Learn what non-profits can do to improve their success rate to implement their strategic plans. This article explores why so many strategic plans end up on a shelf with other archived strategic plans and what an organization can do to improve the probability of successful implementation and achievement of goals.

1. Strategic Planning for Non-profits
A Worthwhile Endeavor
or
A Waste of Time, Money and Energy?
James Neils
Volumes of material have been written espousing the need for non-profit organizations to engage
in strategic planning. Quickly catching up in number are articles and publications to explain why
strategic plans for non-profits frequently fail. Given the mounting evidence about why strategic
plans are unsuccessful, why do non-profits continue to fail? Surely, no one deliberately sets out
to be unsuccessful and waste time, money and energy.
The writers who explain why strategic planning fails usually identify the five, seven or ten
solutions that could have prevented the failure if their suggestions had been known or followed.
The implication seems to be that had leaders read the author’s material prior to implementation of
a plan they would not have followed the other lemmings over the edge or were not so naïve as to
think “that it won’t happen to us”. If only it were that simple.
It is important, particularly given the mounting evidence, to briefly review a few of the reasons
given to explain why strategic planning fails. Rather than detail the growing list of reasons cited,
most can be reduced to fit the following categories:
● History of plans not executed well or bad plans that should not have proceeded
● Lack of flexibility, too tactical and little strategic thinking
● Lack of leadership, internal politics and top down design and implementation
● Culture of non-involvement, lack of respect for staff input and ideas
● Lack of: follow-up, feedback, measurement or data collection and deadlines
● General reluctance to change, plans too broad and lacking appropriate resources
These categories are by no means exhaustive or completely describe all of the reasons cited.
They do however illustrate quite clearly that there are major barriers non-profit organizations most
overcome for any strategic plan to have a chance for success.

2. The for-profit sector, often portrayed as the model to follow, strategic planning has seen a series
of ups and down and success rates that are little better than their non-profit colleagues. Once a
prime proponent of organizational wide strategic planning, by the late 1980’s GE had given up
trying to create a single strategic plan and had closed their Corporate Strategic Planning office.
Others then followed GE’s lead.
To get an appreciation for the failure in corporate America to strategically plan, consider the results
of one survey of corporate executives as reported in an on-line post to Chief Investment Officers
within Higher Education. Although the statistical percentages vary between surveys, results
repeatedly demonstrate the adversity strategic plans encounter.
● Only 25% of executives were motivated by the plans they created
2
● Fewer than 27% of employees had access to strategic plans
2
● 90% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution
2
● 92% of organizations did not report on lead performance indicators
2
● 95% of employees did not understand their organization’s strategy
2
● 85% percent of management teams spend less than one-hour a month on strategy issues
While the percentages may change and are certainly not representative of the total corporate
environment, those statistics might give an organization a reason to pause and consider an
alternative.
Considering the mounting criticism and the negative results from numerous surveys about
success rates for strategic planning, it would seem many organizations are in fact are wasting
their employee’s time, their collective energy and finances to engage in strategic planning. It is
difficult to believe that any organization would deliberately set out on a path that many know is a
journey with a high failure rate. Can it be true that executives in both for-profit and non-profit
organizations believe “it won’t happen to us?”
One can only imagine the concern that consultants and firms that that earn their livelihood leading
strategic planning sessions react to the suggestion that strategic planning is a waste of time.
There is no denying that there are successes and large organizations like the Gate’s Foundation
continually use strategic planning to improve. While most authors write about the failures of
strategic planning a few studies have identified why some succeed while others fail.

3. A recently released study by the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP) and the Political
Science Department at the University of Arkansas details some of the reasons non-profits
experience successful strategic planning. After analyzing survey responses from more than one
thousand 501 (c3) organizations, the report identified three important factors that contributed to a
non-profit organization’s success to strategically plan. The results should not come as a surprise
to anyone engaged in strategic planning and implemented or attempted to implement a plan.
● Strategic planning was a routine practice for successful organizations, but not successful
for organizations that to often were responding to immediate challenges or to deter
increasing risks.
● Organizations that emphasized the execution of the plan experienced success while
those that failed could not or were not sufficiently prepared to execute the plan.
● Successful organizations valued strategic planning as a component of their success,
while it was not for those organizations that were unsuccessful.
What is it about process or the organization that makes a difference? More importantly what
needs to change to increase the success rate of strategic planning for non-profits? As Professor
John Bryson of the University of Minnesota in his essay, Public and Non-profit Planning in the
Future, points out no one approach will necessarily fit every situation an organization may
encounter. Organizations must recognize the fluid nature of their situation and be flexible and
adaptable. It must have staff capable and dedicated to strategic think the about the organization
and future actions.
Bryson believes not only will strategic planning continue, but from necessity success rates will
need to increase in the coming decades. Scarcity of financial resources from governmental
sources, changing demographics, the impact of the Internet, social media and computer
technology as well as global issues will all impact public and non-profit agencies as never before.
His eight predictions are not far fetched ideas, but seem to be realistic appraisal of the changes
that will face non-profits in the American society.
INCREASING THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS
Perhaps a large part of the solution lies not in the planning process at all. In response to a two
part series by the editor of the Blue Avocado about why non-profits fail at strategic planning, Mike
Allison believes it is not the process at fault, rather the conditions under which the process
occurs. The results from the recent study by the ASP seem to confirm his view.

4. Mike argued too many non-profits engage in strategic planning because of a requirement from a
funder, to offset internal or external pressures or decide to shortcut the process to save time or
money. He is unapologetic for the cost and time involved to develop a flexible, workable and
successful strategic plan. He stresses doing it because someone else tells you to do so or as a
disguise for another agenda is never a good start to successful completion.
Reviewing both survey results and Mike’s comments, it may be that organizations that failed were
simply not prepared for the challenges to implement the strategic plan. Comparing the survey
results with what critics have identified are reasons strategic planning fails there are striking
similarities: lack of communication, lack of measurement, lack of involvement, poor execution and
lack of leadership commitment to name just a few.
What all of this evidence points may not be poor planning at all, although poor planning by itself
does occur. It could be the resulting plan is merely the by-product for the real reasons for the
failures. Consider the statistics earlier cited, but in a slightly different perspective to answer the
following questions.
1. Is it strategic for any organization to devote only 12 hours a year in
discussion on strategic issues ?
Look at what the numbers reveal. There are 2,080 hours in a normal work year. Carving out 12
or, worse, fewer hours means that an organization has committed to engage in strategic work,
rounding off to the nearest decimal .006% of a work year. And adding more staff does not
improve the percentage since each contribute the same proportion of the 2080 work year hours,
assuming a 40 hour work week is the norm in the organization. That hardly seems sufficient time
for strategic thinking that will guide a strategic plan and how it is to be implemented.
How strategic is any organization if they devote such a small percentage of time to strategic
issues. In their book Execution, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan make it clear that poor execution
will lead to poor results. They point out execution
● requires discipline to follow through on details and deadlines
● is the responsibility of executives and boards
● should be an integral part of an organization’s culture.
Are these characteristics found in many organizations, non-for-profit or for-profit? Bossiday’ and
Charan’s book is directed to CEOs of for-profit companies seeking assistance in the quest to

5. improve. They argue a strategic plan’s success is dependent on the willingness of an
organization to devote all the resources to execute the plan.
Organizations that do not engage in strategic thinking, action and operations should not be
expected to successfully execute a strategic plan regardless of how well the plan was developed.
Poor organizational execution prior to any strategic plan will probably mean poor organizational
execution of the plan.
How can anyone strategically plan if they do not have time to strategically think? The question of
who teaches managers and executives the skill of strategic thinking is another matter. Research
has demonstrated that the skill of strategic thinking is not at all related to positional level in an
organization. Further, given the day-to-day tactical demands on many non-profit leaders and
staff, few have mastered how to devote time to think strategically, even if they are adept at it.
To increase the chances that a strategic plan will succeed an organization should culturally
embrace the value of strategic thinking, commit to being strategic continuously and be disciplined
in execution at all levels. It should allocate a constant and recognizable portion of employees,
especially senior executives, time to identify, analyze, synthesize and discuss strategic issues.
2. Is it strategic for any organization not to report performance indicators?
If there is one area where far too non-profits remain deficient, it is data collection, analysis and
performance measures. Can any non-profit or for-profit company that does not have
performance measures in place prior to a strategic plan really be expected to have meaningful
measurements after a plan’s implementation or to have appropriate performance measures for
the plan itself?
Due to the decreased funding and increased oversight, non-profits are facing the task of
developing performance indicators and reporting. In the past, many could escape the hard
process by claiming it was simply too difficult to identify appropriate performance measures. Not
any longer. There is no denying it can be difficult work, but an growing number of professionals,
businesses and colleagues are helping non-profits to accomplish it. Tom Ralser, in his work ROI
for Non-profits outlines several ways non-profits can measure their results and societal impact.
3. Is it strategic for any organization employees not to understand the strategy?
Abraham Maslow is most noted for his social psychology work and developed a concept now
known simply as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. But, he was also an organizational consultant

6. and kept a journal of his observations. Now published, he provided one quote that perhaps is the
best summary response to this question. Here is what he had this to say about most
organization’s use of its employees.
…most of us would argue that we believe in the potential of people and that
people are our most important organizational assets. If that is the case, why
then do we frequently design organizations to satisfy our need for control and not
to maximize the contributions of people?”
It is a striking commentary and quite appropriate to any discussion about why strategic plans fail.
The lack of respect, communication, openness and a variety of other adjectives to describe how
organizational leaders interact with their personnel prior to a strategic plan is an indicator of a
plan’s possibility of success once put into effect. Quite a few strategic plans have been
successfully scuttled by employees in response to one more demand on their time and work load.
4. Is it strategic for an executive or board not to value strategic planning?
Of all of the issues about why strategic plans fail this one is focused squarely on the quality of
executives and Boards. A number of surveys have reported that executives are frequently not
happy by the quality of plans produced. Why, perhaps because it is not that important to them.
Do they do it when they have to and not because they believe they should on a regular basis?
Part of leadership is helping people achieve success; at least that is what most books on
leadership seem to stress.
There is one additional factor few identify among the reasons Strategic Plans succeed or fail.
For most non-profits, it may well be a more critical issue that needs to be addressed and resolved
prior to any serious discussion of a strategic plan; Capacity.
CAPACITY
The one primary difference between non-profits and their for-profit cousins has been the capacity
to execute the plan. Although in recent years the quest by for-profits to operate “lean” has also
lessened their capacity to implement strategic plans. As it relates to strategic planning, capacity
is having additional employees, excess employee time as well as additional technological
resources and finances to execute the strategic plan.
How many non-profits that can not afford a professional to assist them, embark on their own to
develop a strategic plan and than find little time or money to implement it? It is not enough to
generate enthusiasm, espouse how well the organization will function once the plan is put into

7. place or highlight the benefits of coming together for a common cause and expect success. The
organization must have the capacity to carry out the plan.
The question that must be at the forefront of any discussion of a strategic plan is quite simply: Is
there excess capacity within the organization’s resources to achieve success? If not, what needs
to be done to increase resource capacity? Can additional capacity be found, developed or
purchased? Is it possible to reallocate the resources required for any plan without adversely
impacting other projects or normal demands on personnel, facilities, finances, volunteers, or all of
them?
To often organizations embark on well developed strategic plans only to find within a few months
that it too joined others on the archive shelf. Many organizations commit to making a plan work,
but have failed to adequately measure whether they have the capacity to execute the plan.
As a consultant to a number of strategic planning committees, capacity has always played a
significant role to determine a plan’s possible success. Admittedly, it is a challenge to help an
organization recognize once people leave the energizing strategic planning retreat or session
things change quickly. Far too often the question of capacity is given little serious consideration
in the moment of great enthusiasm and excitement.
Employees return to their normal work load that more often than not leaves little time to engage in
any continuous and committed work on the strategic plan. Scarce financial and organizational
resources are insufficient to allocate to both a strategic plan and new operational challenges that
occur. Executive and Board Leadership too often move to the next challenge. How many Boards
have, with the President in the lead, have a committee fully committed and meeting frequently to
continuously monitor and lead the plan to success? The same holds true for senior management
as well.
One must always remember that a strategic plan may cause a significant shift in the way an
organization functions, what it does and how it culturally behaves. Lest anyone think that this is
not a major undertaking, consider the roadway to any strategic plan’s success is littered by the
decaying remains of so many failed plans.
Is it any wonder so many plans fail? Reviewing again the ASP’s study results, successful
implementation of a strategic plan occurred because the non-profit organization regularly
engaged in planning, knew how to allocate resources to implement it and valued planning as a
key to their success. How many others can say that?

8. There are possibly many excellent plans that had they been given the appropriate resources they
might have succeed quite well. But without understanding the conditions under which a plan is
formulated and attempted, they never had a chance.
Conclusion
Critics of strategic planning point to the failure rates and the wasted resources as reasons why
organizations should seek alternatives. Rather than focus on the why Strategic Plans fail, the
attention should be placed on preparing or making sure an organization is constantly thinking
strategically, has recognized the need for excess capacity, uses performance measures and
knows how to execute a project.
That means organizations and also consultants need to measure prior to any planning begins
whether an organization has:
● been thinking strategically
● the capacity and discipline to execute the strategic plan
● the resources needed to succeed
● accepted and prepared for the harsh reality that it will require attention, time and energy
to make the plan succeed.
● the organizational flexibility to adapt the plan and its resources to continue as the
conditions require
The issue is not simply why plans fail, rather how to help non-profit organizations reach a point
that they are fully prepared to think strategically, engage in flexible strategic planning, develop
good plans and have the resources and discipline needed to execute the plans.

9. References
Ten Common Reasons Strategic Plans Fail , Leo Bottary. Executive Street Blog, November 21,
2010
Five Reasons Why Strategi c Planning Fails to Produce Desired Results, Kevin Marshall,
Marshall Advisory Group, www.MarshallAdvisory.com
A new Paradigm for Strategic Planning , Taunya Land and Nancy Galligan, Forum, Association Forum
of Chicagoland, June 2007, Vol. 91 No. 5 pp. 28-29.
Corporate Lifecycles, How and Why Corporations Grow and Die and What to Do About I t;
Ichak Adizes, Adizes Institute Book, Prentice Hall, 1988
Can Boards of Directors Think Strategically”? Some Issues in Developing Direction-Givers
Thinkers to a Mega Level , Bob Garratt, Performance Improvement Quarterly, Hoboken, 2005, Vol. 18,
No. 3.
Deep Dive, Rich Howath, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, TX, 2009
Define Your Association , Donald Freels, National Association of Realtors Fall 1996,
Developing Strategic competencies: A starting Point , Keith Ornoff, Information Management
Journal, Lenexa, July/Aug 2002, Vol. 36,
Developing strategic thinking as a core competency , Ingrid Bonn, Journal of Management
Decision, Emerald Publishers April 2001 No. 1 Vol 3 pp. 63-70
Execution, Dave Bossiday and Ram Charan, Crown Business, New York, 2002
From Strategic Planning to Strategic Thinking , James Morrison, On the Horizon, Jossey Bass,
1994, No. 2, Vol. 3 pp3-4.
Historical Notes 2004 , Association for Strategic Planning, www.strategyplus.org/history.html
In Defense of Strategic Planning: A Rebuttal , Mike Allison, Blue Avacado Editorial Rebuttal, San
Francisco, March 12, 2011.
Is Your Strategic Plan Dead or Alive? , Paul Meyer and Jean Frankel, Forum, Association Forum of
Chicagoland, August 2007, Vol. 91 No. 7 pp. 45-46.

10. Leading At a Higher Level , Ken Blanchard, Blanchard Management Corporation, Prentice Hall, 2007
Learning to think strategically ,Joan Sloan, Sloan International Management Development, New York,
NY June 2006.
Nonprofit strategic planning alternatives: FINANCE & STRATEGY, Jan Masaoka, Editor, Blue
Avacado, San Francisco, March 14, 2011
Nonprofit Business Model Statements , Jan Masaoka, Editor, Blue Avacado, San Francisco, March
12, 2010
Put the ’Strategic’ in Strategic Planning , Phiilip Lesser, Forum, Association Forum of Chicagoland,
November 2006, Vol. 90 No. 10 pp. 50-52
Strategic Planning , iLEAD, www.ilead.com.au/ideas/strategic thinking/strategic planning.htm
Strategic Planning Failure , Reference for Business, Mark E. Mendenhall, Revised
nd
by Mildred Golden Pryor, Encyclopedia for Business 2 Ed.
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February 19, 2011
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National Survey – Initial Findings© , reported at the ASP Annual Conference, March 2012
Strategic thinking is the key to proactive management , Steven Watson, , techrepublic.com July 8,
2003.
The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning . Henry Mintzberg, Harvard Business Review, January-
February 1994, 107–11
The need for Strategic Thinking is Critical for Effective Continuous Improvement , Brice
Alford, EZine Article,
The Future of Public and Nonprofi t Strategic Planning in the United States, John Bryson,
Public Administration Review, December 2010, Special Issue, pp. s255-s267.
What Strategy is – and isn’t , CA magazine.com, Sept 2002,
www.camagazine.com/index.cfm/ci_id/9654/la_id/htm

11. What Makes Associations Remarkable , Mark Golden, Journal of Association Leadership, American
Society of Association Executives/Center for Association Leadership, Spring 2007, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 37-45
Why strategic plans don't work and what to do about it , Ron Price, posted in Reliable Plant, web
post
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Boston, Posted: July 19, 2012
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Providence, RI 02906
Why Strategic Plan Implementation Fails , Frank Martinelli, Blog, November 28, 2006
Why Strategic Planning Fails , The Higher ED CIO, Blog post August 16, 2011

12. About the author
James Neils has served as an Executive manager, Executive Director,
Consultant, Board member, Operations Manager and volunteer to a variety of
non-profit organizations. His career includes positions in Higher Education,
Professional Associations, Condominiums, 501(c3) charitable organizations and
as an executive in for-profit companies.
In recent years he has researched and written several publications on a variety of topics including
strategic thinking, analytics and strategic planning; Developing the Skill of Strategic Thinking;
Using Conceptual Models to Improve an Executive’s Strategic Thinking; Creativity, Strategic
Thinking and Statistical Models, Data, Non-Profits and the Obama’s Campaign.
While he is not writing, Jim enjoys sailing, reading, serving as a volunteer with
Chicago Greeters and as a mentor to young professionals who work in non-profit
organizations. He remains an active consultant for the Executive Service Corp of
Chicago, consulting to non-profits throughout Illinois.
His social network includes active participation in LinkedIn a frequent contributor
to several groups on non-profits, Facebook and as has posted writings on
Slideshare and Scribd. His latest endeavor, in conjunction with work as a mentor
was to establish the KNOWLEDGE COLLEGE. This web portal will provide
young professionals a on-line classroom where they learn the skills necessary to
advance their careers and a place where operational issues are examined and
resolved.
James has a twitter feed Nonprofitsage as an outlet for commentary on salient
issues and future problems non-profits will confront.
James can be reached at james.neils@gmail.com through his twitter feed or on
LinkedIn.