Creative Planning — Part 1

Strategic Planning for Life

In last week’s post, I took a look at creative vision in general, and more particularly, the roles of hindsight and insight. If you’ve read it, you’ll know that I promised a follow-on post, this week, providing an outline for strategic/creative planning. (If you’ve not yet read last week’s post — why not?)

Well, this is it, and I’m going to dive straight in, because there’s a fair amount to deal with — even over two weeks.

Firstly, a bit of background on this particular strategic planning outline. I was introduced to it nearly fifteen years ago, when I started working in the non-profit/community project sector, by Dr. Benson Okyere-Manu. (currently Director at the Community Care Project, South Africa)

Since, then, I’ve used it over and over for setting up community projects. I’ve also used it for small business planning, for myself and others. More recently, with some modifications (ongoing), I’ve begun using it for creative life-planning.

There are nine (9) stages in this planning structure, with each subsequent stage building on the previous. Each stage moves progressively from non-specific dream toward specific, detailed action, and the reality of accomplishment.

Before we start, here are some important tips:

• It is vital to work in a stage-by-stage manner, no matter how obvious you think any given step may be. Don’t skip or leap-frog any stages.
• Each subsequent stage must “answer” to the previous stage, all the way back to the vision. This helps one to stay on track, and is both vital, and surprisingly challenging.
• If you find that a stage, or part of a stage, no longer answers to the previous stage, either modify the previous stage/s, or better yet, start again. This is all part of the planning process.
• When using this outline for its original purpose of project/business planning, it is vital to include all nine stages. However, when using it for personal, creative life planning, you may or may not need the “Budget” stage.
• Complex, or long-term plans/projects, will almost definitely require “sub-plans” for various aspects of the overarching plan.

Here are the nine (9) stages of this strategic plan. I’ll list them, and then go into each in more depth. (the first four, this week)

1. Vision
2. Mission Statement
3. Situational Analysis
4. Key Issues
5. Goals
6. Objectives
7. Action Plan
8. Budget
9. Assessment

1 — Vision

The vision is a brief, non-specific description of a desired, future-projected situation/outcome. (keep it to one sentence if possible)

In other words, your vision is your dream. It is non-specific — i.e. no, or few details. As its name implies, it is basically the statement of a mental image depicting something you’d like to see/be/accomplish at a future time.

Your vision is your castle in the sky. The purpose of all the other planning stages, is to make your dream a reality.

Setting a vision may sound easy, but for many, it is not. Most of us have been taught that dreaming is counter-productive. Thus, when we need to dream constructively, we find it surprisingly challenging. However, this is an absolutely vital stage, and must not be skipped if you want to succeed.

Remember, each stage within the plan is built on the previous stage. So, no vision, no plan. Just as importantly, during the tough times of implementing your plan, and there will be tough times, it is your dream/vision that will keep you going.

2 — Mission Statement

A more developed, yet still relatively concise version of your vision. You want to keep it short enough to tell yourself, or others, while including enough detail to flesh out the picture. Your mission statement is the “public friendly” version of your vision, if you will.

The purpose of the mission statement is to develop your vision by means of the following:

• Detail — In your vision (non-specific), your sports car (if that is your vision) isn’t specified as more than, maybe, red. However, in your mission statement, you’re going to specify not just colour, but also make and model.
• Purpose — Every project, whether personal, business, non-profit, artistic, or anything else, must have purpose. In fact, everything we do has a purpose, whether or not we are aware of it, or admit it. Therefore, be completely honest with yourself regarding your purpose. If your purpose in buying a red Ferrari is to further your mid-life crisis, then be honest about that — at least to yourself, and within your strategic planning. If you are not honest with yourself regarding your purpose, you are setting yourself up for failure.
• Direction — What direction do you want your vision, and therefore this project to set for your life? This aspect is really important, and will guide your planning at every stage of the project.
  For instance, if your direction is the betterment of your guitar and vocal skills, then stick to that throughout the plan. Attempting to monetise those skills within this plan, while not wrong, is a different direction, and should therefore be part of a different plan.
  Is your vision directed at benefiting others, or yourself? There is nothing wrong with either option, just be clear on your direction.
  Remember, your destination depends on your direction. Lose direction, and at best, you take unnecessary detours; at worst, you get lost.
• Values — Each of us adheres to a set of values — or at least tries to. There are generally things that we will or won’t do — at least with any level of comfort. It is one thing to have a dream, and a plan to achieve it, but what are we prepared to do to achieve it?
  I can think of few worse things than achieving my dream, only to find that the process changed me so much that I can no longer fully enjoy it.
  This is actually far more common than one might think.
  e.g. the wo/man who aims at a successful career to provide well for his/her family, but in doing so, ends up sacrificing relationship with them.

3 — Situational Analysis

Both the vision and the mission statement look firmly to the future. However, situational analysis, lives firmly the present. In short, the situational analysis is a detailed list of the current situation, relating to the project for which you are planning.

Situational analysis looks mainly at three (3) things:

• Resources — Remember, we are looking at the present, not the future. What resources do you currently have? At this stage, we haven’t done sufficient planning to know what will be needed in the future. Here are the kind of things on which you should be focusing.
  What do I have now? What finances, skills, time, opportunity, experience, equipment, etc. Look at your resources in the widest possible sense.
  Who do I know, that may be helpful? People are an often-ignored, yet vital resource. Stop thinking that you must, or can do it by yourself.
  What training is available/needed to better achieve my vision? (for yourself & any others involved)
• Challenges — Anything worth achieving will be challenging.
  What challenges/limitations, relating to this project, currently exist in your life? e.g. in planning to run a marathon, you will need to assess your current physical resources with brutal honesty.
  Challenges may be big, small, or even previously unrecognised. For instance: The process of any project requires time — a limited resource. Will you need to use time that is usually allocated to work, family, relaxation, etc? The challenge comes firstly in sacrificing something you’re used to doing. The second challenge, is that family, colleagues, or friends will need to sacrifice time that they are used to spending with you. Ensure that you, and all others who are involved/impacted are willing to step up to the challenge/s.
• Situation — Your vision and mission statement are already looking toward a desired, future situation. Now, however, you need to focus on your current situation — your starting point.
  Any project is a journey, and therefore, knowing your starting point (current situation), is just as important as knowing your desired destination.
  We all know that travelling in a set direction from Point A will get you to Point B. However, travelling in the same direction from Point C will not get you to Point B.
  If you don’t know your current situation, your chosen direction will probably not get you to where you want to go.
  So, what is the current situation as relates to your vision, and mission statement?

Same direction — different start — different destination

4 — Key Issues

The key issues stage of planning, takes the situational analysis, and draws from it, one or more criteria — key issues — that make up the heart of the project you are planning.

There are three (3) main things to take into consideration when identifying your key issue/s.

• Choose high priority (in the given context) problems/challenges/outcomes. Try to limit these priorities to three or four.
• The problems/challenges/outcomes must be resolvable/achievable with current/available resources.
• They should be things that, if resolved/achieved, positively impact the resolution/achievement of other problems/challenges/outcomes.
  e.g. improving my drawing, will make me a better artist over-all.

The key issue stage of planning is where you identify the specific thing, or things that need to be done to achieve your vision. They are called key issues, because in a community project situation, one will be identifying problems that need resolution.

In using this outline for personal, creative planning, you will be probably be dealing with desired outcomes, rather than problems. However, you are still trying to change something for the better. In a personal sense, my “problem” may be my shoddy drawing skills, while my vision is to be able to draw a recognisable portrait.

Don’t skimp on this stage, because your goals, objectives, and action statements are all just restatements and developments of these key issues. If any stage is particularly vital to the process, this is it.

Okay, I’m going to stop there for this week. Before starting, I’d envisaged doing this in a single post. I had obviously forgotten just how much is involved. So, as indicated in the title, this is Part 1 — definitely of two, and possibly of three.

Next week, I’ll deal with the final stages of this planning outline, which is where the rubber really hits the road — Goals, Objectives, Action Statements, Assessments, and a very light touch on Budgets.

I’m still trying to decide whether to do a Part 3, in which I’d provide an example outline, based on something that I’m working on. If you’d like me to do that, please say so, otherwise I probably won’t.

Once again, thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next week …