A RESULTS ORIENTED APPROACH TO STRATEGIC PLANNING
Who Are You?
What is your core business? /What Business Are You In?
“PEM is in the business of reducing unemployment among sheltered, homeless people.”
“The Bargain Box is in the business of redistributing clothing, household goods, and net profits
to those in need.”
Definitions to identify your business can come in three varieties:
Definition by what you are. We are a nonprofit employment service providing assistance six
hours a day, five days a week to those whose incomes place them below the poverty level until
they are employed. We have an operating budget of $180,000 and have 6 employees.
Definition by what you do. We teach job hunting skills. We write resumes. We provide
transportation to interviews and job opportunities. We match job-hunters with resources
necessary to meet needs which prevent them from being employable.
Definition by what you achieve. Last year 54 homeless men and women were employed at an
average wage of $8.00 an hour for an average of 30 hours a week generating $673,920.00 in
annual income enabling them to be either less dependent upon assistance or totally selfsufficient. Definition by achievement is vastly preferable and need not be lengthy.
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Traditional strategic plans focus on two elements: the product and the process. The outcome
based plan is measured by
RESULTS
From an outcome perspective, the value of a strategic plan is neither the quality of the document
nor the process used to develop it. Rather, a good plan is a plan that gets results
The strategy is to shift from control of inputs to control of outcomes (RESULTS)
Outcome-based plans neither recommend nor prescribe action. They enable and prompt it.
TARGETS
Outcome-based strategic planning suggests that by having targets to hold constant, organizations
are more encouraged to change their activity, and their strategy.
1. Targets are very different from most goal statements, which represent intention but not
commitment.
2. They are different from most objectives, which refer to what will be done but not what
will be achieved.
3. Targets are specific, ambitious, and verifiable accomplishments.
By implementing this plan, we will reduce from 600 to 550 the number of unemployed,
sheltered, homeless people in New Hanover County.
4. Strategic plan targets reflect a level of gain that an organization believes it can “pull off”
with its own resources.
Three Questions to Answer for Each Program
1. How do you define success? (What are the results from your services?)
a. This question requires clarity about results.
b. It is not concerned about the process or the activities
c. 50 sheltered, homeless people will be employed in long-term employment by Dec.
31, 2010
2. How do you know for sure when success has been achieved?
a. This questions requires verification
b. What evidence do you have to confirm success?
c. The date of employment, the employer and the wage paid has been recorded
d. Now I can say that 50 people were employed at an average wage of $8.0/hr
working an average of 30 hours a week for a total income of $624,000.00
3. When you are midway through your program, how do you know that you have
enough time and money to accomplish the success you defined?
a. This question requires tracking progress by identifying the participant’s progress
toward the gain they are striving to achieve
b. 25 sheltered, homeless people were employed by June 30, 2010
c. Financial statements indicate that funds sufficient to run the program have been
received
d. Anticipated incomes are sufficient to carry the program to completion