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Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide
A Framework for Strategy Development Building on the Mission
A clear framework is essential to the development of a coherent, integrated plan. Following predetermined guidelines will help to focus discussions and maximize efficiency. Defining the mission, analyzing external environment and resources available, designing an implementation plan and following through with an appropriate financial plan make the overwhelming task of strategic planning more accessible by breaking down the process into manageable components.
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Strategizing is a creative process that cannot be performed simply by filling out forms. However, putting people in a room and asking them to think creatively about the future can yield very little and can waste a great deal of time. These sessions frequently devote too much time to the interests of a vocal minority, usually omitting discussions on many substantial issues and always prohibiting the development of a coherent, integrated plan.
Any planning process is made more efficient when it employs a structure, or framework, as a guide. This chapter introduces a framework that underlies one effective approach to planning. This approach is a generic one that has been used successfully by both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Just as this framework provides a guide for the planning process, it will also provide an outline for this book. In the following chapters, each element of the framework will be tailored specifically to the needs of arts organizations.
THE MISSION STATEMENT
The foundation of this framework, and the starting point of all strategic planning, is the mission statement. The mission statement describes the central goals of the organization and the scope of its operations. The goal of a corporation in the for-profit sector is easy to describe: maximize stock price by making as much money as possible for as long as possible. While the mission statements for profit-oriented companies may include some discussion of the product line, customer base or geographical scope, the central focus must be on profit. (Unfortunately, many for-profit organizations are not honest in their missions, emphasizing specific products or services rather than profit. This can lead to a great deal of confusion when product line changes are made through acquisition or divestiture.)
For arts organizations, and all not-for-profit organizations, the mission statement is more difficult to define. We know the company is not in business to make a profit; but why does it exist? To offer world-class performances or exhibitions? To educate? To sustain itself financially? To train young artists? To serve a specific region? To encourage the creation of new works of art? To preserve and present older masterworks? When one removes the overwhelming profit motive, the mission becomes more difficult and, therefore, more important to formulate. For although the specific wording of the mission statement is not of key importance (too many people spend too much time worrying about the semantics of the statement), the implications of the organization's mission are staggering. They guide the entire planning process and, more important, should influence all programmatic and administrative decisions.
Those organizations without explicit missions have a difficult time managing themselves. Individual members of the staff or Board may make decisions that they feel are best for the company but that counteract the actions of their peers; consistent progress in a mission-less organization, therefore, is a result of luck.
If a mission statement is to be an effective management tool, every person who influences the behavior of the organization must understand its implications. For example, a symphony Board that accepts world-class quality as an element of its mission must be willing to commit to raising the funds needed to achieve this ambition. Similarly, a regional theater company that aims to produce experimental works must be prepared to mount a more focused marketing effort than a counterpart producing light comedies and musicals.
While the mission clearly directs the remainder of the planning process, the final wording of the mission statement need not be drafted before planning commences. The planning process is an enlightening, iterative procedure that allows the participants to "fine tune" the mission statement as they reveal the full implication of each parameter of that statement. However, while the final wording of the mission does not have to be determined in advance, a broad outline of the company's goals must be developed before any effective strategizing can commence. For without a goal, a strategy is meaningless.
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