Your Preferred Future. Achieved.: Ten Critical Questions for Nonprofit Strategic Planning

An alternative approach to nonprofit strategic planning which combines long range vision with real-time strategy. John Bauer is the Founder and Senior Strategist of John Bauer Consulting, LLC. He has more than 40 years of experience in the executive leadership of mission-driven, nonprofit organizations.

This book draws from the real experiences of non-profit leaders and what they need from the strategic planning process. It offers concise summaries of concepts and helps CEOs and boards begin to unpack the questions around where they are, where they want to go and how to get there. If you're looking for a simple and thorough method as well as some practical steps and suggestions, John's insight and expertise provide a logical framework for you to successfully create your organization's preferred future.

This book incorporates the best in current thinking and practice around a practical, conceptual model of planning. Dr. Bauer’s strategic planning model has brought acclaim from leaders of nonprofit organizations in senior services, early childhood education, churches, civic service organizations and others.

Short, concise and clearly articulated, this book is a must read for executive leaders and board chairs who are committed to leading their organizations into the future, while positioning themselves for nimble responsiveness in the face of uncertainty.

Utilizing the lessons and insights gained from a 42-year career in nonprofit executive leadership and consulting, Bauer has developed an approach to strategic planning that is built around the idea that an organization chooses and builds its own preferred future, even when unexpected circumstances develop.

The groundwork that underwrites this process is created around ten simple, but critical questions:

1.What are you doing?
2.How well are you doing?
3.What will your environment look like in the future?
4.What does your environment look like right now?
5.Where would you prefer to be in the future?
6.Can you get there?
7.How will you know if you get there?
8.How will you address unexpected challenges and opportunities along the way?
9.How will you support continuous learning, thinking and acting?
10.How will you tell your story, to whom, and for what purpose?

In the process of answering these questions, nonprofit organizations will:

•Assess their mission
•Evaluate the impact and sustainability of the current business model
•Conduct an environment scan to determine future trends and current realities
•Identify gaps and opportunities
•Identify clear statements of future position
•Measure organizational capacity to achieve goals and objectives
•Measure and monitor business intelligence to track progress
•Identify criteria with which to evaluate emerging conditions and to create alternative strategies
•Create a learning environment in which continuous data analysis keeps the organization nimble and responsive
•Create the means for engaging stakeholders to build support and commitment