Un-muddling strategic goals and program outputs
We have all been there, myself included — mistaking what we’re going to do with what our actual goal is. And it’s really messing with our nonprofit Strategic Plans.
A big reason for this is our common everyday vernacular, where what we call a “goal” isn’t the same as the “strategic goals” that need to go into our Strategic Plans. So let’s back up and look at some definitions.
In its simplest form, a strategy includes 4 main parts:
strategic goals to be reached over a specific time period,
the tactics (actions) you’ll use to reach those goals,
the milestones you’ll reach at specific times along the way,
and the metrics you will use to ensure you are completing your tactics (output metrics) and reaching your milestones and goals (outcome metrics).
In the nonprofit world, our strategic goals, milestones, and outcome metrics go into our Strategic Plan (led by the Board + Executive). Our tactics and output metrics go into our Annual Operational Plans (led by the Executive). Our Annual Budgets (led by the Executive and approved by the Board) align exactly with the Annual Operational Plans. When all of those are lined up and nested together, it is clear to everyone what needs to be done to reach the goal and how much fundraising will be needed to support it.
Providing the North Star for our Strategic Plans are our:
Mission Statements (a concise expression of what we do, why, and for whom),
our Values Statements (5-10 key “We believe” statements that describe our ethos, moral compass, and way of working), and
our Vision Statements (a concise paragraph explaining the world that will exist in the future as a result of meeting our mission).
More often than not, our Strategic Plans end up a detailed jumble of values statements and tactics, with nary a Strategic Goal in sight.
Why does this matter? It matters because it makes it incredibly difficult for the Executive and Staff to be nimble in their operations (too many pre-prescribed tactics) and near impossible for everyone to pull together in the same direction (no strategic goals and thus no strategic direction). A good Strategic Plan is simple, clear, nimble, and make’s everyone’s life easier.
How can we unjumble this mess? We have to unlearn our every-day-life way of expressing goals.
I’m going to use running as an example here. (In yellow parenthetical statements throughout, I’ll give an example nonprofit analog.)
Let’s say you set a “goal” of “running a 10k”. (providing work-life balance coaching to 50 program participants)
Turns out, from a strategic planning perspective, that is not actually a goal. A goal should be outcome-based, not output-based. What’s the difference? An outcome describes what will have changed as a result of following your strategy (what will have changed in your beneficiaries’ lives). An output is something you do to create that change (your programs, your fundraising, etc.). In this case, “running a 10k” is an output.
We could turn it into a goal by instead saying, “I want to get in good running shape”. (our program participants will be happier)
That is a goal, because it is an outcome, an expression of what will have changed for you. But it isn’t strategic, because it isn’t specific enough. It’s an amorphous goal. What does it mean for you to be “in good running shape”? By when will you do it? If you were to hire a personal trainer to come up with a training plan, they’d have nothing to go on. (Your Executive wouldn’t be able to create an Annual Operational Plan.)
We could then make that goal strategic by saying, “I want to get in good enough running shape over the next 6 months that I feel strong running a 10k race, instead of feeling like I’m going to die.” (Our program participants will report X% higher levels of job satisfaction and X% increase in feelings of work-life balance over the next 3 years.)
Now that we’ve cleared up the difference between an amorphous goal, a strategic goal, and a program output, let’s look at tactics, milestones, and metrics.
In the running analogy, your tactics (outputs) to reach your strategic goal would go into the training regimen put together by your personal trainer (Annual Operational Plan put together by Executive + Staff). Such tactics (programs, fundraising, etc.) might include running a varied number of miles each week, adding in hills and cross-training workouts, getting a certain amount of sleep, etc.
Your milestones might include running increasingly longer races or running a couple 10k races before 6 months have passed, but feeling better and stronger each time (getting part way toward your goals by a specific amount each year).
Your output metrics to ensure you’re following your trainer’s plan would include: miles run per week, hours slept per day, maximum heart rate for each run, etc. (number of trainings provided, number of $$$ raised per program, etc.).
Your outcome metrics would be both quantitative (race distance at 6 months) (percent increases in job satisfaction and feelings of work-life balance) and qualitative (how strong and less like death you felt during the race).
Let’s look at just a couple more examples to really drive home the differences:
“Increase our program reach by 15%” is a tactic, not a goal — to turn it into a goal, ask yourself, “What will have changed in our program participants’/beneficiaries’ lives by the end of this Strategic Plan as a result of our programming?”. If you stick with “increase our program reach by 15%,” you don’t know why you’re doing it, what it will achieve, if 15% is the right number, if the programs need changing, etc. Only a proper strategic goal guides you down that path.
“Participants of all identities will feel welcome in our programs” is a values statement, not a goal — to turn it into a goal, make it less amorphous (more specific), and ask yourself the same question as above. Or, add it to your organization’s Values Statement, create strategic goals that align with your programs, and focus on making sure that the tactics that serve your goals are aligned with that values statement. You could also add an output metric that tracks whether participants of varied identities feel comfortable in your programming.
If your current Strategic Plan muddles a lot of this up, you’re definitely not alone.
It is certainly more challenging to think about goals in terms of outcome since we’re so wired to track outputs, but it’s worth it. It will give you the chance to be honest with yourselves about what is achievable and where your niche lies, and it will keep the Board focused on setting Strategic Direction and the Executive and Staff focused on bringing those goals to life through programming, with the whole team pulling in the same direction.