Create a Clear Strategic Plan
Preparing for an expedition includes research, defining a route, setting deadlines, making a supply list, creating a budget and putting together a team. Creating an organizational strategic plan is just the same.
The Teens to Trails Strategic Plan team was co-led by our board member Todd Noyes. As Director of Card Services for L.L.Bean, Todd contributed his marketing and strategic thinking experience alongside Nick Sampson, a long-serving board member with deep knowledge of our beginnings and a heartfelt vision for our future.
Todd recommended a three-year plan that refreshes annually, like peeling off the outer layer of a toasted marshmallow, and then putting it back over the fire to make the next perfect bite. This annual format provides 4 strategic visions, while also allowing us to be nimble.
The issues that we addressed were scale, stability and statistics -
Scale: How does Teens to Trails maintain thoughtful, relationship-driven support when we have doubled the number of schools we work with, added two new methods for outdoor connection and expanded support to middle schools?
Stability: How do we diversify our revenue streams, secure an adequate operating reserve, and retain our excellent staff?
Statistics: How do we add a data-driven process with quantitative measures for our media performance and program assessment to our storytelling?
Each of our 4 Strategic Vision Statements has correlating Action items and measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Our new Strategic Plan guides daily decisions and seasonal direction. It's like hiking with a detailed topo map instead of relying on intuition.
After two years of pivoting in response to rapidly shifting conditions, it's great to be back on a well-marked trail.