…a principle of management which states that subordinates are responsible for submitting written recommendations to superiors in such a manner that the superior need do nothing further in the process than review the submitted document and indicate approval or disapproval.
Not only do they need to know what you want, but they must also know what you do not want; what will cause the recommendation to be rejected.
All of us have a strong tendency to evaluate our decisions in the way that is most favorable and least damaging to ourselves, based on the outcome.
My favorable outcome proves my wisdom and skill.
My unfavorable outcome is just bad luck.
However, when we evaluate other’s decisions and their results we say:
Their favorable outcome is just good luck
Their unfavorable outcome shows a lack of wisdom and skill.
In our last post, we discussed three ways to structure conversations, even everyday ad hoc conversations, to achieve your objectives. Every conversation is an opportunity to build relationships, to coordinate activities, to plan for the future, to sell your ideas, to get ideas, or to recap the past.
Today, we add another structured conversation, with a specific focus strategic planning
Amazon has published a set of leadership principles. Great! Many organizations do that. But they have people, long-term managers, whose job is to see that new hires understand those principles and that the organization actually follows them.
The principles are easy to read but harder to apply. They are contrary to practices in many, if not most organizations. For example, the customer comes before profitability. Most companies follow the dictum of Milton Friedman that the sole purpose of a corporation is to increase profits.
Obviously, Amazon understands that the higher purpose of a corporation is to add value. Then profits come as a fallout of that value.
Another principle is ownership. Leaders are owners. They think long-term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They take ownership of issues and results.
Most of the other principles flow from these.
Dave Anderson, one of those Amazon leaders, has written an article, both humorous and sad, about outrageous responses to interview questions about these principles. Then he demonstrates an answer he loves. He posted it both on Scarlet Ink and on Linkedin. Go read it. You will be glad you did.
Here are some questions that your strategic planning process should answer:
Now you have your strategic plan. Document it. Add it to your Operating Plan.
Now go do it.
It seems that about every three years nonprofits get an itch to update their strategic plan.
But do they realize what they are asking?
They are asking to scan the external environment for changes that impact their approach to achieving their vision. Then they review their current strategies to see if they are accomplishing their mission efficiently and effectively.
But this is worthless unless they put into place some Strategic Actions that are innovative and substantial.
Continue reading Do You Really Want to Update Your #Nonprofit Strategic Plan?
My prior post, The Big Picture, described the high level view of nonprofit strategic planning and management. 
It showed that all nonprofits start with the recognition of a problem and a vision of the world where the problem is resolved. The mission is the commitment to achieve the vision. The vision and mission are why the nonprofit exists and should never rarely change.
Researchers tell us that many decisions are emotional, then rationalized later. This leads to many “bad” decisions. Here is a process that removes much of the bias, while taking into consideration multiple viewpoints and “gut feel”. Continue reading Removing Bias From Big Decisions