Strategic Planning

Over the last two months, I have been assisting with Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit’s strategic planning process, which has been named, The Next 100. As an organizational leadership geek, this has been one of the projects I have enjoyed the most in my time at Goodwill. My role on the project has been to work with Goodwill’s Strategic Planning Consultants and coordinate the planning process of the Strategic Planning Organizing Committee.

The Process

During this planning process, I have had the privilege to work with several leaders representing different businesses and areas of Goodwill. I have been seen the value and importance of bringing together a diverse team with ranging experiences, backgrounds, expertise, age, etc. as each of us brings our own unique perspective.

Most recently, we held a Board Retreat where we focused on strategic planning. During the retreat, introspection was a focus as we considered the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as data for our programs and finances. There was also an emphasis on what is happening externally outside of Goodwill as we considered the factors impacting the people and communities we serve along with the industry trends for our businesses.

I walked away from the Board Retreat feeling inspired by the commitment of the leadership of Goodwill as they engaged with the information presented. We have many more months to go as we work though the strategic planning across the organization, but I am excited to see the results it yields and the course of action the organization takes.

My Own Introspection

Organizations often go through strategic planning, but I have found as I have been walking through this project that I need to do some of my own strategic planning. This comes at an opportune time as I reflect on my last eight months in Detroit, and think about where I am heading once Challenge Detroit concludes. Being a part of a fellowship, I find that much of my time is consumed with different events and it can be easy to go from one thing to the next not taking the time to reflect. As I continue to work through this planning process at Goodwill, I also plan to apply some of these strategic planning steps to my own life.