So much change going on in all directions – this must be the time to hold tight to the status quo for your non-profit organization and ride it out until things calm down, right?
Wrong, says strategic planning consultant Belinda Lyons-Newman in this Board Source blog post. She advocates “scenario planning,” and provides some steps for introducing this kind of planning for your own organization.
“Scenario planning is an excellent tool to use for planning during uncertain times. It’s a disciplined and iterative process of envisioning possible futures and examining what each might look like, so that you can make informed decisions and choose a course of action,” writes Lyons-Newman.
“In scenario planning, we ask “What if?” We do not need to become prophets. Scenarios are not predictions, but rather possibilities to plan for and explore. They help expand our thinking so we can better anticipate and imagine what might happen, thus preparing the team to more skillfully manage various outcomes.”