Execution Suffers When When Strategic Planning Becomes a Ritual

Strategic planning is one of those things associations do because it's expected. Boards ask for it. Members want reassurance that there's a plan. Executive teams know it’s coming, even if they quietly brace themselves for the workload it creates.

I've been in this world long enough—on the staff side, in executive roles and in boardrooms—to see the same pattern repeat itself. A strategic planning process kicks off with good intentions—deep dives, brainstorming, even a retreat. A document gets approved. And then, slowly, the momentum fades.

What's striking isn't that associations struggle to plan. It’s that so many plans never truly come to life. That beautiful, bounded document crafted with so much heart and intent gets put on a shelf to collect dust.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.