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WHY STRATEGIC PLANS FAIL

Strategic plans can fail due to their content, process, or both. Content-wise, plans may not be appropriately data-driven and/or be based on dated, subjective, biased thinking and assumptions. Process-wise, plans may notinclude input from all relevant stakeholders to ensure that 1) important perspectives from the “point of contact” with customers are considered and incorporated into the plan and 2) all parties who will be responsible for critical performance measures are committed to and share ownership of the plan.

Institutions of higher education operate in an industry that is extremely volatile and, in many ways, differs significantly from most other industries. Below are the most common reasons for failureof strategic planning in colleges and universities.

It’s Not A Strategic Plan

Some documents that call themselves strategic plans are simplyoperational plans without any strategic component. They focus solely on current operationswithout any vision for the future and simply focus on how to maintain the status quo to ensure continuity and survival.

Many strategic plans utilize the most recent strategic plan as a foundation and attempt to build on or simply continue it, usually without significant revision. This is usually done without any kind of data collection and/or analysis of trends over time relative to critical performance measures. Strategic planning requires the collection and analysis of new enrollment and performance data, assessment of trends in this data, and external benchmarking against competitor, peer, and aspirant institutions.

True strategic planning requires “starting from scratch” with an understanding of and appreciation for past planning efforts as well as what contributed to their success or underperformance.

People Involved (as well as Not Involved)

Strategic planning is often overseen and final approval given by Boardsof Trustees with significant input from the executive team which reports to the President (or Chancellor) of the institution. While Trustees, many of whom are alums, usually have a deep commitment to and financially support their institution, they usually have achieved their success in industries which are significantly different from higher education. More so, their deep loyalty to their institution and each other can often create a sense of "blindness" or “groupthink,” whereby they ignore the current realities their institution faces.

Strategic planning needs, but usually fails, to closely incorporate the experiences and perspectives of those who are closest to the “customer” (student). This oversight not only misinforms those who sign off on the plan of current realities but also can result in critical stakeholders who execute the plan (again, at the point of customer contact) not feeling invested in or committed to the plan. Strategic plans need to involve and gain the support and sense of ownership from every institutional stakeholderfrom the Board chair to hourly employees if plans are to be successful. Planning needs to clearly identify and understand where strategy is actually executed and gain input and commitment from thoseinvolved in these activities.

Resources

Implementation of initiatives related to strategic planning requires avariety of resources and identification of necessary resources needs to be undertaken to determine whether the institution already possesses these resources (as well as whether they need to be upgraded or enhanced) or whether they need to be acquired.

Strategic plans need to have an accompanying detailed financial plan which identifies resource availability and condition as well as plans for acquisition of new or enhanced resources.

Rigid and Inflexible

Strategic plans deal with future activity and hence involve making assumptions regarding future environmental conditions, including, but not limited to, competition, economic conditions, technology, and legal and political issues, which may impact the institution’s ability to realize its strategic objectives. As a result,strategic plans cannot be “carved in stone” and inflexible as assumptions made at the time plans are developed may or may not materialize. Unforeseen circumstances will likely materialize during the term of the plan and necessitate that organizations “pivot” and/or revise their plans to keep them feasible and realistic.

It is critical that during the planning process all assumptions related to factors both internal and external to the institution be identified and included in the plan. More so, revision of an existing plan is not a weakness but rather a sign of astute management. Strategic plans need to be “living” documents and regularly assessed via interim progress measures taken periodically during their lives.

Goals

Strategic plans, particularly those found in institutions of higher education, often contain goals that sound lofty and eloquent but are meaningless in reality. While such goals may sound good they are usually also subjective, ambiguous, and provide little guidance to those responsible for achieving them.

Goals contained in strategic plans need to be specific, focused, realistic and motivating to those responsible for achieving them. A framework for such was developed in 1981 byGeorge Doran, who recommended that goals should be developed using “SMART” criteria. This acronym recommended that goals be Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Accountability

In line with the SMART criteria that goals be assignable, all areas of a strategic plan should identify the individual (preferably) or office / department that is ultimately responsible for the deliverables or outcomes associated with that particular component of the plan.

Ambiguous responsibility can result in important components of the plan being neglected or forgotten. Accountability points should not only be clearly identified, but responsible parties should provide regular periodic updates on progress toward strategic objectives for which they have been assigned for discussion and feedback.

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