Gary, I am a big fan of strategic planning. In my experience, good
strategic plans are not carried out a rigid timeline or even through a
sequence of planned actions. And, in spite of the quote William Creamer
provided (to which I can relate, looking at how some organizations
approach this!), they also don't have to take a whole heck of a lot of
time to develop and keep fresh. Often, effective implementation occurs
through the coordination of many discreet activities over time,
activities which may be in reaction to immediate, even unanticipated
needs. The strategic plan provides the framework for these activities so
that, to the greatest extent possible, they can be carried out with the
larger strategic goals in mind, and in a manner that takes advantage of
opportunities that arise over time to get closer to achieving those
goals. I've had pretty good success achieving our strategic goals,
generally set in "five year plans", in exactly this opportunistic,
incremental, even reactive manner. 

In order to do this, those goals need able to be boiled down into
relatively simple terms for both you and your staff. The easier they are
to remember, the more likely they will be come into play as we go
through our busy, reactive days, making decisions and taking action to
respond to the many issues and demands that we face. To give you an
example, one of our strategic goals is the development of an historic
archives, in particular one that represents the diverse history of the
public we serve. Consequently, we keep constant watch in our regular
accessioning and retention scheduling activities for opportunities to
enhance and enrich our holdings, even though, for the most part, our
accessioning and retention scheduling are not dealing with archival
records. 

A good mission statement, coupled with a good values statement, provides
the simple articulation of those strategic goals so that folks can keep
them in mind as they go through the day. It also leads to buy-in,
enhancing further the likelihood that the goals will be achieved. It
provides overall coherence to what you're doing, which also leads to
"message discipline" - everyone is on the same wavelength - very helpful
in promoting goals to and for upper management. I also don't have to
micromanage my staff - we all understand what we are trying to do, and I
trust them to "do the right thing" in their own way, which they do. That
helps morale as well. 

To be honest, without looking it up, I couldn't quote our mission/values
statements (I don't think the two can be separated), and neither could
my staff, but when I do read them, I realize the values and goals stated
are deeply engrained in everything we do. That, in my opinion, is a sign
of a successful mission/values statement - not something that is imposed
upon us, but rather something that comes out of, or reflects, the best
of what we are, what we do, and what we hope to achieve.

Dwight Wallis, CRM
Records Administrator
Multnomah County Fleet, Records, Electronics, Distribution and Stores
(FREDS)
1620 S.E. 190th Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
Phone: (503)988-3741
Fax: (503)988-3754
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