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FastTrack™ Strategic Planning System

FastTrack™ Strategic Planning System

Build your strategic plan step by step. FastTrack™ uses best practices to guide you in plan preparation, creation, and execution. Take every step or pick your path: the key is to find your vision, chart your course, and make ongoing progress.

To lead your organization to a better future, you need more than goals—you need a compelling vision of great success and powerful strategies to make it real.

But vision and strategy aren’t enough on their own. The real challenge is follow-through.

That’s where the FastTrack™ Strategic Planning System comes in. It recognizes that planning is not an event—it’s an ongoing process. An agile planning system developed based on 35+ years of real-world experience working with organizations to create and implement strategy, FastTrack™ gives you the structure, tools, and rhythm to bridge the gap between strategy and execution—so you can stay focused, aligned, and consistently make progress.

From Vision to Reality—One Step at a Time

If you work through all the steps in the FastTrack™ Strategic Planning System, you will:

  • Set the time span and strategy areas that your plan will address
  • Conduct a business assessment and gain strategic foresight through an environmental scan and more
  • Consider your business model and the basis on which you will compete
  • Learn from stakeholders and assess the competition
  • Put it all together in a comprehensive SWOT analysis
  • Use your SWOT to develop an inspiring vision of great future success
  • Identify the gaps between today and your vision
  • Develop strategic goals and strategies to close the gaps
  • Establish your objectives and Key Performance Indicators
  • Develop 12-month action steps to assure that you get down the road
  • Create your program to drive implementation and measure your progress

Tools That Keep You Moving Forward

FastTrack™ is more than a planning model—it’s a discipline for driving results. It equips you with:

  • Practical tools like KPIs, a dashboard, and monthly, quarterly, and annual processes for assessment, adjustment, and re-planning
  • Built-in accountability to help you and your team stay engaged, on track, and aligned
  • A step-by-step system that simplifies the complex and makes strategy part of your everyday leadership

For Leaders and Teams Who Want to Leverage Strategy for Great Success

Whether you're a business, nonprofit, association, or government entity, FastTrack™ helps you set a great vision, execute consistently, and achieve what matters most for great success.

How it works.

  • Use the three buttons above—Prepare to Plan, Create Your Plan, and Implement Your Plan—to explore the FastTrack™ system step by step, or jump into the sections in whatever order makes sense.
  • As you and your associates progress through the planning steps, use the View Your Plan dropdown at the top of the sidebar on the right to see how your plan is taking shape.
  • Be sure you use the Save Plan and other buttons above to save, export, and print your plan and generate implementation reports. You can also reload a plan you have saved and restart the process.
  • For knowledge, ideas, editing help, examples, options, best practices, and more, click the floating button on the lower right to get help from Kai, our AI planning assistant.

Pick your path.

  • If speed and simplicity are of the essence, consider brainstorming to create your SWOT Analysis, creating your Vision of great success, setting Strategic Goals and Strategies to reach your goals, and then developing 12-Month Action Steps that you can begin to implement ASAP.
  • For the best plan, consider working with your team through all the Prepare to Plan and Create Your Plan sections offered below. The pre-planning work will populate your SWOT and then you can augment that with brainstorming to assure it is complete. Tackling all of the Create Your Plan sections will assure that your plan is built using best practices and is actionable.
  • To assure effective, ongoing plan implementation for great results, use all the tools in the Implement Your Plan section: Create your Implementation Plan, set up and regularly update your Implementation Dashboard, conduct your Monthly Check-ins and Quarterly Progress assessments, and then assess your results and set new action steps in your Annual Assessment and Replanning process.

Let’s begin.

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Prepare to Plan

Initial Information

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Are you ready to plan? Find out here.

Planning Readiness Check

When you are ready to plan, start by entering information about your organization and the plan you are creating.

The planning period is the time span which your plan will address. It's generally better for your plan to cover four or five years or even longer to encourage development of strategies that will drive big change rather than incremental improvement.

Adjust the Plan Implementation Start and End Dates as needed.

Note: If you change these dates for an established plan, please save and reload the plan. Then review the dates you have previously set for KPIs, 12-Month Action Steps, the Implementation Plan, and the Implementation Dashboard: They may need to be reset.

The plan name is generated based on the Organization Name and Planning Period. Adjust the start and end year as needed.
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Strategy Areas Selection

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Strategy Areas: A Framework for Comprehensive Planning

Your strategies for attaining your Vision should address the four Balanced Scorecard perspectives, sometimes named Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and People/Organizational Capacity. These perspectives are often called Strategy Areas, Pillars, or Lenses.

Why a balanced approach matters: The Balanced Scorecard framework ensures you don’t over-focus on one dimension at the expense of others. Financial results depend on satisfied customers, which require effective internal processes, which in turn need capable people and a strong organization. By addressing all four perspectives, you create coherent strategies where each area reinforces the others.

Each template below adapts the Balanced Scorecard perspectives to different organization types. Choose the template that best fits your organization type. Then you can customize the Strategy Area names to match your organization’s specific needs.

Business Template

Strategy Areas:
  • Financial
  • Organizational/People
  • Customers/Marketing
  • Operations, Processes, and Procedures

Non-Profit Template

Strategy Areas:
  • Stakeholder Value & Impact
  • Programs, Services & Operations
  • People, Leadership & Governance
  • Financial Health & Sustainability

Association Template

Strategy Areas:
  • Member Value & Growth
  • Programs, Services & Operations
  • Staff, Volunteers & Governance
  • Financial Health

Government Template

Strategy Areas:
  • Constituent/Social Outcomes
  • Operational Efficiency & Service Delivery
  • Staff, Volunteers & Governance
  • Fiscal Stewardship and Resource Optimization
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Business Assessment

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How To Assess The Health of Your Organization

An honest look at your organization is the foundation for a better future. This assessment helps you create a clear, objective snapshot of your business. Rate key areas to uncover strengths to build on and critical weaknesses you need to address.

How to Complete Your Assessment

  1. Review Each Item: Consider each aspect listed below.
  2. Get More Detail: If you're unsure what an item means, click the info icon ⓘ for an explanation.
  3. Choose a Rating: Don't overthink it. You and the team likely have a good sense of where your organization is. Select the rating that best reflects your current reality:
    • Good: This is a clear strength.
    • So-So: There's room for improvement.
    • Not Good: This is a weakness that needs strategic attention.

What Happens Next

This isn't just a checklist—it's the first step in building your strategy. The results feed into your SWOT Analysis:

  • Items rated Good will be available to import as Strengths.
  • Items rated So-So and Not Good will be available to import as Weaknesses.

Your honest evaluation will ensure your strategic plan is grounded in reality and focused on what truly matters.

Optional deep dives: If you want to go deeper, use the optional assessments below:

  • Leadership and workforce
  • Systems and technology
  • Customer/supporter/member/constituent acquisition/service (based on your organization type)

Any Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree ratings in these assessments can be used in your SWOT.

Recommended: Organizational health assessment

Complete the assessment below. Your ratings will be used later in the SWOT.

Assessment Summary

Good

0

    So-So

    0

      Not Good

      0
        Optional: Leadership and workforce assessment

        Rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Your ratings will be used later in the SWOT.

        Optional: Systems and technology assessment

        Rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Your ratings will be used later in the SWOT.

        Optional: Customer acquisition assessment

        Rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Your ratings will be used later in the SWOT.

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        Financial Analysis

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        Business Model + Basis for Competition

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        Your Business Model & Basis for Competition: Why they matter and what they describe

        Why this matters before you plan

        A strategic plan only works if it matches how you intend to win and how you will fund and deliver that win.

        In this section you’ll make two quick selections:

        • Your basis for competition — the primary way you will win in your market (lowest cost, best product/service, or best customer experience).
        • Your business model(s) — the way your organization creates value, delivers value, and captures value (revenue/funding + cost structure).

        These choices matter because they shape the rest of your plan:

        • What goals make sense (and which don’t)
        • What strategies are realistic (and which are wishful)
        • What must be true operationally (capabilities, processes, pricing/funding, customer/beneficiary experience)

        When your basis for competition and business model reinforce each other, your plan becomes coherent and executable. When they conflict, you waste effort, confuse your market, and struggle to produce results.

        Keep it simple: choose your best-fit options for how you compete and how you work. You can refine later, but planning without this clarity is one of the fastest ways to build a plan that looks good on paper and fails in execution.

        What a Business Model Describes

        A business model explains four things:

        For businesses
        • What product or service you sell
        • How you market and deliver it
        • What expenses you face
        • How you earn a profit
        For nonprofits
        • What programs or services you provide
        • How you reach and serve beneficiaries
        • What expenses you face
        • How you fund operations (donations, grants, earned revenue)

        At the center of every business model is value:

        • Value Creation — making the offering real
        • Value Delivery — reaching, enrolling/selling, fulfilling, supporting
        • Value Capture — earning enough to sustain and grow (margin, surplus, funding)

        Important: Your basis for competition should drive your business model design—from pricing and operations to customer relationships. Trying to excel at all three competitive bases usually creates confusion and weak results. Choose one primary focus, then make sure your model supports it.

        Where you’ll see this used next:

        • Vision draft options: each draft shows a quick “Fit check” against your selected basis + business model(s).
        • Implementation Plan: the Plan Completeness & Alignment Check uses these selections as part of overall plan quality feedback.
        Note for holding companies: choose the holding company’s primary basis for competition and business model(s) here. Subsidiary businesses should build their own plans for how they win in their markets.
        Step 1: Identify Your Basis for Competition

        Step 1: Identify Your Basis for Competition

        Market leaders focus on one primary dimension on which they compete. On the other dimensions, "good enough" is good enough. Check your current basis for competition, or, if you want to change it, the basis on which you want to compete in the future.
        Heads up: trying to excel at all three leads to strategic confusion and weak results. Choose one primary focus.
        Step 2: Business Model(s)

        Step 2: Business Model(s)

        Check the model—or combination of models—that describes how your organization works today, or, if you want to change your business model(s), how you want it to work in the future. (Hint: If you want more information on a business model option, ask Kai.) The checked items below each model option indicate the Bases for Competion for which each model is most appropriate. Many organizations blend models (e.g., Amazon uses Marketplace + Subscription + Advertising + Low Touch; Spotify and LinkedIn use Freemium + Subscription; many SaaS companies use Subscription + Service Levels).

        Step 3: Reality Check

        Step 3: Reality Check

        Does your current business model(s) or the business model(s) you want to adopt support your chosen basis for competition? Your basis for competition should drive your business model design. You should seek to have the elements of your business model - from cost structure to key activities to revenue streams - reinforce and enable your chosen competitive strategy. Misalignment between these two leads to confused market positioning and poor performance.

        Before proceeding, ask yourself:

        1. Does your business model support your competitive strategy?
          • Cost Leadership → Best-fit business models often include:
            • Low Touch / Self-Service (automation and minimal labor cost)
            • Standardization (repeatable, efficient processes)
            • Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) (remove intermediaries and retain margin)
            • Wholesale / Distribution (scale and purchasing power)
            • Bundling (higher perceived value with lower unit costs)
          • Product Excellence → Best-fit business models often include:
            • Manufacturer / Product Sales (premium products and differentiation)
            • Subscription (recurring revenue to fund innovation)
            • Tiered Pricing / Service Levels (capture willingness to pay)
            • Licensing (IP/Technology) (monetize innovation beyond direct sales)
            • Razor-and-Blade (ecosystem lock-in and recurring purchases)
          • Customer Intimacy → Best-fit business models often include:
            • Professional Services (Fee-for-Service / Retainer) (deep advisory relationships)
            • Outsourcing / Managed Services (ongoing partnership and support)
            • Subscription (membership-style repeat value)
            • Tiered Pricing / Service Levels (white-glove experience at higher tiers)
            • Affinity Club / Community (belonging, loyalty, and repeat engagement)

          2. Important: A business model is rarely “right” or “wrong” for a basis for competition. Many models work for multiple strategies—what matters is how you execute pricing, operations, innovation, and the customer experience.

          Use the crosswalk below to see common alignments (✓). Treat it as guidance—not a rulebook.

          Business Model Cost
          Leadership          		 Product
          Excellence          		 Customer
          Intimacy
          Low Touch / Self-Service✓
          Standardization✓✓
          Direct-to-Consumer (D2C)✓✓✓
          Wholesale / Distribution✓
          Bundling✓✓✓
          Manufacturer / Product Sales✓
          Subscription✓✓✓
          Tiered Pricing / Service Levels✓✓
          Licensing (IP/Technology)✓
          Razor-and-Blade✓✓
          Professional Services (Fee-for-Service / Retainer)✓
          Outsourcing / Managed Services✓✓
          Affinity Club / Community✓✓
        2. Is your business model sustainable?
          • Can you acquire customers for less than they'll pay you over time?
          • Will your margins improve (not shrink) as you grow?
          • Is it hard for competitors to copy or for customers to leave?
          • Do you get paid before (not after) your major costs?

        Based on your assessment, do you want to plan for the future using the basis for competition and business model(s) you have selected above? If you decide to change your basis for competition and/or your business model(s), make new selections above. Consider: Which model(s) would better support your chosen basis for competition? Can you combine models to reinforce your competitive advantage? What operational changes would the new model require?

        Step 4: Integration into Your Strategic Plan

        Step 4: Integration into Your Strategic Plan

        When you create your plan, your vision, strategic goals, and strategies should support and strengthen your basis for competition and your business model(s).
        How this gets used in FastTrack: You’ll see a quick Fit check next to each Vision Draft option, and the Plan Completeness & Alignment Check (in the Implementation Plan section) uses these selections as part of your plan quality feedback.
        Examples by competitive strategy:
        Cost Leadership:
        • Vision: "Become the lowest-cost provider through direct-to-consumer sales"
        • Strategic goals: "Eliminate 50% of intermediary costs by Year 2"
        • Strategies: "Implement automated ordering system" / "Standardize product line"
        Product Excellence:
        • Vision: "Lead the industry in innovative subscription-based solutions"
        • Strategic goals: "Launch platform enabling third-party innovations"
        • Strategies: "Create developer ecosystem" / "Establish innovation labs"
        Customer Intimacy:
        • Vision: "Build the most trusted advisor relationships in our industry"
        • Strategic goals: "Achieve 95% customer retention through service excellence"
        • Strategies: "Implement customer success program" / "Create community platform"
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        Strategic Foresight

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        Strategic Foresight Is Essential For Creating Great Strategy

        What it is: Strategic foresight is a way of anticipating change. It tags emerging signals, trends, and uncertainties—and then consider multiple plausible futures to keep your strategy strong when the world shifts. Strategic foresight involves scanning for emerging trends, weak signals, and uncertainties that could reshape your environment.

        It helps you look beyond today and prepare for ways the future might unfold. Realize that the future isn't predetermined—it's shaped by current choices. In this section you will:

        • Essential: Scan the environment for key external forces and trends and tag them for use in your SWOT Analysis.
        • Optional: Prioritize what matters most using an Importance × Predictability grid.
        • Optional: Explore possible futures by using key uncertainties in “what if” scenarios.

        Start by identifying key trends. Then consider using Parts 2 and 3 to help you think about how these trends could play out and how that might affect your strategy.

        Part 1: Identify & Tag Your Trends

        In Part 1 you’ll work through the six categories below. For each category, consider the prompts and examples and list the most significant factors for your organization. You can identify trends by assessing what you see unfolding, asking Kai, doing internet searching, consulting with industry experts, and/or asking employees and vendors what they are seeing play out. Then, just for the trends that you believe are important for strategy, use the SWOT tag dropdown next to each item to classify it as an Opportunity or a Threat. If time is tight, this capture‑and‑tag step is the essential work; Parts 2 and 3 simply help you go deeper.

        💡
        Hint: Let Kai Help You Brainstorm

        We have provided specific Kai Prompts in each trend category below to help you uncover blind spots.

        Important: Educate Kai first.
        Before using the prompts shown below, let Kai know who you are. Start your chat by telling Kai about your organization, something like:
        "We are a [Organization Type] in the [Industry] located in [Location]. We provide [Products/Services] to [Target Audience]."

        Economic Factors

        What economic forces are shifting or may shift the landscape?
        Examples include: Changes in purchasing power, capital availability, cost structures, or global economic connectivity.
        Identify current trends. You can ask Kai: "What economic trends are creating opportunities or threats for our organization type right now?"
        Scan for emerging trends. You can ask Kai: "What economic shifts should a our organization type anticipate in the next 3-5 years?"

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        Political & Legal Factors

        What changes in power, policy, or law are altering or may alter the rules of the game?
        Examples include: Shifts in government priorities, regulatory climate, trade policies, or labor standards.
        Identify current trends. You can ask Kai: "What recent regulatory or political changes are impacting our organization type right now?"
        Scan for emerging trends. You can ask Kai: "What potential legislative changes or political shifts could impact a our organization type in the next 3-5 years?"

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        Social & Demographic Factors

        How are people, communities, and cultural values evolving?
        Examples include: Shifts in lifestyle choices, workforce expectations, population dynamics, or ethical priorities.
        Identify current trends. You can ask Kai: "What key demographic or social trends are shaping consumer behavior and the workforce in our industry right now?"
        Scan for emerging trends. You can ask Kai: "How might emerging values and social trends among consumers and the workforce reshape our organization and demand for our products/services in the next 3-5 years?"

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        Technological Factors

        How is innovation solving problems in new ways or rendering old ways obsolete?
        Examples include: AI that improves work, replaces tasks, or enables new possibilities; tools that impact production, communication, distribution, or customer experience.
        Identify current trends. You can ask Kai: "What technologies are currently disrupting or enhancing operations in our industry?"
        Scan for emerging trends. You can ask Kai: "What emerging technologies (like AI or automation) might fundamentally change our business model in 3-5 years?"

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        Market & Industry Factors

        How is the playing field changing within your specific sector?
        Examples include: Changes in supplier power, buyer behavior, competitive intensity, or substitute products.
        Identify current trends. You can ask Kai: "What are the top market opportunities and pressures affecting our industry right now?"
        Scan for emerging trends. You can ask Kai: "What non-traditional competitors or new business models might alter our market in the next 3-5 years?"

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        Environmental Factors

        What sustainability and resource availability trends are affecting or may impact your future?
        Examples include: Climate risks, energy transition, resource scarcity, or sustainability expectations.
        Identify current trends. You can ask Kai: "What environmental or sustainability trends are currently affecting our industry?"
        Scan for emerging trends. You can ask Kai: "What new opportunities or threats might our organization type expect from climate change and the green economy in the next 3-5 years?"

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        💡 To go further: Look for Weak Signals

        Before you prioritize, you might want to go deeper. "Weak signals" are early indicators that something is changing but the change isn't widely recognized yet.

        Ask yourself: What are we hearing about or seeing signs of that isn't a big deal yet, but could be in 3-5 years? These might include:

        • Technologies still in the lab or just gaining traction.
        • Shifts in attitudes among younger generations.
        • New competitors trying strange business models.

        You can ferret out weak signals by asking Kai, doing internet searching, consulting with industry experts, or asking employees and vendors who have their fingers on the pulse of business. For these "weak signal" possiblities that seem to offer the potential of changing the game for your organization, add them to your trends list above and tag them as opportunities or threats.

        💡 The rest of this section is optional: You already have identified trends to populate opportunities and threats in your SWOT analysis. Parts 2 and 3 use more advanced tools that can help you sharpen your priorities and build scenarios useful in developing robust strategies.

        Part 2 (Optional): Categorize & Prioritize Trends

        Part 2: Categorize Your Trends

        What you’re doing:
        Sort each trend based on (1) Importance and (2) Predictability to decide how to use it in your planning.

        How to evaluate trends

        Importance: How much could this trend affect your organization and your ability to achieve your vision?
        – More important: significant impact
        – Less important: limited impact

        Predictability: How clear is this trend over the next 2–5 years?
        – More predictable: likely to continue in a clear direction
        – Less predictable: uncertain or could shift

        How to place trends

        • More Important & Predictable: Use in your strategy
        • More Important & Less Predictable: Use for scenario planning
        • Less Important & Less Predictable: Monitor
        • Less Important & Predictable: Set aside

        How to decide quickly

        • If important → Box 1 or 2
        • If not important → Box 3 or 4
        • Then use predictability to choose the exact box

        Optional: Add a short reason for your placement.

        Start here:
        Begin with your Important (Tagged) trends, then sort the rest.

        💡 User Tip: If a box becomes too full to easily read, click the Expand Icon (⤢) in the top-right corner of the box to view all the contents. Click it again (⤡) to return to the grid view.

        Your Trends from Part 1

        High Importance (Tagged)
        Drag to Box 1 or 2

        Lower Importance
        Drag to Box 3 or 4


        1. Plan For These:
        Important & Predictable Trends

        (These changes are coming and will have a big impact. Your strategic plan must address them directly.)

        2. Prep For Uncertainty:
        Important & Unpredictable Trends

        (These matter, but could go different ways. You will use these in Part 3 to build "what if" scenarios.)

        3. Keep an Eye On:
        Unimportant & Predictable Trends

        (These will likely happen but won't break the business. Monitor them, but don't over-plan.)

        4. Set Aside:
        Unimportant & Unpredictable Trends

        (Low impact and unpredictable. You can safely ignore these for this planning cycle.)

        What to do with your results:

        • Items in Box 1 (Plan For These): These are near certainties. You will consider strategies to address them in the "Create Your Plan" phase.
        • Items in Box 2 (Prepare For Uncertainty): These are your "wild cards." These trends will be considered in Part 3 below to build your Scenarios.
        • Items in Boxes 3 & 4: These are low priority trends. Keep an eye on those in Box 3. Otherwise, focus your resources on the top row.
        Part 3 (Optional): Futures Analysis

        Why look at different futures?

        Some of the most important trends—the ones you put in the "Prepare for Uncertainty" box—could unfold in very different ways. Instead of betting everything on one prediction, use this section to explore a few different "what if" stories. This helps you build a plan that works no matter which way the wind blows.

        Step 1: Pick Your Two Biggest "Question Marks"

        Look at your list from the "Prepare for Uncertainty" box (Box 2). Select the two trends that:

        1. Could change your business the most (for better or worse).
        2. Are independent of each other (they don't necessarily move together).

        Tip: Pick the two that keep you up at night or get you most excited.

        (No items in Box 2 yet. Drag items into the "Prepare For Uncertainty" box in Part 2 to populate this list.)

        Step 3: Build Your Scenarios

        Don't worry about which scenario is 'most likely.' The goal is to have four distinct pictures of what your world might look like, so you can build strategies that work in all of them.

        Give each scenario a short name (such as “Rapid Growth” or “Lack of Talent”) and write 1–3 sentences describing what it would look like if it comes to pass.

        Examples of Scenario Names and Stories

        Scenario A – Trend 1 Favorable, Trend 2 Favorable

        Rising Tide: The overall environment is supportive, and your organization can grow programs, partnerships, and capacity without major constraints.

        Scenario B – Trend 1 Favorable, Trend 2 Unfavorable

        The Wild West: You have freedom and flexibility to innovate, but budgets are tight and decision-makers are cautious about spending.

        Scenario C – Trend 1 Unfavorable, Trend 2 Favorable

        The Walled Garden: Demand is strong, but regulations, compliance requirements, or internal constraints slow down your ability to respond.

        Scenario D – Both trends Unfavorable

        The Squeeze: Costs are rising while demand or funding is falling. You must make tough trade-offs to stay viable.

        Scenario A

        In this world:

        Scenario B

        In this world:

        Scenario C

        In this world:

        Scenario D

        In this world:

        Step 4: How to Use These Scenarios

        As you move into the "Create Your Plan" phase, test your strategies against these four worlds:

        • Stress Test: Would your goals still make sense if the "Unfavorable" scenario happens? If not, do you need a backup plan?
        • Flexibility: The best strategies work reasonably well in all four scenarios.
        • Early Warning: Keep an eye on these trends. If you see the world moving toward one specific scenario, be ready to adjust your tactics quickly.
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        Stakeholder Insight

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        Stakeholder Insight (optional): Why and how to generate and use it

        Stakeholder Insight is optional, but powerful when used well. FastTrack helps you design questions and apply what you learn. It does not run the survey for you.

        The simple flow
        1. Prepare — choose stakeholder groups and questions
        2. Collect — gather responses in your survey tool and export to CSV
        3. Apply — turn responses into themes, tensions, SWOT items, and priorities
        Step 1 — Prepare

        FastTrack helps you design the survey, but you will build and run it in your own tool, such as Google Forms or Microsoft Forms.

        • Use the question bank below for the core questions all stakeholders should answer.
        • Click Copy the question bank, paste it into your survey tool, and add your intro and instructions.
        • You can add extra questions, but shorter surveys usually get better response and completion rates.
        Step 2 — Collect & Import
        • Collect responses using Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, SurveyMonkey, or a similar tool.
        • Export the results to CSV. You may use the FastTrack template and upload your file here.
        • If you added extra questions, you will need to revise the FastTrack template to include them in the analysis.
        Step 3 — Analyze & Apply
        • Use AI if helpful: click Copy Kai analysis prompt, paste it into Kai or another AI tool, and use the output to complete the fields below.
        • Capture only what is strategically useful: themes, tensions, SWOT items, and priorities.
        • Use responses to “Achieve in 5 years” to sharpen your picture of success.
        How FastTrack uses your inputs
        • SWOT: In the SWOT section, click Add Stakeholder Insight Findings to import items you selected for SWOT.
        • Goals & Strategies: Themes and tensions selected for strategy appear as hints while drafting goals and strategies.
        • Synthesis: Stakeholder insight informs decisions; it does not dictate them. Combine it with business and environmental data.
        Tip: Keep it tight. A few strong insights you apply are more valuable than a long list you do not use.
        Step 1: Prepare for Stakeholder Insight

        This step offers recommended survey questions to use to gather insight for analysis in this section. Copy and paste the question bank into your survey or interview guide. Note: If you want to add other questions to your survey, you will have to adapt the csv format offered in the next step.

        Recommended question bank (copy/paste into your survey tool)
        1. 1. What do you see as the organization’s greatest strengths?
        2. 2. What do you see as the organization’s greatest weaknesses?
        3. 3. What opportunities do you think the organization should pursue to be more effective, innovative, financially strong, or successful over the next five years?
        4. 4. What do you see as the greatest threats to the organization’s financial integrity, service quality, and overall success over the next five years?
        5. 5. What do you think are the most important things the organization should begin doing now for greater future success?
        6. 6. Envision the organization five years from now. What do you think are the most important things it should achieve by then?
        Step 2: Collect & import responses

        Collect & import responses (recommended workflow)

        Click Download CSV template for a preformatted template to use for uploading multiple stakeholder survey or interview responses.

        Click Upload completed CSV to upload responses: The uploaded CSV can be the preformatted downloaded CSV template (see above) or a Google/Microsoft Form CSV export. (The uploader attempts to map common headers like “strengths”, “weaknesses”, etc.)

        Click Clear responses to delete all responses from the Responses table below.

        Click Copy Kai analysis prompt for a prompt to paste into Kai (or another AI) to analyze the responses for Key Themes; Tensions / Contradictions; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats; and Strategic Priorities.

        Add a single response manually (optional)

        Responses

        Step 3: Analyze, synthesize & apply insights

        Stakeholder input compilation

        Stakeholder insights

        Suggestion: Copy and paste from Kai's analysis and edit as needed. You can selectively feed items into your SWOT Analysis and Strategy creation.

        1) Key themes

        Group similar points; label each theme clearly. Check Use in Strategy Creation for themes you want to carry forward into creating Goals and Strategies.

        2) Stakeholder Tensions / Contradictions (if any)

        Capture key tradeoffs where stakeholder groups disagree or pull in different directions. These are strategic decisions to resolve (not problems to average away). Mark Use in Strategy Creation for tensions you want to keep visible when drafting Goals and Strategies.

        3) Most cited strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with strategic implications

        List strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Check Use in SWOT for the items you want imported when you click Add Stakeholder Insight Findings in the SWOT Analysis section.

        Key Strengths Stakeholders Cite
        Key Weaknesses Stakeholders Cite
        Key Opportunities Stakeholders Cite
        Key Threats Stakeholders Cite
        4) Strategic priorities emerging from stakeholder input to consider in your plan

        List stakeholder priorities, phrased as action-oriented statements (e.g., “Modernize onboarding to reduce time-to-productivity by X”).

        Back to Top ↑

        Competitive Analysis

        ▼
        Determining your competitive positioning

        Analyze your key competitors to understand your competitive positioning. You can analyze up to five key competitors or competitor types.

        For each competitor, evaluate their characteristics and identify their advantages and vulnerabilities relative to your organization.

        In the SWOT section you will get the opportunity to import your competitive advantages and vulnerabilities versus the competition as strengths and weaknesses.

        💡 Competition exists in all sectors - businesses compete for customers, non-profits compete for donors and attention, and government agencies compete for resources and talent.

        Competitor 1

        Back to Top ↑

        SWOT Analysis

        ▼
        Before You Begin: How This SWOT Fits Into Your Plan

        A SWOT analysis summarizes your internal Strengths & Weaknesses and external Opportunities & Threats. The SWOT can be fed directly from your earlier work—you can use the results from prior sections to populate the inputs. Use the Add buttons to bring items forward; then review and refine them and through brainstorming or individual insight add what might be missing, and, finally, prioritize them to focus your plan.

        How to work this section:

        • Step 1 — Gather, add, and condense: Import items from the earlier sections using the Add buttons. Then brainstorm well to add what is missing. Run a focused brainstorming exercise with your team (or solo): aim for quantity first (no judging), then combine duplicates or similar items, clarify wording, and remove weak items. But it's OK it the list is still long. The next step addresses that.
        • Step 3 — Rank by importance: Make quick, paired comparisons that produce each item’s Importance (0–100).
        • Step 4 — Synthesize for action: In this step you get the initial ranking, and you can optionally run Refine Rankings for a short set of “Most vs. Least Important” prompts to improve separation among close items. (Some ties may remain—that simply means items are statistically close.)

        Shortcut to remember: Go wide → go narrow → then decide. Start broad, consolidate and rank, then decide with an eye to pressing your advantages, lowering your risks, and addressing near-term feasibility.

        Step 1: Brainstorm & Refine

        Instructions: This is your brainstorming and refinement hub.

        1. Capture: First, use the "Add" buttons to import key findings from your previous work. Then, type any additional items directly into the four textareas below (one item per line). The goal is to get all potential factors down without judgment.
        2. Refine: After your initial brainstorm, review the lists. This is your opportunity to edit items for clarity, combine similar ideas into a single, stronger point, or delete items that are duplicates or no longer seem relevant.
        3. Confirm: The refined lists you finalize here will be used in the next step for prioritization. Once you are satisfied, proceed to Step 2.

        Strengths

        Weaknesses

        Opportunities

        Threats

        Step 2: Consolidate Your SWOT Items

        Instructions: Click the green Archive less important items button if you want to drop SWOT items to focus on what's more important. Click the green Combine similar items button if you want to reduce similar entries. Your changes will show in the SWOT Analysis in Step 1 and the sidebar when you click Save SWOT changes.

        1. Archive less important items: Click Archive less important items, then check items you want to move out of the active list and click Archive selected. Archived items are listed for review.
        2. Combine similar items: Click Combine similar items, then check two or more duplicates and click Combine selected. Edit the suggested wording if needed and click Save. Combined items are listed for review.
        3. Finish: When you’re satisfied with your consoliated SWOT, click Save SWOT changes at the bottom.
        Step 3: Prioritize Your SWOT Items

        Instructions: This step uses a powerful method called Best-Worst Scaling to turn your brainstormed lists into a clear, ranked order of importance. This process is more effective than simple rating, as it forces strategic trade-offs.

        1. Prioritize: Click the "Prioritize" button. For each category, you will see a series of simple tasks.
        2. Choose Best & Worst: In each task, you will see a small set of items (typically 3 or 4) from your list. From that set, simply select the one you believe is the Most Important and the one that is the Least Important.
        3. Suspend & Resume: Your progress is saved with every click. You can use the "Close & Save Progress" button inside the pop-up to stop at any time. When you click "Prioritize" again, you will resume exactly where you left off.
        4. Reset: If you want to start over, click the "Reset / Start Over" button. This will clear all your prioritization and let you begin from scratch.

        Note: For very short lists (3 items or fewer), you will be asked to simply drag them into rank order.

        To view and refine your prioritized SWOT lists, go to Step 4: Synthesize & Strategize.
        Step 4: Synthesize & Strategize

        Instructions: This step turns your ranked SWOT lists into a practical plan. Review the rankings and (optionally) refine close calls before you choose how many items to carry forward.

        1. Review ranked lists: Each item shows an Importance (0–100) score and a bar. Higher scores = higher priority in that category.
        2. Refine close calls (optional): If items cluster with the same score, click the small button near a list header (e.g., Refine Scores). You’ll answer a few “Most/Least Important” prompts among the top items.
          Note: This improves separation but does not guarantee all ties disappear—ties simply mean the items are statistically close in priority.
        3. Select items for your plan: Use the sliders to choose how many of the top-ranked items to include from each category. When scores are tied at the cutoff, decide with judgement:
          • Prefer items that offer strong advantages that you want to press or reduce risks you need to address.
          • Favor items that clearly connect to your Vision, Goals, and near-term capacity.
        4. Confirm your choices: Your selections flow into the next sections (Vision, Goals, Strategies and Action Steps).
        Back to Top ↑

        Create Your Plan

        Mission & Values

        ▼
        Mission Statement: Why it matters, how to create it

        Your mission statement defines your organization's core purpose—what you do, who you serve, and the value you provide every day. It is the anchor for your strategic plan.

        How it guides your plan: Your Vision, Goals, Strategies, KPIs, and Action Steps should all support your mission. Use it as a practical filter: if something does not help you fulfill your mission, it likely needs to be revised or reconsidered.

        Recommended FastTrack flow

        1. Start with what you already have: If you already have a mission statement, type it into the Your Mission (or Purpose) Statement box. You may be done - or after looking at the Examples of Effective Mission Statements you may decide to improve it.
        2. Use the Mission Discovery Questions when needed: If your mission needs work or you don't have a mission statement, answer the questions below to sharpen your thinking before you draft or refine.
        3. Use Kai for options if you need more help: Click Draft Mission Options with AI to generate five mission options you can compare side by side.
        4. Rate and compare: Use the sliders to score each option. FastTrack highlights the top-scoring option so the strongest draft stands out quickly.
        5. Choose and apply: Click Use This Mission on the option you want. That selected draft fills the main Your Mission (or Purpose) Statement box, where you can make final edits.

        What Kai uses to draft mission options

        Kai gives the greatest weight to any mission statement or revised mission draft already typed into the main Mission Statement box.

        Kai then uses:

        • Your answers to the Mission Discovery Questions
        • Initial Information: Organization Name, Organization Website(s), Organization Type, Planning Period, and Additional Information About the Organization
        • Your current Vision, if entered
        • Your Core Values, if entered
        • Mission statement examples in this section for formatting ideas only, not for content

        Mission writing guidance

        A strong mission statement usually makes these points clear:

        1. Purpose: What do we do? What is our core activity?
        2. Customer/Audience: Who do we serve? Who benefits from our work?
        3. Value: What value do we provide? What need do we fulfill? What problem do we solve?
        4. Approach: How do we do it? What strengths, capabilities, or methods help us deliver that value?

        A useful format is: To [action verb] for [target audience] by [means] to [achieve this outcome].

        FastTrack tip: Even a rough draft in the Mission Statement box gives Kai better direction and usually leads to stronger mission options.

        Examples of Effective Mission Statements
        • Aldi: Provide value and quality to our customers by being fair and efficient in all we do.
        • Clarks: Our passion is to listen to our customers and deliver the right product at the right place and the right time.
        • Feeding America: Working together to end hunger.
        • Kroger: To be our customers' favorite food store.
        • LinkedIn: Connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful.
        • Patagonia: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
        • Southwest Airlines: The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.
        • Tesla: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
        • Whole Foods: Nourish people and the planet.
        • Yeti: Built for the wild.
        • American Red Cross: Prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
        • Google: To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
        • World Wildlife Fund: To conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.
        • Girl Scouts of the USA: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
        • Microsoft: To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
        • Starbucks: To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
        • United Way: To improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.
        • Habitat for Humanity: Bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope.
        • Uber: We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.
        • Zoom: Delivering happiness.
        • Walmart: We save people money so they can live better.
        Accept the mission you have entered or choose your approach:
        Answer Mission Discovery Questions
        Use AI to Draft Mission Options & Select the Best Option
        Kai gives greatest weight to your Mission Statement box, then uses your Mission Discovery answers, Initial Information, current Vision, Core Values, and these examples for format only.
        Mission Options

        Five mission options can be filled automatically from KAI and then rated on 1-10 sliders.

        Values: What principles guide your organization?

        Your core values are the enduring principles that define your organization's character and guide how you behave and make decisions. They are the non-negotiable beliefs that dictate what is right and wrong for your organization.

        How they're used in planning: Your values set the boundaries for your strategy. As you develop your Vision, Goals, and Strategies, your values ensure you pursue success in the right way. They help you answer not just "what" you will do, but "how" you will do it, ensuring your strategic choices reflect the culture you want to build and maintain.

        List your core values and define how each is lived out in behavior:

        Examples of Organizational Core Values
        • Patagonia:
          • Build the best product
          • Cause no unnecessary harm
          • Use business to protect nature
          • Not bound by convention
        • Google:
          • Focus on the user and all else will follow
          • It’s best to do one thing really, really well
          • Fast is better than slow
          • Democracy on the web works
          • You can make money without doing evil
        • Zappos:
          • Deliver WOW Through Service
          • Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
          • Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
          • Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
          • Be Passionate and Determined
        • The Nature Conservancy:
          • Integrity Beyond Reproach
          • Respect for People, Communities, and Cultures
          • Commitment to Diversity
          • One Conservancy
          • Tangible, Lasting Results
        • IBM:
          • Dedication to every client's success
          • Innovation that matters – for our company and for the world
          • Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships
        Draft Values Options with AI

        Use KAI to draft 5–8 core values with short behavior-based definitions using your mission and pre-planning results. Drafted options are editable before you add them to your adopted values.

        Kai uses your mission and pre-planning results, hides the prompt, avoids duplicates with adopted values, and tries to match the style of any values you have already adopted.

        Back to Top ↑

        Vision

        ▼
        Vision Statement: Why it matters, how to create it

        Your vision statement describes what great success looks like at the end of your planning period. It should paint a compelling picture of the future you want to create so it can guide your goals, strategies, and action steps.

        How it guides your plan: Your strategic goals, strategies, KPIs, and action steps should move the organization toward this future state. Use your vision as a practical test: if a priority does not help create that future, it likely needs to be revised or reconsidered.

        Recommended FastTrack flow

        1. Start with what you already have: If you already have a vision statement, type it into the Vision Statement box. You may already be close - or after reviewing the examples below you may decide to sharpen it.
        2. Use the Vision Discovery Questions when needed: If your vision needs work or you do not yet have one, answer the questions below to clarify what extraordinary success should look like by the end of the plan.
        3. Use Kai for options if you need more help: Click Draft Vision Options to generate five vision options directly in the five Vision Option boxes.
        4. Rate and compare: Use the rating tools on the options to compare the drafts. FastTrack highlights the top-scoring option after you rate it.
        5. Choose and apply: Click Use This Vision on the option you want. That selected draft fills the main Vision Statement box, where you can make final edits.

        What Kai uses to draft vision options

        Kai gives the greatest weight to any vision statement or revised vision draft already typed into the main Vision Statement box.

        Kai then uses:

        • Your answers to the Vision Discovery Questions
        • Your Mission Statement, if entered
        • Your Core Values, if entered
        • Initial Information: Organization Name, Organization Website(s), Organization Type, Planning Period, and Additional Information About the Organization
        • Vision statement examples in this section for formatting ideas only, not for content

        Vision writing guidance

        1. Future state: What will be true by the end of the plan if you succeed?
        2. Distinctiveness: What will the organization be known for?
        3. Impact: What value, results, or influence will stakeholders experience?
        4. Believability: Is it bold, inspiring, and still realistic enough to guide strategy?

        A useful format is: By the end of this plan, we are [future state] for [audience/market/community], known for [distinctive value or impact].

        FastTrack tip: Even a rough draft in the Vision Statement box gives Kai better direction and usually leads to stronger vision options.

        Examples of Effective Vision Statements
        • Amazon: To be Earth's most customer-centric company.
        • ASOS: To be the go-to fashion destination for 20-somethings, globally.
        • Charity:Water: To end the water crisis in our lifetime by ensuring that every person on the planet has access to life's most basic need — clean drinking water.
        • Hulu: Lead the future of Streaming TV by creating new and familiar experiences for our viewers, amplifying bold voices, and challenging our diverse builders and creators to push the boundaries of storytelling and technology.
        • Mayo Clinic: To provide an unparalleled experience as the most trusted partner for health care.
        • PayPal: Democratizing financial services and empowering people and businesses to join and thrive in the global economy.
        • Purely Elizabeth: We believe that food can heal. The scale of food production is enormous, but it is also our greatest opportunity to make a positive impact on the health of the planet and individuals through responsible sourcing and agricultural practices. We know it won't happen overnight, but we're committed to this journey and its role in helping you thrive.
        • Weyerhaeuser: Working together to be the world’s premier timber, land, and forest products company.
        • Whirlpool Corporation: Be the best kitchen & laundry company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home.
        Accept the vision you have entered or choose your approach:
        Answer Vision Discovery Questions
        Use AI to Draft Vision Options & Select the Best Option
        Kai gives greatest weight to your Vision Statement box, then uses your Vision Discovery answers, your Mission Statement, your Core Values, Initial Information, and these examples for format only.
        Vision Options

        Five vision options can be filled automatically from KAI and then rated with sliders.

        Back to Top ↑

        Strategic Gaps & Remedies

        ▼

        Strategic Goals by Strategy Area

        ▼
        How to set strategic goals

        What You Will Do in This Section

        Develop and adopt a small set of strategic goals for each strategy area. These goals describe the most important outcomes your organization must achieve over the life of the plan to move toward your vision of great success.

        Recommended FastTrack process

        1. Start with your vision. Ask: “By the end of this planning period, what must be true for our vision to become reality?”
        2. Work one strategy area at a time. Identify the most important outcomes that must be achieved through that area.
        3. Use the AI draft option if helpful. Click Draft Goals with AI to generate draft goals for that strategy area. Treat them as draft options to review and improve, not as final answers.
        4. Rate the draft goals. Review each proposed goal using the FastTrack criteria in this section before adopting it.
        5. Adopt only the strongest goals. Keep the goals that best express the outcomes your organization truly needs to achieve.
        6. Use your SWOT and Gaps & Remedies. Favor goals that build on strengths, address important weaknesses, seize meaningful opportunities, respond to major threats, and close priority gaps.
        7. Consider future uncertainty when useful. If you completed Strategic Foresight work, prefer goals that position the organization well across multiple plausible futures.

        How to write strong strategic goals

        • Write goals as outcomes to be achieved, not actions to be taken.
        • State the future result or condition you want, not the method.
        • Make each goal clear, important, and substantial enough to matter over the term of the plan.
        • Keep the number of adopted goals limited so they remain focused and strategic.

        Examples of strong strategic goals

        • Grow and diversify revenue streams to strengthen financial resilience.
        • Expanded market reach through new partnerships and customer pathways.
        • Enhanced operational efficiency that improves delivery and scalability.
        • Strong organizational capacity to support long-term growth and innovation.
        Input for setting strategic goals
        Examples of Strategic Goals

        Financial

        • Generate 60% of revenue from recurring contracts
        • Achieve positive cash flow every month
        • Build cash reserves equal to six months operating expenses
        • Secure multi-year commitments from five major funders

        Customer/Client

        • Become the preferred provider in our target market
        • Achieve 85% client retention rate
        • Double our commercial client base
        • Serve 5,000 beneficiaries annually

        People

        • Retain 90% of high-performing staff year-over-year
        • Achieve employee engagement scores above 80%
        • Develop internal talent to fill 80% of leadership positions
        • Achieve employer of choice status in our sector

        Operations/Processes

        • Reduce program delivery costs by 30%
        • Implement integrated client management system
        • Earn the Baldrige Quality Award
        • Launch three new revenue-generating services

        Strategic Goals

        No goals have been adopted yet.

        Strategies by Strategy Area

        ▼
        How to create strategies

        What You Will Do in This Section

        Develop the few major strategic directions that will move your organization toward its vision, achieve the goals for each strategy area, and help close the most important gaps standing in the way. In most cases, you will need only 1-3 strong strategies per strategy area.

        How to Develop Your Strategies

        1. Start with your own thinking first. Before using AI, consider what strategies seem most important for this area based on your understanding of the vision, goals, and gaps. Draft one or more initial strategies in your own words.
        2. Use Kai to improve your draft strategies. You can use Kai to sharpen, strengthen, and clarify what you have drafted without changing your intent.
        3. Then use AI to develop more options. Click Draft Strategies with AI to generate additional strategy options for that area. Treat them as draft options to review and improve, not as final answers.
        4. Keep the hierarchy in mind. Start with the vision. Then look at the goals for the area. Then consider the gaps and remedies that show what is standing in the way. Strong strategies should move the organization toward the vision, help achieve the goals, and help close important gaps.
        5. Keep strategies strategic. A strategy is a major direction, choice, or approach. It is not a task list, tactic, or action step.
        6. Review the full set together. After drafting your own strategies and reviewing AI-generated options, adopt the ones that seem most promising, then review the adopted set as a whole.
        7. Edit and combine where needed. If a strategy needs improvement, unadopt it, revise it, and adopt the improved version. If two strategies should be combined, unadopt both, revise one to include the best of the other, adopt the combined strategy, and remove the extra one.
        8. Aim for a small, strong final set. Finish with a clear, realistic, non-overlapping set of strategies for the area. Usually 1-3 are enough.

        What Strong Strategies Look Like

        • Clearly support the vision.
        • Help achieve the goals for the area.
        • Address important gaps or obstacles.
        • Are realistic for the organization.
        • Are distinct from one another.
        • Are strategic directions, not tactics or action items.
        Input for creating strategies
        Examples of Strategies

        Financial

        • Create premium service tier to capture high-margin opportunities
        • Develop recurring revenue through subscription or retainer models
        • Expand revenue diversification to reduce dependency on one market
        • Increase pricing strategy sophistication to strengthen profitability

        Customer/Client

        • Launch targeted customer acquisition campaigns in priority segments
        • Expand distribution channels through partnerships
        • Improve customer experience through service redesign
        • Develop new offerings tailored to emerging client needs

        People

        • Implement leadership development program for key managers
        • Create employee retention strategy and incentives
        • Strengthen hiring and onboarding systems for key roles
        • Implement cross-functional team structure

        Operations/Processes

        • Implement data-driven decision making across all operations
        • Partner with technology provider for digital transformation
        • Create franchise or licensing model for geographic expansion
        • Integrate backward into supply chain to control quality and costs

        Strategies

        No strategies have been adopted yet.

        Objectives by Strategy Area

        ▼
        Developing Your Objectives by Strategy Area

        Objectives are the key outcomes your organization must achieve within each Strategy Area to realize your Strategic Goals and, ultimately, fulfill your Vision. They describe the important conditions or results that must exist if your strategy is working.

        Objectives act as a vital bridge between your strategic thinking and execution. They translate your broader Strategic Goals into clear statements of achievement that define what success looks like within each Strategy Area.

        These objectives will later guide the development of your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and form the building blocks of your Strategy Map (Logic Model), which helps you visualize how achieving your objectives leads to the strategic results you want.

        Time Horizon of Objectives

        Objectives can represent outcomes achieved over different time horizons within your strategic plan.

        Some objectives describe end-state results that may be achieved by the end of the full planning horizon (for example, five years). Others describe intermediate achievements that represent important progress toward those results. Still others describe capabilities or conditions that enable success.

        Examples:

        • End-state objective: 200 active clients
        • Intermediate objective: Strong referral pipeline producing consistent monthly leads
        • Enabling objective: High-performing client acquisition system

        All three types of objectives are valid and often work together. The Strategy Map will later help show how achieving enabling and intermediate objectives leads to your ultimate results.

        KPIs will then measure shorter-term progress toward these objectives, typically over annual or quarterly periods.

        Next Steps: For each of your defined Strategy Areas, identify its key objectives.

        1. Review the Strategic Context:
          Carefully consider your organization's:
          • Vision
          • Adopted Strategic Goals for each Strategy Area
          • Adopted Strategies
          These elements provide the context and inspiration for your objectives.
        2. Identify the Key Outcomes:
          Ask:
          • “Within this Strategy Area, what must be true or achieved for our Strategic Goals to be realized?”
          • “What critical outcomes will demonstrate meaningful progress toward our Vision through this area?”
        3. Focus on Outcomes, Not Actions:
          Objectives describe what will be achieved or what condition will exist, not the activities used to achieve them.

          Example:
          Instead of: Implement a new outreach program
          Write: Expanded community engagement
        4. State Objectives as Achieved Results:
          Write objectives as if the desired outcome already exists.

          Example:
          Instead of: To create a welcoming facility
          Write: A welcoming facility
        5. Aim for Clarity and Impact:
          Define a focused set of powerful objectives.
          Recommended: 4–6 objectives per Strategy Area.
        6. Consider an Initial Measure of Success:
          For each objective, briefly note how its achievement might be measured. This is only a preliminary thought that will later help you define one or more KPIs to track progress.
        7. Save Your Objectives:
          Once your objectives and their preliminary measures are defined, save your plan. You can return at any time to edit, refine, or remove objectives as your thinking evolves.
        Input for creating objectives

        Vision

        Not set

        Examples of Objectives
        People & Operations Focused:
        • Strong infrastructure for Board and volunteer team
        • Paid CEO and paid staff
        • Specific identified roles for volunteers
        • Cohesive, supportive work culture
        • A full set of standard operating procedures
        • Operational policies and documents in place
        • Technology that is enabling well-oiled operations
        • Consistent client experience
        • Clearly defined SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)
        Service Delivery & Impact Focused:
        • Service model clarified and documented
        • Services designed for high-quality and high-impact outcomes
        • Outcomes measurement system operating effectively
        • Improved and expanded services
        • More people served
        • Services well-aligned with community needs
        • People served experience positive outcomes
        Financial & Revenue Focused:
        • Sustainable revenue model in place
        • Diversified funding sources
        • Predictable income from donors, grants, and programs
        • Financial systems and reporting operating effectively
        • Strong financial position with adequate reserves
        • Budget aligned to strategic priorities
        Visibility, Marketing & Engagement Focused:
        • Stronger visibility in the community
        • More engaged supporters and volunteers
        • Clear brand and messaging
        • Expanded outreach and partnerships
        • Broader stakeholder engagement
        • Desired client mix and project mix achieved
        • Stronger organizational brand
        Back to Top ↑

        Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

        ▼
        Defining Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

        Defining Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

        Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measures that help your organization track progress towards achieving its strategic objectives and, ultimately, its vision. Think of KPIs as signs or mileposts that tell you if you're on course and how far you have come.

        To develop effective KPIs:

        1. Review Your Objectives: Each KPI should directly support one of your strategic objectives for a Strategy Area. The objective and its preliminary measure (if defined) will be shown as context.
        2. Define the KPI Details: For each objective you want to measure, define one or more KPIs by specifying:
          • KPI Name: A clear, descriptive name for the measure (e.g., "Monthly New Client Acquisition Rate," "Average Project Completion Time").
          • Type:Running total, level, or Non-Numeric/Project.Unit of Measure: How the KPI will be quantified (e.g., %, $, Number, Days, Score out of 10).
          • Target: The specific, desired level of performance you aim to achieve (e.g., "15%", "$50,000", "250 new clients").
          • Baseline: The historical level, level at the start of the measurement period, or the current performance level before improvements are made. This helps in setting realistic targets and measuring progress.
          • Benchmark: Optional. A reference point or standard used to compare your organization's performance against others—such as competitors, industry averages, or best-in-class performers (e.g., American Productivity & Quality Center - 15% or lower hospital readmission rate standard, Construction Industry Institute -top-quartile construction firms complete 80% or more of projects on or ahead of schedule.
          • Person Responsible: The individual or team accountable for this KPI's performance.
          • Data Source: Where the data to calculate the KPI will be obtained (e.g., "CRM System," "Financial Statements," "Customer Surveys").
          • Reporting Frequency: How often the KPI will be tracked and reported (e.g., "Monthly," "Quarterly," "Annually").
        3. Consider KPI Target Time Periods: Effective management of your KPIs requires setting appropriate target time periods and establishing clear cycles for resetting those targets. This ensures your KPIs remain relevant and actionable throughout the plan's lifecycle.
          • Annual targets work best for strategic, high-level metrics (revenue growth, market share, profitability) and goals tied to budgeting and strategic planning cycles. They suit metrics that need time to show meaningful change.
          • Quarterly targets are ideal for many operational KPIs, sales and marketing metrics, and product development milestones, allowing for course correction while maintaining momentum.
          • Monthly targets suit fast-moving operational metrics, customer service levels, digital marketing performance, and cash flow metrics.
          • Weekly/Daily targets are only for highly operational metrics (call center volume, production output) and real-time performance management, metrics that are influenced day-to-day.
        4. Focus on What Matters: Don't create too many KPIs. Focus on the critical few that truly indicate success for each objective. Consider "leading indicators" (which measure activities driving future success) where possible, not just "lagging indicators" (which measure past results).
        5. Adopt Your KPIs: Once a KPI is defined and you're satisfied with it, "Adopt" it to include it in your plan. You can edit or unadopt KPIs later.

        These KPIs will form the basis of your implementation dashboard and regular progress reviews, helping you stay on track and make informed decisions.

        💡 A Note on Timelines: For best results, we recommend aligning your KPI time periods with your plan's official start date. Choosing 'Calendar year' for a non-calendar-year plan might make sense if your organization does important things on a calendar year basis (e.g., has an annual calendar year budget). But recognize that not aligning KPIs to the actual plan year may lead to confusion when reviewing plan outcomes.

        Input for Creating KPIs

        Your Vision:

        Not set. Please define your Vision first.

        Examples of KPIs

        Below are illustrative examples. Actual KPIs should be tailored to your specific objectives and context.

        Example 1: Financial Growth
        • KPI Name: Annual Revenue Growth
        • KPI Type: Level KPI: A constant number or percentage, with higher values the goal
        • Unit of Measure: % | Target: 15% | Baseline: 10% (Previous Year) | Benchmark: Industry Average 12%
        • Owner: CFO / Head of Sales
        • Data Source: Accounting System / Sales Reports
        • Reporting Frequency: Quarterly | KPI Time Period: Next 12 months
        Example 2: Customer Satisfaction (Service Focus)
        • KPI Name: Net Promoter Score (NPS)
        • KPI Type: Level KPI: A constant number or percentage, with higher values the goal
        • Unit of Measure: Score (-100 to +100) | Target: +50 | Baseline: +40 | Benchmark: Industry Top Quartile +45
        • Owner: Head of Customer Service
        • Data Source: Post-service Surveys
        • Reporting Frequency: Monthly | KPI Time Period: Next 12 months
        Example 3: Operational Efficiency (Non-Profit Program)
        • KPI Name: Program Participant Completion Rate
        • KPI Type: Level KPI: A constant number or percentage, with higher values the goal
        • Unit of Measure: % | Target: 85% | Baseline: 75% | Benchmark: Similar programs average 80%
        • Owner: Program Manager
        • Data Source: Program Attendance & Completion Records (CRM)
        • Reporting Frequency: Per Cohort / Quarterly | KPI Time Period: Next 12 months
        Example 4: Staff Development (Internal Focus)
        • KPI Name: Employee Training Hours per Quarter
        • KPI Type: Level KPI: A constant number or percentage, with higher values the goal
        • Unit of Measure: Hours/Employee | Target: 8 hours | Baseline: 4 hours | Benchmark: Company Goal based on development needs
        • Owner: HR Manager
        • Data Source: HR Training Logs / LMS
        • Reporting Frequency: Quarterly | KPI Time Period: Next 12 months
        Example 5: Customer Acquisition Cost
        • KPI Name: Customer Acquisition Cost
        • KPI Type: Level KPI: A constant number or percentage, with lower values the goal
        • Unit of Measure: $ | Target: 50 | Baseline: 75 | Benchmark: 60
        • Owner: Marketing Director
        • Data Source: Sales/Marketing Budget
        • Reporting Frequency: Monthly | KPI Time Period: Next 12 months
        Example 6: Marketing Leads Generated
        • KPI Name: Marketing Leads Generated
        • KPI Type: Running Total KPI: Targeted increase or decrease from baseline, evenly spread over the time period
        • Unit of Measure: Number | Target: 200 | Baseline: 100 | Benchmark: 150
        • Owner: Marketing Team
        • Data Source: CRM/Website Forms
        • Reporting Frequency: Monthly | KPI Time Period: Next 12 months
        Example 7: Operating Cash Flow
        • KPI Name: Operating Cash Flow
        • KPI Type: Running Total KPI: Targeted increase or decrease from baseline, seasonally adjusted over the time period
        • Unit of Measure: $ | Target: 1,200,000 | Baseline: 0 | Benchmark: 950,000
        • Owner: Chief Financial Officer
        • Data Source: Financial Management System
        • Reporting Frequency: Monthly | KPI Time Period: Fiscal year
        • Seasonal Adjustments:
          Jul: $60,000 | Aug: $85,000 | Sep: $130,000 | Oct: $70,000 | Nov: $120,000 | Dec: $95,000
          Jan: $140,000 | Feb: $75,000 | Mar: $150,000 | Apr: $80,000 | May: $125,000 | Jun: $70,000
        Example 8: New Employee Onboarding Program Launch
        • KPI Name: New Employee Onboarding Program Launch
        • KPI Type: Non-Numeric/Project KPI: Not started/In progress/Completed
        • Unit of Measure: Status | Target: Launched | Baseline: Not started | Benchmark: N/A
        • Owner: HR Director
        • Data Source: HRIS/Project Plan
        • Reporting Frequency: Quarterly | KPI Time Period: Other period
        Back to Top ↑

        12‑Month Action Steps

        ▼
        Developing Your 12-Month Action Steps

        Turn Each Adopted Strategy into Well-Designed 12-Month Action Steps

        This section helps you convert each adopted strategy into clear, practical action steps for the next 12 months. The goal is not just to list activity, but to define action steps that move each specific strategy forward in a focused, measurable way.

        How this section works:

        • Each Strategy Area shows your adopted strategies.
        • Action steps are created by strategy, not in one mixed list for the whole area.
        • You can draft action steps manually for a strategy or use AI to generate options for that specific strategy.
        • AI generates multiple action step options for each strategy so you can review, improve, and adopt the best ones.

        What makes a strong 12-Month Action Step:

        1. Specific: It clearly states what will be done.
        2. Measurable: It defines a result, deliverable, milestone, or completion point.
        3. Achievable: It is realistic given your organization's capacity and constraints.
        4. Relevant: It directly advances its parent strategy and supports your overall plan.
        5. Time-bound: It can reasonably be accomplished within the next 12 months and may include a target timeframe.

        Using AI well in this section:

        • The AI prompt uses the selected strategy as the main source material.
        • The Examples of Action Steps in this section are used as formatting guidance so suggestions come back in the right style.
        • AI suggestions should come back as concise, one-sentence action steps rather than vague ideas, broad goals, or long explanations.

        Recommended process:

        • Review the adopted strategies shown in each strategy area.
        • For any strategy where you want help, click Draft Action Steps with AI for that strategy, or click + Add Action Step to draft one manually.
        • Review each draft and strengthen it as needed.
        • Use the SMART checkboxes to evaluate each draft. Aim for a strong SMART rating.
        • Adopt the action steps you want to keep. Adopted steps appear at the top of the section under their related strategy.
        • After adopting action steps, assign an owner and select start and end timelines. Then drag and drop steps within each strategy to reflect the right execution order.

        💡 A Note on Timelines: For best results, we recommend aligning your Action Step time periods with your plan's official start date. Choosing 'Calendar year' for a non-calendar-year plan might make sense if your organization does important things on a calendar year basis (e.g., has an annual calendar year budget). But recognize that not aligning action steps to the actual plan year may lead to confusion when reviewing plan outcomes.

        Input for creating action steps

        Vision

        Not set

        Examples of Action Steps

        Strategic Planning & Leadership

        • Conduct quarterly leadership team reviews of strategic plan progress and adjust priorities based on results
        • Establish a strategic plan dashboard with key metrics and share monthly updates with all stakeholders

        Financial Management & Sustainability

        • Implement new financial reporting system to provide real-time budget vs. actual data by March 31
        • Diversify revenue streams by launching 2 new income sources by year-end
        • Apply for 5 new grant opportunities aligned with strategic priorities by Q3

        Customer/Constituent Engagement

        • Launch customer/member satisfaction survey program with quarterly touchpoints starting Q1
        • Implement new CRM system to track all constituent interactions by June 30
        • Establish 24/7 online self-service portal for common requests by September

        Marketing & Communications

        • Develop comprehensive brand guidelines and train all staff by end of Q1
        • Launch redesigned website with improved user experience by April 15
        • Create content calendar for social media with 3x weekly posts starting immediately

        Staff Development & Operations

        • Implement quarterly performance review process for all staff by Q2
        • Launch professional development program with $1,000 annual budget per employee
        • Deploy new project management system to improve team collaboration by Q1

        Program/Service Enhancement

        • Pilot new service delivery model in 2 locations by Q2, evaluate for expansion
        • Digitize top 5 manual processes to improve efficiency by year-end
        • Launch online training/education platform reaching 500 users by Q4

        Partnership & Collaboration

        • Formalize 3 strategic partnerships with MOUs signed by June 30
        • Host quarterly partner roundtables to coordinate services and reduce duplication

        Technology & Innovation

        • Complete IT infrastructure assessment and upgrade critical systems by Q3
        • Implement cybersecurity training program for all staff with quarterly updates
        • Automate top 10 repetitive tasks to free up 20% more staff time for strategic work

        Measurement & Accountability

        • Develop logic model linking activities to outcomes for all major programs by Q1
        • Create public-facing dashboard showing progress on key goals, updating monthly
        • Produce annual impact report showcasing measurable results by year-end

        Growth & Expansion

        • Open new location/expand service area to reach 25% more constituents by Q4
        • Launch major donor/funder campaign targeting $500K in new commitments
        • Increase membership/participation by 20% through targeted recruitment campaign

        Adopted 12-Month Action Steps (drag and drop to reorder within each strategy)

        Use drag and drop inside each strategy to set implementation order. Your dated timelines also help sequence action steps overall across the plan. Scroll down to develop additional 12-Month Action Steps.
        No action steps have been adopted yet.

        Develop 12-month action steps for implementing these strategies

        Implement Your Plan

        Implementation Readiness

        ▼
        Preparing to Implement

        Before you commit time, money, and attention to execution, confirm your plan is complete and aligned, stress-test financial feasibility (optional), and assess readiness to implement.

        Step 1: Plan Completeness & Alignment Check

        This check gives you quick feedback on overall plan completeness and coherence. It does not force a single strategy style—it simply highlights missing pieces and obvious contradictions.

        What it looks at: Vision clarity, goals/strategies/action steps coverage, and whether your selected basis for competition and business model(s) are reflected in your vision options.

        Tip: Your Implementation Readiness % is limited by plan quality. If your Readiness Assessment score is higher than your Plan Completeness & Alignment score, we show the lower number.

        Step 2: Financial Modeling to Validate Your Plan and Guide Implementation (Optional)

        Purpose: Stress-test feasibility and generate practical execution guardrails (cash cushion, pacing, spending control, and funding timing).

        Why this step: A strategy is only actionable if the numbers can work. This quick model helps you surface feasibility gaps early and decide what must change (pace, scope, pricing, costs, or funding timing).

        How to use:

        • Add rough-but-honest Revenue Sources and Expense Categories (start simple; refine later).
        • Set years to model and starting cash.
        • Click Generate Financial Model to view cash runway, break-even timing, and the annual statement.
        • New values by year: optionally set a new value (and a new annual % from that year) to model hires, projects, new revenue, or ending a program.
        • Then open Projected Financial Summary to review the income statement by year and spot the biggest drivers (revenue growth, direct costs, operating costs, and surplus).
        • Adjust assumptions until you see a sustainable path (or a clear funding plan).

        This is a planning model (not accounting). Use rough-but-honest assumptions and refine over time.

        Revenue Sources
        Expense Categories
        Step 3: Implementation Readiness Assessment

        Use this assessment to gauge your organization's readiness to execute the strategic plan effectively. A high score indicates a strong foundation for success.

        This assessment is a dynamic checklist, not just a one-time score. As you complete the following implementation planning steps—defining your team, setting milestones, and creating a communication schedule—you will be able to return to this assessment and check off the corresponding items.

        Updating your assessment will improve your score, directly reflecting your organization's increased readiness to execute the plan effectively. This approach turns the assessment from a simple report card into an actionable guide for preparing your launch.

        Requirement
        Team and Leadership
        Communication
        Action Steps and Timing
        Resources
        Monitoring and Measurement
        Readiness Score: 0%

        Implementation Plan

        ▼
        Developing Your Implementation Plan

        With your Vision, Goals, Strategies, Objectives, KPIs, and 12-Month Action Steps defined, the next critical phase is to detail how this plan will be brought to life. An Implementation Plan serves as the operational roadmap for executing your strategy, ensuring accountability, and managing resources effectively.

        Simply having a strategic plan is not enough; success hinges on a disciplined execution process. Planning is not an event—it’s an ongoing process.

        This section helps you turn your strategic plan into an actionable roadmap—clarifying who will lead implementation, how progress will be monitored, and how you will keep the organization aligned and engaged.

        In this section, you will:

        1. Assess your readiness to implement your plan.
        2. Define leadership and accountability for implementation.
        3. Confirm your annual action steps, owners, and start and completion dates.
        4. Set key milestones with target completion dates and metrics for success.
        5. Set quarterly and annual plan update, assessment and replanning dates.
        6. Consider the resources needed for effective plan implementation.
        7. Create a risk and contingencies plan to raise the odds of successful implementation.
        8. Craft your strategic messaging.
        9. Set your schedule for communicating plan progress.
        Step 1: Strategic Plan Summary

        To change the implementation dates, please update the "Planning Period" and/or the "Plan Implementation Start" and "Plan Implementation End" dates in the "Initial Information" section. This may require you to reset the timelines for your 12-Month Action Steps.

        Step 2: Plan Management
        Step 3: Action Step Implementation Plan

        To change your action steps and/or owners and start and complete dates, go to the 12-Month Action Steps Section. Otherwise, this is your roadmap for implementation. You will have further opportunities to update it in your monthly check-ins and in your quarterly progress assessments.

        Step 4: Key Milestones & Validation

        What is a Milestone? While your Objectives describe the ongoing conditions of success (e.g., "A strong financial position"), Milestones are the major, specific achievements that prove you are on your way. They are the most important signposts on your implementation map.

        A good litmus test is to ask: "Is this something we complete once, or is it a state we must continuously maintain?" If you complete it once (like "Launch new website"), it's a Milestone. If it's a state you must maintain (like "An effective online presence"), it's an Objective.

        Examples of Milestones
        • Milestone: Expand into new international market
          Target Completion: Q2 2024
          Metric for Success: Generate 10% of total revenue from the new market within the first year
        • Milestone: Launch new flagship product
          Target Completion: Q3 2023
          Metric for Success: Achieve 25% market share within the first 6 months of launch
        • Milestone: Complete company-wide digital transformation
          Target Completion: Q4 2025
          Metric for Success: Increase operational efficiency by 30% and reduce IT costs by 20%
        • Milestone: Establish strategic partnership with industry leader
          Target Completion: Q1 2024
          Metric for Success: Secure two joint projects within the first year of partnership
        • Milestone: Acquire complementary business to expand offerings
          Target Completion: Q2 2026
          Metric for Success: Integrate acquired company and achieve 15% revenue growth in combined business
        • Milestone: Implement new sustainability initiative
          Target Completion: Q4 2023
          Metric for Success: Reduce carbon footprint by 25% and improve ESG rating
        • Milestone: Rebrand company to reflect new market positioning
          Target Completion: Q3 2024
          Metric for Success: Increase brand awareness by 50% and improve customer sentiment scores
        • Milestone: Open new research and development center
          Target Completion: Q1 2025
          Metric for Success: Develop two new patent-pending technologies within the first 18 months
        • Milestone: Launch employee development and upskilling program
          Target Completion: Q2 2023
          Metric for Success: Achieve 90% employee participation and improve retention rates by 15%
        • Milestone: Complete IPO and become publicly traded company
          Target Completion: Q4 2026
          Metric for Success: Raise $100 million in capital and achieve target valuation
        Step 5: Plan Assessment and Update Dates

        See the following Implement Your Plan sections - Monthly Check-In, Quarterly Progress Assessment, and Annual Assessment and Replanning - for guidance on setting and conducting periodic plan assessment, adjustment, and replanning sessions. It's a best practice to set the dates for these sessions at the start of the annual plan implementation cycle.

        Step 6: Resource Planning Guidance

        A strategic plan is only achievable if it is properly resourced. A comprehensive budget and resource plan is a detailed, offline process. Use the following prompts to guide your internal planning meetings.

        Financial Resources
        • To implement your action steps for the next 12 months, what is a high-level cost estimate (e.g., staffing expense, marketing spend, capital expense)?
        • Is this cost already covered in your existing operating budget? If not, what is the plan to secure these funds?
        Human Resources & Expertise
        • Do your current team members have the skills and bandwidth for the key first-year action steps?
        • What are the most critical skill gaps? Do these require hiring new staff, training existing staff, or engaging contractors/consultants?
        Technology & Tools
        • What specific software, equipment, or other tools are necessary to execute the plan, and have the costs and implementation timelines been assessed?
        Step 7: Risk and Contingency Plan

        Proactively identify potential obstacles to your plan's success. For each risk, describe how you might prevent it (mitigation) and what you will do if it occurs anyway (contingency).

        Examples of Risks & Contingencies
        • Risk: Data breach compromises customer information
          Mitigation: Implement multi-factor authentication and encrypt sensitive data
          Contingency: Have a crisis communication plan ready and offer identity protection services to affected customers
        • Risk: Key supplier goes out of business
          Mitigation: Diversify supply chain and maintain relationships with backup suppliers
          Contingency: Activate alternative suppliers and adjust production schedule to minimize disruption
        • Risk: Negative media coverage damages company reputation
          Mitigation: Foster positive relationships with media and proactively manage brand image
          Contingency: Deploy a pre-prepared crisis PR plan and engage in transparent communication with stakeholders
        • Risk: New competitor enters the market with a disruptive product
          Mitigation: Continuously invest in R&D and stay attuned to market trends
          Contingency: Accelerate innovation efforts and consider strategic partnerships or acquisitions
        • Risk: Economic downturn leads to reduced consumer spending
          Mitigation: Build a diverse product portfolio and maintain a lean cost structure
          Contingency: Adjust pricing strategy and focus on value-driven offerings to retain customers
        • Risk: Regulatory changes disrupt business operations
          Mitigation: Engage in proactive government relations and stay informed of potential policy shifts
          Contingency: Adapt business processes to ensure compliance and explore new opportunities created by the changes
        • Risk: Talent shortage impedes company growth
          Mitigation: Develop a strong employer brand and invest in employee training and development
          Contingency: Explore alternative talent pools and consider outsourcing or automation for certain roles
        • Risk: Cybersecurity attack halts business operations
          Mitigation: Implement robust cybersecurity measures and conduct regular employee awareness training
          Contingency: Have a detailed incident response plan and maintain offline backups of critical data and systems
        Step 8: Communicating Your New Strategic Direction

        A critical part of successfully implementing your new strategic plan is clearly communicating the rationale, purpose and expected impact of the plan to both internal and external stakeholders. Develop a concise, powerful message that articulates your new strategic direction and conveys:

        • The importance and boldness of your vision for the future
        • The case for why change is imperative
        • The benefits that will come from successfully implementing the plan
        • A call-to-action to rally people behind the plan

        Your strategic direction message should inspire confidence, motivation and alignment around the path forward. It will serve as the foundation for ongoing communications. Consider your key audiences and what will resonate most with them.

        Examples of Strategic Direction Messages
        Walmart's Strategic Direction (2022):

        "Our world is rapidly evolving, and to better serve our customers and communities, Walmart must transform. Our strategic direction is to become the world's most trusted retailer by doubling down on our strengths and innovating for the future. We will accelerate investments in our people, technology, and supply chain to deliver exceptional value, convenience, and customer experience across all channels. By leveraging our scale and embracing change, we will create shared value, strengthen our business, and help people live better. Together, we will unlock the full potential of our business and shape the future of retail. Join us in making a difference for the millions of customers we serve worldwide."

        Unilever's Strategic Direction (2021):

        "At Unilever, our strategic direction is driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace. We will continue to evolve our portfolio into high-growth spaces, build a purpose-led, future-fit organization, and deliver superior long-term financial performance. Our multi-stakeholder model, focus on operational excellence, and commitment to being a leader in sustainability will create value for all. By empowering our people, leveraging our global scale, and collaborating with partners, we will create a brighter future for all our stakeholders. Our strategic choices will not only drive growth and profitability but also contribute to a fairer, more socially inclusive world. Join us as we work to deliver consistent, competitive, profitable, and responsible growth."

        Amnesty International's Strategic Direction (2022-2030):

        "In a world where human rights are under unprecedented threat, Amnesty International's strategic direction is more critical than ever. Our vision is a world where everyone enjoys all human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To achieve this, we will grow our global movement, strengthen the impact of our campaigns, and be an unstoppable force for change. We will adapt to new challenges, invest in our people and technology, and be a true ally to those fighting for justice. By harnessing the power of collective action and fearless advocacy, we will hold the powerful to account and create lasting human rights impact. Join us as we work to create a world where human rights are enjoyed by all."

        Step 9: Communication Schedule

        Ongoing communications about plan progress help drive implementation. Set dates for quarterly updates to be issued after the dates for quarterly update sessions set in Step 7: Plan Assessment and Update Dates.

        Enter planned dates:

        Quarterly plan communication updates for staff and stakeholders (enter planned dates for each):

        Back to Top ↑

        Implementation Dashboard

        ▼
        How to Use Your Strategic Implementation Dashboard

        Your Implementation Dashboard is a living tool designed to drive strategic execution through regular monitoring and action. Here's how to maximize its value:

        Review Frequency

        • Weekly or bi-weekly and at least monthly: Upadate the dashboard. Check KPI trends and action step progress. Look for concerning or positive trends and changes and review financial ratios
        • Quarterly if not monthly: Assess Milestone and Strategic Objectives progress and consider action plan adjustments to advance this progress

        Focus Your Attention

        • Start with the status indicators - Red items need immediate attention
        • Check milestone progress - Ensure you're on track for major deliverables
        • Review KPI trends - Look for patterns, not just point-in-time data
        • Identify blockers - What's preventing progress on yellow/red items?

        Drive Action

        • Don't just monitor—act: Each review should result in specific next steps
        • Update ownership: Ensure every metric and action has a clear owner
        • Escalate early: Address yellow items before they turn red
        • Celebrate wins: Acknowledge completed milestones and met targets

        Keep It Current

        • An up-to-date dashboard enables proactive decision-making and helps keep your plan alive and relevant in achieving your strategic vision and goals.
        • Update data at least monthly and preferably weekly
        • Refresh targets based on learnings
        • Add new initiatives as strategies evolve

        Remember: This dashboard is meant to facilitate conversations and decisions, not replace them. Use it as a springboard for strategic discussions about what's working, what isn't, and what needs to change.

        Strategic Implementation Dashboard

        Last Updated: Not set

        ✅
        12-Month Action Steps

        Using Action Step Progress Reviews for Strategy Management

        Maintain Momentum Through Regular Reviews:

        • Clarity & Focus: Action Steps translate your broad strategies into concrete, manageable tasks. Update and review them at least monthly to track progress and keep the team focused.
        • Accountability: Each step has an owner. Regular check-ins reinforce this ownership and ensure progress doesn't stall.
        • Identify Blockers: Use your reviews to ask critical questions: Is this step on track? If not, what's blocking it? Does the owner have the resources they need? Is the timeline still realistic?
        • Adaptability: While your vision is long-term, your action steps are agile. Use this dashboard to adjust near-term priorities in response to challenges and opportunities without losing sight of the main strategy.

        No action steps defined or adopted yet.

        📊
        Key Performance Indicators

        Using Key Performance Indicators for Strategy Management

        Look Beyond the Numbers to Guide Your Strategy:

        • Focus on Trends: Update and review your KPIs at least monthly. Don't just look at a single data point. Are your KPIs trending in the right direction over time? A single red month might be an anomaly; three red months indicate a strategic issue.
        • Start a Conversation: A red or yellow KPI is an invitation for a strategic conversation, not blame. Ask "why?" Is the strategy driving this KPI flawed? Is the execution off track? Or is this the wrong KPI to measure success?
        • Connect to Action: Your KPIs should directly measure the success of your objectives. If your action steps are all "complete" but your KPIs aren't moving, it's a sign that your actions are not having the desired strategic impact.

        No KPIs defined or adopted yet.

        💰
        Key Financial Ratios

        Financial ratios will appear here once calculated.

        📍
        Key Milestones

        Using Key Milestones Progress Reviews for Strategy Management

        Track Your Most Important Checkpoints:

        • Major Signposts: Milestones represent the major, one-time achievements that prove your strategy is being implemented successfully. They are the most critical signposts on your implementation map.
        • Proactive Risk Management: Review milestone progress monthly. Are you on track to meet the target date? What are the biggest risks to completion, and what is the plan to mitigate them?
        • Celebrate Success: Hitting a key milestone is a significant accomplishment. Acknowledge and celebrate these wins with your team to maintain morale and momentum for the journey ahead.

        No milestones defined yet.

        🎯
        Strategic Objectives

        Using Strategic Objectives Progress Reviews for Strategy Management

        Validate Your Desired Outcomes:

        • The "Why": Your objectives describe the strategic outcomes you must achieve to realize your vision. They are the "why" behind your KPIs and Action Steps.
        • Connect the Dots: Update your strategic objectives progress monthly. Then ask the ultimate question: Are our actions (Action Steps) and our measures (KPIs) actually leading to the results described in our Objectives?
        • Test Your Assumptions: If your KPIs are green and action steps are complete, but an objective still feels "Not Achieved," it's a critical strategic insight. It may indicate that you've chosen the wrong actions or are measuring the wrong things.

        No objectives defined or adopted yet.

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        Monthly Check-In

        ▼
        Conducting Effective Monthly Check-Ins

        Monthly Check-Ins keep implementation moving. Use the Run Monthly Check-In button below to launch a guided 3-step “meeting runner.”

        What happens when you click “Run Monthly Check-In”

        • If your Implementation Dashboard looks out of date (KPIs and/or Action Steps), you’ll see three choices: Go Update Dashboard Now, Proceed Anyway (Use Last Saved Data), or Cancel.
        • The runner then walks you through: Step 1 KPI Red Flags, Step 2 Action Step Exceptions, and Step 3 Decisions & Commitments.
        • You can enter notes during each step. When you finish, the meeting notes are saved and show up under Previous Monthly Check-In Meeting Notes.

        Purpose

        • Action Steps: Confirm what’s due or in focus; surface anything blocked, at risk, behind schedule, overdue, or not started when it should be.
        • KPIs: Review leading indicators that are off track or trending the wrong way; agree on what to adjust.
        • Obstacles & resourcing: Identify roadblocks, remove constraints, and confirm owners.
        • Accountability: Capture decisions, commitments, and next steps.

        Suggested agenda (20–30 minutes)

        1. Reconfirm this quarter’s top priorities.
        2. KPI snapshot: what’s off track and what needs action.
        3. Action Step exceptions: blocked / at risk / behind / overdue / not started when it should be.
        4. Decisions & next steps: who will do what by when.

        Dashboard housekeeping: Update actuals on the Implementation Dashboard. If a KPI is Active, wait to Finalize, Roll Forward, or Archive until the last reporting period ends.

        Previous Monthly Check-In Meeting Notes
        Back to Top ↑

        Quarterly Progress Assessment

        ▼
        Conducting Your Quarterly Progress Assessment

        Quarterly Progress Assessments are a deeper 90-day review than the Monthly Check-In. Use them to confirm what’s working, correct what isn’t, and set clear priorities for the next quarter.

        Before you start

        • Update your Implementation Dashboard so it reflects your latest KPI actuals and Action Step statuses.

        Run the assessment in this sequence

        1. Review KPI performance: Focus on quarterly-target KPIs and anything At Risk or Off Track. Identify what’s driving results and where the breakdown is happening.
        2. Check progress by Strategy Area: Are you advancing your Goals and Objectives? Are your Strategies closing key gaps and moving you toward the Vision?
        3. Review Action Step execution: Confirm completion and impact from the last 90 days. Flag exceptions (blocked, at risk, behind schedule, overdue, or not started when they should be) and decide what to stop, start, or accelerate.
        4. Confirm resources and execution health: Validate people/time/budget, skills, ownership, decision clarity, information flow, and whether teams have the processes/support needed. Surface systemic issues and emerging risks.
        5. Capture learnings and commitments: Record next-quarter priorities, course corrections, decisions, owners, and due dates.

        Key questions to ask

        • Do we have the right resources and skills for the next quarter?
        • Is ownership clear for each Strategy, KPI, and Action Step?
        • Are targets, decision parameters, and success criteria still clear and relevant?
        • Is the Dashboard giving the right insights—and are we updating it consistently?
        • Is information flowing well across teams, or are handoffs/approvals slowing execution?
        • Are teams spending too much time inventing the work (a sign we need better processes, tools, or support)?

        Where changes happen: KPI operations (Finalize, Roll Forward, Archive) happen on the Implementation Dashboard. KPI structural changes (targets, definitions, new KPIs) happen in the KPI section.

        What happens when you click “Run Quarterly Assessment”

        1. KPI snapshot: Reviews KPIs that are At Risk or Off Track using your latest saved Dashboard data.
        2. Action Step exceptions: Surfaces adopted Action Steps that are blocked, at risk, behind schedule, overdue, or not started when they should be.
        3. Course corrections: Captures quarterly priorities, adjustments, decisions, and commitments.

        Tip: For best results, update your Implementation Dashboard first.

        Previous Quarterly Assessment Notes
        Back to Top ↑

        Annual Assessment and Replanning

        ▼
        Annual Replanning: roll your plan forward for the next 12 months

        Outcome: At the end of this section, your plan should be rolled forward for the next 12-month period.

        Assumptions: Mission, Values, Basis for Competition, and Business Model(s) are assumed to be set and still be appropriate for the next 12 months.

        Note: If any of these are missing or need to change, go to the appropriate section(s) and update them there. If you change the Basis for Competition or Business Model(s), revisit the "Create Your Plan" sections to keep your plan aligned. If you revise the Vision, revisit the other "Create Your Plan" sections to ensure goals, strategies, objectives, KPIs, and action steps still align with it.

        When a new plan is needed: Annual replanning rolls your plan forward. Develop a new plan when the current plan is no longer valid — for example, a key market deteriorates, funding is pulled, a key product/service becomes outmoded, major new information invalidates the vision/strategies, or the plan’s time horizon is reached (e.g., at the end of Year 4 in a four-year plan). When that happens, restart where the plan breaks: if strategies are wrong, redo strategies; if the vision is wrong, start over.

        What you will do here:

        • Confirm whether the plan still feels relevant and whether implementation is on track.
        • Capture meaningful changes since your last update that may require plan adjustments.
        • Decide whether Goals or Strategies need to change (and understand what else must be revisited if they do).
        • Update execution items: Action Steps, Objectives, and KPIs for the new 12 months.
        Step 1: Confirm relevance and implementation status

        Use this if you want to restart the annual update early. This clears the entries in this section only.

        These are assumed to still be appropriate:

        • Basis for competition: Not set
        • Business model(s): Not set
        • Mission: Not set
        • Vision: Not set
        • Values: Not set

        Note: If any of the above plan elements are missing or need to change, go to the appropriate section(s) and update them there. If you change the Basis for Competition or Business Model(s), you should revisit the "Create Your Plan" sections to assure your plan remains aligned with the changed element. Similarly, if you revise the Vision, you should revisit the other "Create Your Plan" sections to assure your plan aligns with the revised Vision.

        Step 2: Capture meaningful changes since the last plan update

        Keep it practical. Capture only the changes that may require plan adjustments. Use the add buttons to capture the few that matter most.

        A) Internal changes not reflected in this plan

        Examples: owner health issue, key employee departure, new AI capabilities, quality slippage, unexpected growth requiring capacity, new location, major process breakage.

        B) Significant change in financial situation

        Which ratios or indicators changed meaningfully? (Select what applies — no numbers required.)

        C) Important trends that have emerged since the last plan update

        Add the new trends that matter most to the future for your organization. Mark each as an Opportunity or Threat. (If a trend is both an opportunity and a threat, enter it twice and mark one entry an Opportunity and the other a Threat.)

        D) Changes in regulations, partners, suppliers, and technologies since the last plan update

        Capture anything new or changed that creates an opportunity or risk.

        E) Significant competitive changes since the last plan update

        Examples: significant new competitor or competitor class, a competitor weakening/disappearing, major new substitute, pricing pressure, new distribution channel.

        F) Other changes since last plan update that merit consideration in this plan update

        Add other changes that should influence your plan update, and label each item as a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, or Threat.

        Step 3: Reconsider strategic goals and strategies (if needed)

        Important dependency reminder:

        • If you change Strategic Goals, you should reconsider Strategies, Objectives, and KPIs.
        • If you change Strategies, you should reconsider Objectives and KPIs.

        What your plan currently contains

        If you revise goals, plan to revisit strategies, objectives, and KPIs afterward.

        If you revise strategies, plan to revisit objectives and KPIs afterward.

        Step 4: Update execution items (Action Steps, Objectives, KPIs)

        Goal: Update execution items for the next 12 months.

        • Update existing Action Steps for the next 12 months using the Year-End Action Step Refresh tool below.
        • Click Add Action Steps to add new action steps for the next 12 months, then return here to continue the plan update.
        • Add or update Objectives (and adjust dates/targets as needed).
        • Add or update KPIs (and adjust dates/targets as needed).
        Step 5: Plan Completeness & Alignment Check

        Use this check to confirm plan quality while you roll the plan forward.

        For a better score: complete any missing plan elements and address missing or weak alignment among the Basis for Competition, Business Model(s), and Vision.

        Tip: Save your plan regularly as you update it.

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        Ask Kai, our AI planning assistant, for help. Click the floating button below for knowledge, ideas, editing, examples, options, and best practices. Work with Kai to draft, sharpen, and complete your strategy. To restart the chat, click the 🔄 icon.

        Your Plan
        Plan Name: Not set
        Organization Name: Not set
        Organization Type: Not set
        Planning Period: Not set
        Implementation Period: Not set
        Strategy Areas: Not set
        Business Assessment: Not set
        Financial Analysis: Not set
        Basis for Competition:
        Business Model(s):
        Strategic Foresight:
        Not set
        Competitive Analysis: Not set
        SWOT Analysis: Not set
        Mission: Not set
        Values:
        Vision: Not set
        Strategic Gaps & Remedies:
        Not set
        Strategic Goals by Strategy Area: Not set
        Strategies by Strategy Area: Not set
        12‑Month Action Steps: Not set
        Objectives: Not set
        Key Performance Indicators: Not set