Strategic Planning: Essential
Process Elements
MSU Planning/Budgeting Retreat
August 15, 2005
Larry Goldstein
President, Campus Strategies
August 15, 2005
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Agenda
Essential process elements
Resource allocation model
Questions, comments, and reactions
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Leadership
President’s role
Cabinet
Informal leaders
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Credible Planning Task Force
Reputation
Diversity
Co-chairs
CFO involvement—preferably co-chair
Don’t limit to just the “usual suspects”
Internal “operations” champion
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Guiding Principles
Inclusive
Participative
Truth
Widely distributed information
Robust communication
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Faculty Engagement
Essential to success
Delicate balance
Desirable as co-chair
Designed cross-boundary input / dialogue
Rely on existing communication forums to
inform and listen
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Institutional Trust
Where is it on a 1 to 10 scale?
Essential when decisions are being made
Enhance trust with well-designed, inclusive
planning process
Task force is key
Senior leadership establishes / defines level of
trust within institution
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Effective Communication
Systems
Transparency
Multiple communication vehicles
“Chews and chats”
Accessible to all
Need mechanism to capture feedback
Technology and face-to-face
Rumor Mill
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Well-organized Process
Avoid excessive “planning to plan”
Set a realistic schedule
Explain how communication will occur
Update periodically
Interactive meetings
Don’t neglect informal leaders…
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External Perspectives
Watch for excessive inward focus
Future Timeline is an example of external
perspective
Use internal networks
Good data are essential to good decisions
Pay attention to national trends
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Lessons Learned
System Office considerations
Only half of effort is planning—balance is
improving communications, collaboration,
community
Consultants should build organizational
capacity; not drive process
Marketing is not strategic planning…
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Lessons Learned (contd.)
CFO needs to communicate without using
jargon
Understand the past and present before
considering the future
Create a shared picture of the future that
builds on mission, is worthy of people’s
commitment, and actualizes values
Doing this well is hard work!
August 15, 2005
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Resource Allocation
Must develop framework for resource
allocation decisions
Consistent with culture
Consistent with priorities
Faithful to established process
Based on data / measurement
One possibility…
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Sneak Preview
Ratio Analysis in Higher Education:
Measuring Past Performance to Chart Future
Direction, Fourth Edition—Independent
Institutions, KPMG & Prager Sealy (1999)
Coming this fall
– Strategic Financial Analysis for Higher
Education, Sixth Edition, KPMG, Prager
Sealy & Co., LLC, and BearingPoint
August 15, 2005
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Relationship of Finances
to Mission (Quadrants)
Financial
Performance
Q3
Important
Q1
Critical
Q4
Less
Important
Q2
Very
Important
Mission
Source: BearingPoint / Prager Sealy, Sixth edition of Ratio Analysis (draft)
August 15, 2005
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Relationship of Market
to Competencies (Sectors)
Market
Trends
S3
Important
S1
Critical
S4
Less
Important
S2
Very
Important
Internal Competencies
Source: BearingPoint / Prager Sealy, Sixth edition of Ratio Analysis (draft)
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Process
Assess all programs on finance / mission and
market trends / competencies
Plot finance / mission result on quadrants
Plot market trends / competencies on sectors
Outcome is one of 16 possible combinations
Use the results to make investment /
disinvestment decisions
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Essential Process Elements
Questions, Comments,
and Reactions
Larry.Goldstein@Campus-Strategies.com
540.942.9146
August 15, 2005
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