Is Your Strategic Plan an Asset or a Massive Liability?
Building a team that will bridge the gap between strategy and strategic execution.
Picture the scene: The board retreat just wrapped up.
You spent six months — and likely $10,000 to $50,000 — working with a consultant to build a new strategic plan. It is brilliant. It charts a path to sustainability, program expansion, and diversified revenue. The Board votes to approve it unanimously. There are handshakes. There is applause. You finally have a roadmap.
Fast forward six months.
The binder is on a shelf. The staff is still drowning in the same daily fires they were fighting last year. The bold new initiatives haven't started. The revenue targets for Q1 were missed.
From a fiduciary standpoint, the precious resources you plunked down for a top-notch strategic plan just went up in flames.
What’s the Value of a Plan?
Here is the uncomfortable truth we need to discuss in the boardroom: A strategic plan has zero intrinsic value.
You read that right. A strategic plan’s value is exactly $0.00 until it is executed.
Boards are often willing to spend significant capital on creating a design for the future (the consultant, the retreat, the strategy) but freeze up when asked to invest in the capacity to build it.
The problem is that many boards view the plan as an asset worth investing in but see the cost of the people necessary to execute the plan as an expense they need to control.
This mindset is fatal to execution. It is the equivalent of paying an architect to design a custom home, buying the blueprints, and then only hiring a one-man crew because you’re focused on controlling your staffing costs.
You end up with a very expensive roll of paper and a half-built frame being held up by one person who is killing themselves to keep the whole thing from falling apart.
The "More Staff" Objection
When an executive director comes to the board and says, "To execute this plan, I need help," the board’s knee-jerk reaction is often fear.
"We can't add more fixed costs."
"We need to be lean."
"Why can't the current team just work smarter?"
These are valid concerns. Adding permanent headcount (salaries, benefits, taxes) is a liability. But this is where the math needs to change.
We need to stop comparing the cost of support to the cost of a freelancer or a salary. We need to compare the cost of support to the cost of the failed plan.
If your strategic plan projects $500,000 in new revenue over the next three years, but it requires $80,000 in capacity to unlock it, refusing to spend that $80,000 doesn’t save the organization money. It costs the organization $420,000 in lost net revenue.
Moreover, if your organization’s vision includes developing and launching a new program to meet the needs of the community you serve and you fail to provide it, you’re putting your existing funding at risk because you’re not delivering the impact you’ve promised. The goodwill you spent years cultivating with donors will dissipate and your nonprofit’s ROI will sink – fast.
The Solution: Bridge the Gap
The reason boards hesitate to hire is that they see only two options:
The Status Quo: Burn out the current staff (High Risk).
The Full-Time Hire: Add a permanent salary (High Risk).
But there is a third option that bridges the gap between strategy and action without the heavy baggage of a full-time hire: fractional support.
This isn't about adding headcount for the sake of it. It is about mitigating risk when acquiring the talent and people power needed to execute your plan. It is about bridging the capacity gap in an effective, and surprisingly affordable, way. It’s about living up to your nonprofit’s vision. Fractional staffing is:
Right skilled: Instead of hiring one person who has some skills and not others, you will engage experts who excel at the capabilities they bring, ensuring that you have all the expertise you need to execute the plan you’ve invested in.
Efficient: You’re paying the appropriate rates for the skill levels you engage, and you don’t have more of any skill than you need.
Diversified: If you lose one person, the organization isn’t crippled. Fractional team members are prepared to move in quickly and seamlessly.
Flexible: You can adjust the composition of your fractional team as conditions change. By its very nature, fractional staffing is conducive to scaling up.
What your core team needs: Your full-time people will no longer be overwhelmed by the need to put out fires. They will have the breathing room to direct their efforts toward your nonprofit’s purpose and growth.
The Fiduciary Choice
As a board member, your duty is to ensure that the organization’s resources are used effectively
Leaving a $50,000 plan on the shelf because you are hesitant to invest in execution is not prudent. It’s a waste.
If you believe in the plan you voted for, you must be prepared to provide the bridge to get there. Don't let your strategy become an expensive paperweight. Give your team the builders they need to construct the future you designed.
Is your plan stuck on the shelf?
Plans with no one to execute them don't make an impact. If you have the strategy but lack the capacity, let’s talk about how to bridge that gap with a model that minimizes financial risk.