Resources
Below is about an hours’ worth of instructional videos that will provide you with some of our greatest hits regarding simple and effective strategic planning. The ideas presented are based on decades of experience and can really help you save some time and money in your strategic planning process.
Videos
You may know what ineffective strategic planning looks like: it takes too long, it’s too complex, the plan ends up collecting dust, and the leaders lose some of their team’s trust because the process tanks.
In this video you’re provided with a simple framework for what effective strategic planning can look like. Planning that, if done well, will positively transform your leadership and your organization. If you want to build a strong foundation for strategic planning success, watching this six-minute video is time very well-spent.
Is it just us or do people make strategic planning WAY too complex?
In this brief video we share a basic logic that can help you think of strategy in a very simple way. Like the video above, watching this will contribute to your foundational understanding of effective strategic planning.
What may be the largest barrier to effective strategic planning at your nonprofit? We think its’ this: approaching strategic planning as an event instead of a never-ending process. In this video we’ll provide you with a clear step-by-step framework for approaching strategy as an annual, replicable cycle that has the potential to really transform your organization.
For over two decades we’ve been using a very simple two-part structure for the core of your strategic plan. Simple, easy to communicate, and extremely effective. We’ll teach you our structure in this video.
(If you want to learn more about our perspective on the power of simplicity, read our article, “Simplicity Helps Your Team Take Action.”)
If you and your team are writing or revising your mission and vision statements, this video is for you. Our lead consultant, Eric Ryan, presents a simple method for writing the statements and connecting them as a cause-and-effect.
One of the best ways to create and strengthen your organizational culture is by identifying – and living – a set of two-to-four core organizational values. In this video we’ll give you some examples of values and provide you with an exorcise to help you and your team create your core values.
We know. You’ve been writing goals since kindergarten. But that’s part of the problem: each person on your team may have a different definition of what a goal is.
In this video Eric provides a goal definition and a game-changing perspective on writing powerful goals.
Funders first give with their heart. But they’ll use their head to give more, year-over-year.
In this video, Eric will share a way to capture a graphically-designed strategic plan that will leave your funders impressed.
Mission Met: Proven Strategic Planning Guidance to Help You Build a Financially Secure and Impactful Nonprofit.
“Finally, a simple and practical book about the most important part of strategic planning: execution. Read Mission Met and get ready to build a new muscle for your organization. ”
“Eric Ryan’s excellent book on nonprofit strategic planning will help you achieve results towards your mission and attract the funds to do so.”
“Eric’s strategies helped us transform our nonprofit into a high-impact and financially-sound organization. ”
In this short and practical book, Eric shares some of his greatest hits of nonprofit strategic planning from nearly thirty years of client work. In particular, he helps you:
Create a foundational strategic planning mindset
Design a simple and effective two-section plan
Implement a replicable four-step planning cycle
Get the buy-in of your staff and board
Measure and track progress on your plan
Read the Introduction here.
Causey
“I love the way Causey has made our strategic planning process so dynamic. Being able to implement action steps to reach our goals and track our progress in real time makes our strategic plan a powerful tool rather than a static document. I also think it helps us set smarter, more attainable goals in the first place because we’re approaching the process differently.”
“By using Causey we have improved our ability to remain focused on strategic goals and as a result, we have achieved or are close to achieving the business outcomes we set for ourselves this financial year. It’s been a positive experience.”
Nearly 20 years ago, Mission Met’s co-founder, Eric Ryan, started dreaming of creating a simple software platform to make strategic planning easier and more effective for nonprofit leaders.
The idea percolated until 2015 when Eric contracted with Ricky Chilcott and his team at the application design studio, Rakefire. The result was Causey, a strategic planning application designed specifically for small and mid-sized nonprofits.
About half of Mission Met’s clients use Causey to capture and track their strategic plan.
The software’s key purpose is to make it easier for you to capture, track, and report progress on your plan. The software features:
Real-time Dashboards, Progress Views, and Metrics Tracking
Automated Reminders
Built-in Strategic Planning Guidance and Resources
A Pricing Model that Makes it Easy to Share With Everyone on Your Team
A Document-storage Application that Boards Can Use as a Portal
Simple and Effective Project Management Tools
Contact us if you’d like to learn more.