Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Principles of Strategic Governance: Business or Action Plan by Staff
Principles of Strategic Governance: Business or Action Plan by Staff
1. Clear mission1, vision and values statements guide leaders and staff.
2. The strategic plan is the driving force for agendas, board discussions and
the focus of successive leaders.
3. The goals and strategies are translated into a more precise (tactical)
business or action plan by staff.
5. The chief elected officer charges committees with work from the plan.
Committees have access to the board through a director or staff liaison if
they are chaired by other than board members. The board of directors
does not do committee work at the board table.
8. The strategic plan is revisited annually, and updated every three to five
years.
1
Statement of purpose.
Bob Harris, CAE – [email protected] – www.nonprofitcenter.com © 2005
Strategic Board – A board that has clear vision Business or Action Plan – A more detailed
and acts accordingly --- based upon the staff/committee document to advance the strategic
organization’s mission, vision, values, goals and plan in the coming year. The action plan breaks
strategies. down the board’s broad goals into an accountable,
measurable, timeline of work.
Strategic Plan - The document identifying the
organization’s direction and goals for 3 to 5 years; Committees – Committees are a means for the
serving as a roadmap for successive leaders. board to delegate work to volunteers. Often the
Planning participants should be visionary - yet number of committees is aligned with the number
practical - to best position the organization. A of major goals. Committees do not have a “life of
plan is reviewed annually and updated in full at their own” but receive explicit charges by the
periodic leadership retreats. chairman of the board. Committees should have
a link to the board for reporting --- via a staff or
Mission Statement – The statement of purpose; director liaison. Committees seldom have
aligned with bylaws and articles. High marketing authority of make commitments on behalf of the
value to identify the organization, who it serves organization. The resulting creative work of a
and what it offers. Some of the best mission committee is property of the organization. The
statements fit on the back of a business card as a board should not conduct nor revisit committee
single, easy to memorize, sentence. work at the board meeting.
Bob Harris, CAE [email protected] www.nonprofitcenter.com Board Responsibilities – the laminated/color guide - $12.