At the first meeting of the Strategic Plan Update Task Force we asked the members to share their experience with a “plan that worked”. Members shared a lot of examples of personal plans that they had made and what aspects worked well for them. Although it was not initially our goal to record this information (we really just wanted to use it as an icebreaker), it really generated a great list of components of any good planning efforts. Below is a list of some of the key components I was able to distill from the discussion. My hope is that we can learn from them and use them to help guide our future planning efforts. Please feel free to comment if there is something that I have missed.
Good planning should:
- Be done in “bite-sized” pieces that (if necessary) increase in complexity through time
- Be consistent and follow agreed upon “rules”
- Have specific goals in mind
- Have realistic timelines, but also be flexible to allow for adaption to change
- Be developed in context with the environment/community in which they exist
- Focus on what needs to get done
- Leave room for uncertainty
- Recognize and incorporate physical and personal connections with related plans and people
- Incorporate reminders and a physical component (its not all mental)
- Involve teamwork
Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and experiences!