks
• Learn How to Conduct a
Market Analysis.
Behavior
In Order To:
In Order To:
In Order To:
Develop a Web
Presence
Participate in
Business Alliance
or Cooperative
Advertise
Effectively
Government May Need To:
Attitude/Knowledge/Skill
Behavior
• Know how to structure
• Offer incentives for
In Order To:
incentives
new or expanding
businesses
• Value the importance
of entrepreneurship/
• Create incubators to
In Order To:
small business
foster new business
development
growth
• Learn common factors
• Expand appropriate
that concern existing In Order To:
services to support
businesses.
existing businesses.
Your Plan: One More Step Back
In order to get to the behaviors that you
want to change, what attitudes, skills
or knowledge need to change?
Attitudes,
Knowledge,
and Skills
Behavior
Conditions
Success
SELECTING STRATEGIES
Outputs: What We Do
Outputs
Our
Regional
Team
Does
Things
• Workshops
• Counseling
• Technical Assist.
• Materials
To/for/
with
People
• Clients
• Stakeholders
• Partners
• Businesses
ABCs
Strategies: Key Questions
Which ones will:
• Come closest to producing the desired
outcomes (ABCs)?
• Be most appealing to your target
audience?
• Make the best uses of resources and
strengths (assets)? Help overcome
key barriers?
• Maximize positive and minimize
negative impacts for the region?
Your Plan: Select Best Strategies
• Weigh all possible strategies
• Select best fit to your regional
ABCs
• Double check the solutions
against your asset mapping


Connecting the Pieces
Should Tell a Logical Story
Strategy
Attitudes,
Knowledge,
and Skills
Behavior
Conditions
Success
Example
Should Tell a Logical Story
Strategy
Attitudes,
Knowledge,
and Skills
Web
training
& tech
assist.
Participants
learn the
value of
website
Behavior
Conditions
Participants
build
website
Participants
see
increased
revenue
Success
Stronger
Small
Business
Base
Your Plan: Checking the Story
• Does your strategy match
your ABCs?
• You should be able to tell a
logical story that moves from
your strategy, through your
ABCs, to the success you
anticipate.
Inputs: The Engine
Inputs = Assets
Individuals, organizations, and resources
that you will need in order
to implement your strategy
Your Plan: Inputs
• Identify your Inputs:
 What organizations are contributing?
 What individuals are contributing?
• Are there missing pieces? If
so, who can help with these?
PLANNING FOR ACTION
Developing a Plan of Action
Four Key Elements:
•
Specific steps to be carried out
•
Person who will take leadership
for each step
•
Realistic timetable for
completion of each step
•
Regular checkpoints to ensure
progress & address barriers
Your Plan:
Gearing Up for Action
Final Reflections
What are the takeaways from
this module?
• What topics did you find most
helpful?
• What did you find confusing?
• What do you hope to implement as
part of your regional team’s
activities?
• Other items you want to mention?
Homework
For each regional goal, complete a:
• Planning Chart
• Plan of Work
These will form the foundation for the
final Module: Measuring for Success.
Looking Ahead: Module Nine
•
•
•
•
•
Exploring the Value of Measuring
Deciding What to Measure
Using Measures to Promote Success
Tracking Appropriate Measures
Creating a Regional Plan for
Measuring Success