Roadmap to Success: Implementing the Strategic Plan
Thomas Plant’s previous book, Strategic Planning for Municipalities: A Users’ Guide, focused on outlining the steps involved in developing a strategic plan. In his new book, Roadmap to Success: Implementing the Strategic Plan, he proposes that developing the strategic plan is not the end of the process, but the beginning. Equally important is to carefully lay out how the plan will be implemented, in order to successfully position the municipal organization to actualize its strategic vision and goals. Failure to do so will result in a strategic plan that just gathers dust, and not a meaningful “living” strategic plan impacting the organizational decision-making process.
The book outlines the importance of developing a vision and clear goals, to provide a roadmap for the municipal organization and guide service delivery to the public. As well, the book provides a checklist of the fundamental components of a successful planning process, including: scanning the environment; establishing a clear vision; defining the end state; establishing a mechanism to measure progress; and creating a way to communicate success. It also details the key leadership role senior management has in thinking strategically and utilizing the strategic plan as the key document to drive change in the organization. If the strategic plan is to be a guiding document, then envisioning how the plan will be implemented in its early stages, and aligned to the operational level of the organization will help to improve the chances of it being a meaningful and actionable plan.
Published in Canada by Municipal World, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-919779-94-5
Item 0084
