For decades, the five-year strategic plan was the gold standard. It projected discipline, vision and control. Boards expected it. Staff rallied around it. Consultants delivered it in polished decks and infographics. But the world associations operate in today looks nothing like the world that gave rise to that ridiculous model. Disruption is the constant, not the exception. In this environment, the traditional five-year plan creates more constraints than clarity.
One client CEO, reflecting on a recently shelved plan, put it plainly: "It looked great on launch. A year in, our market had moved on, and we spent the next two years working around the plan instead of working it." It's a common pattern. And it reveals a hard truth: Static plans, no matter how well designed, can quickly become out of step with a changing reality.
My consulting firm has seen this across the board. What begins as a road map becomes a relic. Too often, long-range plans outlive the conditions for which they were built. And instead of driving agility, they inadvertently create inertia.
Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership.