Do You Have a Strategy or Just a Strategic Plan?

There hasn’t been, in recent memory, a more important time for independent schools to zero in on strategy. Most of us in schools are doing strategy wrong at a time when independent schools today are facing some of the most serious challenges ever, such as:

· Extremely high tuition out pacing all economic indicators.

· A complicated political climate creating difficult, international student implications among others.

· School-age children demographics are declining significantly in about 70% of the USA.

· An alarming number of schools are experiencing serious operational deficits.

Many consider this the perfect storm for independent schools. Now, more than ever, our schools must engage in serious strategy work and must do it differently than we have been.

A plan is not a strategy. A strategic plan is not a strategy! Confusing the two set you up for frustration and failure. A plan and a strategy are fundamentally different even if many leaders use them interchangeably, which I find many schools are doing. Strategy is the theory of how you’ll win, where to play, and why you exist. A plan is your roadmap, creating actions, timelines, and ownership. They are totally interconnected, but they are not interchangeable. A brilliant plan without a clear strategy is busy work with no competitive edge. I find this to be true in most of the strategic plans I read from independent school websites. A bold strategy without a concrete plan is vision with no traction. A plan is about activity. A strategy is about creating advantage.

Confusing the two is how well-organized mediocrity happens. You chase the goals without clarity on what really sets you apart. You spread your budget like peanut butter: thin, safe and forgettable. People get busy, but not bold. I hope this sounds familiar. Planning can feel very comfortable and we are all used to doing it. Strategy is risky, it’s messy, it forces trade-offs, and it sometimes demands guts. It is also about determining what you are going to say “No” to.

Here’s how to fix it: 

· Ask yourselves what bold and distinctive choices are you making? 

· How are you positioning yourselves in ways that truly matter to customers? 

· What are you saying no to loudly and proudly? 

 A plan tells you what to do and when to do it. A strategy tells you why it matters.

I believe that strategy meetings are about making the right choices. Planning meetings are about making those choices real. Most schools try to do both at once and end up doing neither well. Most schools don’t really do strategy, they do planning and call it strategic planning. Many schools build detailed timelines, assign tasks and celebrate the checklist. But when disruption hits and markets shift, competitors improve and change often makes those plans collapse.

I believe most schools think they have a strategy, but what they really have is a wish list. Winning strategy isn’t a slogan. It isn’t “Grow 50% this year” or “Be the best in the industry.” That’s not strategy, that’s hope with a number.

Most independent schools I find do not have a vision statement, which is the Northstar for any type of strategy in planning. Vision statements must inspire and inform daily decision-making. Coming up with a compelling vision statement is hard work, but it must be done in a strategy session in order to be successful. My biggest pet peeve? Too many independent schools only stay focused on looking at their competition and then copying what the competition does rather than creating a niche or creating something totally different. Most school plans have way too much detail in them.

So, what does good strategy look like? One of my favorite writers on strategy is Marc Snuikas. He believes good strategy contains a creative element to create advantage and differentiation. You need to have a clear and concise understanding of the problem you are trying to solve or the opportunity that you are trying to seize. You must create a coherent set of actions and decisions that are aligned and support each other to create leverage and maximum impact.

My friend and partner at RG175, Tom Olverson, wrote a wonderful book, Leading through Strategy, and in it he clearly defines what is critically important for schools with five questions:

1. What is the school’s winning aspiration?

2. Where does the school want to play?

3. How will the school win?

4. What are the school’s existing capabilities?

5. What structures, systems and protocols are required in order for the school to successfully execute?

I believe independent schools must give families something that they want for their children, but cannot get anywhere else. It’s up to the schools to figure out what these things are. Employees and parents of a school should be able to tell you why your school is different in one sentence. This answer should be very consistent across all constituencies. Schools need to stop describing what you do and start explaining what parents get when they enroll their children in your school. This differentiator for your school must be upfront and on the homepage of your website.

I hope this inspires you to ask a critically important question about your school: Do we have a strategy or do we have a strategic plan?