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Navigating the Future: Planning and Acting Strategically

All organizations, institutions, associations, and jurisdictions must respond to change, either because they happen to change or change happens to them. This is why virtually every city and town engages in some form of what is commonly referred to as strategic planning. But having a strategic plan and thinking strategically are not the same. If they were, so many so-called strategic plans wouldn’t sit on the shelf. Municipal leaders must be able to engage colleagues, constituents, citizens, and their community in strategic thinking if they are to address not only the challenges facing them today, but also those of tomorrow. This class uses a strategic simulation that incorporates strategic thinking, visioning, and navigating to address the what, why, and how of strategic planning. Class participants work together in small groups to simulate a strategic process that includes an environmental scan, building scenarios of most likely and most preferred futures, identifying driving and restraining forces, conducting a gap analysis, identifying key themes, framing goals and strategies, and developing an action plan to guide how to navigate from today to tomorrow. This class is limited to 35 participants.