Planning School

20 weeks. Weekly, 60-minute classes (recorded in case you miss), 1-2 hours of homework per week, and 90-minute weekly Planning Team Meetings that you facilitate, plus 2-3 stakeholder meetings over the course of the program. That's an average of 3.5-4.5 hours per week. We won't pretend it's not a time commitment. Discovering what’s truly important for your organization always requires hard work. Building a skillset you'll use throughout your career takes time. It also offers unprecedented rewards for clarity, inspiration, and accomplishment. This program is only for people willing (not "able," no one has a bunch of free time to throw at this) to put in the time and the work. The kicker? You’ll learn, really learn, how to LEAD strategic planning.

You don’t have time because you are overwhelmed. You are overwhelmed because we've been on a trajectory of increasing complexity and uncertainty. Most teams struggle to figure out what to STOP doing so they can focus on what’s most important. So, here you are, doing too much. In our experience, the only way out of the continuously-reacting mode is to be more strategic. So, find a solution that works for your organization, or keep treading water. And, maybe the timing is NOT right. Sometimes you need to “let the earthquake stop” to see where all the shelves fall before you figure out how to pick everything up and move forward. But remember: the uncertainty and turmoil we are facing are not likely to diminish in the months or years to come. Have a heart-to-heart with your hesitation (and maybe with an instructor) and make sure waiting is truly the best choice. (If you’ve read this far, we have a hunch it’s time.)

If your team is dysfunctional, we recommend you start working on team function BEFORE you begin strategic planning. A truly dysfunctional team will implode a planning process. As leaders, isn't it our responsibility to work with team members to be productive and not destructive? Letting bad behavior be the reason you can't do proper strategic planning isn't acceptable. Instead, let it be a clear indicator of what you need to do FIRST: team development or working with individuals on their performance. And another point: if you need a "big stick" to get this type of work done and the "big stick" leaves at the end of the process, how do you expect execution will go? We've been the "big sticks" for a long time and deeply believe that an internally led process results in an EXECUTED plan (instead of a written one). And, of course, there ARE TIMES when complexity requires an outside consultant. We can help you decide what's best for your situation.

The training includes planning adaptations for three primary sectors: nonprofits, for-profit businesses, and public agencies. You use what applies to your organization!

Possibly. We are very protective of our client’s confidentiality, and we do have permission to share plans in certain scenarios. It requires that you set up a time to chat with us about the program, and we can determine if there’s a plan we can share. And everyone enrolled in the courses gets to see a variety of finished plans.

Absolutely! You may be a subsidiary of a global organization and want to have a cohort with a few of your teams. Or, you are part of a professional group and would like to take the course with them. We require a minimum of ten students to join a private cohort; we can take up to 15. If you're interested, head to our "contact" page to schedule a time to discuss your needs.

All of our full programs are priced to be less than the cost of an external strategic planning expert doing the process for you. You can see current pricing by requesting a brochure via our contact page. Pricing depends on the size of your organization, and we offer early-bird discounts, nonprofit pricing, and situational slide-scales. Head to the upper right-hand corner, click the "contact" page and request a brochure or schedule a chat with an instructor who can provide pricing for your specific situation.