ABSTRACT
The strategic planning process is a journey during which the staff must collaborate, articulate, and elaborate on the organization's vision and mission, and while so doing fashion programs and action plans to bring both mission and vision to life. It's a mind-expanding, practical exercise with a multitude of benefits. First, the process establishes programmatic priorities for each staff member and the organization as a whole. The staff can defer extraneous matters when they arise (as they always do) because they have clear priorities that have been adopted collectively in a strategic manner. A l - though many emergencies do occur and must be dealt with, strategic planning prevents the staff from going off on time-consuming tangents and permits them to say "no" when necessary. Second, decision making is greatly improved because sound decisions and programs are formulated by the individual staff member and then reviewed collectively by the team and the board of directors to ensure that plans are coherent and defensible. Third, because the organization is focused on specific actions it can be more responsive to problems as they emerge. Last, the staff is infused with energy because it's able to see a complete organizational picture and meet its responsibilities within the framework of an organization built on planning and teamwork.
