“What are we missing that could help us next year?”
For too many advancement teams, this is the primary question that drives annual planning efforts.
To address this question, teams will devote a great deal of time and energy focused on generating “new ideas” to implement, or “innovative strategies” to execute during the upcoming year. Creating these “fresh approaches” typically involves reviewing past activities, events, and programs, conducting brainstorming sessions, and assessing opportunities on the coming year’s calendar for implementation.
Clearly, the annual planning question of, “what are we missing?” can be a helpful one.
But, for at least two reasons, it is far from the most helpful annual planning question to ask.
First, this question typically assumes that the current program needs changing. This may not be an accurate assumption. In many instances teams would be far better off focusing on creating habits with their volunteers, donors, and attendees, as opposed to creating new events, activities, and initiatives to implement each year.
Second, this question assumes that “what is missing” is the content of our advancement work. This assumption can sound something like: “If only we could implement the perfect direct mail campaign, or the most engaging event schedule, or the most intriguing giving day, then next year would be successful!”
But what if asking questions that focus the team on the content of our advancement work isn’t the most important or helpful approach to annual planning?
What if, instead, the most important questions advancement teams should be asking themselves during annual planning look more like the following:
“How can we generate more enthusiasm for our plans and more ownership of our goals among everyone on our team?”
Team member enthusiasm and ownership. That’s a far more helpful focus for effective annual planning.
To achieve this type of annual planning focus, we should ask and address four specific questions prior to addressing the specific content of our work:
- What outcomes and/or impacts would we want this program to have in five years?
- Based on our current collection of resources and our strengths as a team, what opportunities do we see in the next year that could move us closer to achieving the longer-term outcomes and/or impacts we identified?
- To show that we are making progress toward the longer-term outcomes and/or impacts we identified, what specific, time-bound, and/or measurable objectives could we achieve next year?
- Who on our team will be accountable for ensuring that we are implementing specific action plans designed to meet our specific, time-bound, and/or measurable objectives?
When we begin by focusing on the longer-term future and how the team would like to see the program performing, we create a helpful frame for all current work. This context adds depth to a teams’ efforts. It creates a sense of building something worthwhile for the future, instead of simply creating a to-do list for today.
Likewise, when we conclude by identifying a member of the team who is accountable for the creation of specific plans and the implementation of those plans, we are not saying that one person must do all the work. To the contrary, we are communicating that different team members will have the accountability of ensuring that all team members are responsible for implementing their parts of the plan. This approach creates more ownership of the plan throughout the team and ensures all are engaged appropriately in achieving the team’s annual goals.
Clearly, we must know what we are doing next year to be effective and productive. But before we jump into the “what are we missing?” question, there are a set of questions that will inspire, create deeper meaning, and provide much needed connection for everyone on the team.
“Where do we want to go?”
“How will we know we are making progress on that journey?”
“Who among us will be accountable to keep us all on the path?”
These are the questions that create a deeper connection between the team and the content of next year’s work. These are the questions that generate team-wide enthusiasm for the plans we ultimately create. These are the questions that emphasize ownership of our goals for all team members.
And, perhaps, that is what is truly missing in our annual planning.
This article was originally posted in the Gonser Gerber E-Bulletin – November 2024 Edition
