Our Approach: Strategic Planning
Strategy looks different across organizations. Some forgo a formal plan, opting for shorter-term goals or responding to incidents as they arise. Others spend countless hours creating a plan, only to shelve it until the next cycle.
These are the extremes. Most organizations (hopefully!) take a balanced approach, developing a strategic plan that looks 3-5 years ahead, sets high-level goals, and outlines how to achieve them.
How does Firefly Strategic Consulting approach strategic planning?
We believe strategic plans need to fit your organization. They should be accessible, realistic and serve as your North Star. Your plan should be used to help guide:
Individual and team goal setting
Performance measurement
Celebrating success
Every activity should link back to your plan – otherwise, why are you doing it?
We build plans that set specific targets over a given time but remain flexible enough to adjust your course as circumstances change. In fast-moving environments, especially in small teams, rigidity can stifle creativity and innovation and of course, slow your progress.
Communication and consistency are key
Plans must be communicated clearly and consistently across teams. This is especially important for organizations navigating significant change, growth, or remote work. Strategic planning should be led by leadership but involve the whole team – staff, leaders, community, and clients. Every perspective counts and contributes to the organization's success.
Aligning Strategy with Action
The key to successful implementation is linking the strategic “why” to the operational “how.” By aligning tasks with the strategic plan, you help your team understand their role in the organization's success.
While initially seen as cumbersome, a formalized system that ties objectives to daily work—guided by the rhythm of identify, plan, execute, evaluate—becomes more manageable and even instinctive over time. Progress is iterative and the team sees results faster.
