Strategic Planning Poll Results

This week's Adaptistration poll on the value of artistic stakeholder input on an orchestra's strategic planning process produced results that were both intriguing and not the least bit surprising…

It is likely no surprise that more than 90 percent of respondents felt that it was either very important or critically important that an orchestra's music director be involved in the strategic planning process. In fact, no one felt that the music director's opinion wasn't important. When asked if the musicians should be included in the strategic planning process, respondents didn't feel that musicians were as important to the process as music directors. However, more than 80 percent of respondents felt that their input was either critical or important.

The surprise came in the form of answers to the survey's final question. Although no less than 80 percent of respondents felt that artistic stakeholders have an important role to play in the strategic planning process, only 62.3 percent felt those same stakeholders had any right to publicly express dissatisfaction with the plan if they disagreed with the process and/or results. Given that outcome, I wish I had added at least one more question asking respondents to identify if they are a manager, board member, musician, conductor, or patron - an error I'll do my best to avoid in the next poll.

A few readers responded to poll results via comments and they all shared intriguing interpretations. On reader, James, summed up his analysis by stating that respondents felt that artistic stakeholders "Should absolutely be involved in the process but still be able to go public with complaints should it not be to their liking or expectation." James rolled all of that into the following concise and stylish adage: "I want to be on the bus unless it doesn't head exactly where I think it should."

I think that is certainly one way to interpret the results although I had a different take on things. I responded to James saying that I interpret the responses to say that artistic stakeholders should be included but the ability to publicly express dissatisfaction helps ensure a worthwhile process; ergo "I expect to the bus to head to the stop it advertises and reserve the right to leave if it doesn't."

At the same time, one of the more intriguing components developed via some email exchanges with a reader. In those exchanges we discussed the value of artistic stakeholder input in strategic planning and the reader asked if there were any good examples of a strategic planning process orchestras could examine as a sort of "best practice." I tend to think a strategic planning process can only be as good as the people involved. Beyond that, it is simply selecting one of the many varieties of process "tools" available to get the job done.

Think back to events at the Louisville Orchestra from last season. In that case, the orchestra experienced an organizational melt-down that resulted from a proposal by the board to implement massive budget cuts. In the previous season, the organization implemented a strategic planning process that included the artistic stakeholders at nearly every step. However, in the summer following the conclusion of that process, the board decided to abandon that strategic plan in lieu of a new plan that was crafted while the musicians were not in session and while the organization did not have a music director. The result was a very public, very negative series of collective bargaining negotiations where both musicians and the board used the media to advance their positions.

Fast forward a bit and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra appears to be following key elements from the latter strategic planning process. In Columbus, the organization published a high-production quality 50 page strategic plan that was crafted without ever notifying (forget about including) the artistic stakeholders. Given the fact that the organization completed the plan more than two months before it was officially released and more than several months in advance of the next collective bargaining sessions, the timing is a mystery. Currently, the proposed financial plan has endured a significant backlash from the orchestra's musicians, music director, and even major donors (not to mention hundreds of public messages from patrons) who are deeply displeased with the process and the proposed 25 percent budget cuts.

We'll be examining some of those details while attempting to find out more about the planning process from those involved in the weeks to come. In the meantime, what do you think? Is there anything in the poll results that Columbus Symphony Orchestra board members should have taken into consideration when they were in the preparation stages for the strategic planning process? Would increased transparency and inclusion of the organization's stakeholders have had any impact on the final results? Sound off by posting a comment below.

Comments

[Bill Harris]

Drew, I read your strategic planning poll results with interest. I had
a few follow-up thoughts:

- I've often heard, taken from Eisenhower, I believe, that strategic
plans are worthless, but strategic planning is invaluable. It's the
process, not the thing.

- I took the poll and was stymied at what to say about those who
disagreed and might want to complain about the result. If it's the
process, and if the process is well facilitated, I figure that major
disagreement may be a sign the process broke down. The process should
hopefully have brought everyone on board.

As a facilitator, I can't guarantee everyone will be on board, but
part of a facilitator's process is designed to enable people to get
important issues out on the table in the group dialog. If people are
heard there, they may be much less inclined to complain in other
forums, and the organization will benefit from their insights.

- With reference to the last point, I realize that musicians, especially
in non-full-time orchestras, don't have a lot of time, and that may
hamper the ability to facilitate good process, but "hamper" is not the
same as "eliminate."

- Did the Louisville or Columbus boards test their proposals for massive
budget cuts? How? Without a way to conduct a dress rehearsal of
their plan, bringing in all the stakeholders might have been akin to
an orchestra only talking about a major new piece before the concert.
Orchestras rehearse their music; what about orchestras and their
strategy?

That's where the modeling you and I have done can play a role.

Such facilitated modeling work can help a group understand the current
situation they'd like to change better. Often the act of modeling
uncovers significant disagreements between stakeholders on how their
world works, and it can focus the conversation on understanding rather
than on winning an argument. It also helps the organization
understand the causal factors that brought them to this point.

With the model in hand, the process then offers a way to test various
(not just one) strategic alternatives to see how the current situation
might respond. While there are no guarantees, it's often the case
that such work, done well, can help an organization figure out what's
more likely to work. In the process, they might find a better
strategy than they had imagined. They may also find out from the act
of building and using the model what's important for the success of
their chosen strategy in the real world.

Of course, it's the insights and the people that count, not the model;
the model is simply a tool. Yet I've seen that be an amazingly
effective tool in providing insights and in changing the tone of
business discussions.

Those are my early morning thoughts. I'm curious to see what others
suggest.

[Paul A. Alter]

Bill,

I can't follow your discussion. It's not your fault, it's simply that I am not familiar with the techniques you suggest.

Couldst explain, maybe, please?

Paul

[Bill Harris]

Paul, gladly, or at least I'll try.

Instead of starting from scratch, though, I'll point you to my 2007 TAFTO article. In that case, Drew was / is trying to get more people to attend concerts through a particular set of activities.

I started by creating a simple computer model that describes how people tend to get attracted to buy new things (in this case, concert tickets). Some are influenced more by advertising and the like, while others are more influenced by word-of-mouth advertising and the like.

I first created a model that approximated, at least loosely, what exists today, and I used it to explore what factors might be key to achieving success.

Then I added the TAFTO program on top of the current situation to see the effect it might have. It was noticeable but not huge (it's worth doing, but don't expect it to fix all the problems symphony orchestras have).

Finally, I explored how the various factors involved in structuring TAFTO might play into its success and determined which factors are likely key to its success.

The key in this effort wasn't that I can tell you with any certainty how many new concert-goers might show up as a result of what Drew does each year in TAFTO; it was that I can indicate, at least provisionally, whether TAFTO might be a good idea (seems so) and which factors are likely most important to its success (anything Drew can do to create more people who will be strong word-of-mouth influencers for classical music sounds like a good idea, all else being equal).

Is that the last word on TAFTO? Not by a long shot. For one, I did that model all alone, without the benefit of the insights from others in the business who could help understand what's actually going on. Normally, this would be a very collaborative effort.

What it does show is a method to reduce some (maybe a lot) of the uncertainty regarding what results certain actions will likely cause in some very complex situations such as strategic planning. In one published example, I applied this to fixing a recurring overspending problem in an organization. We used a model to understand the cause of the problem and to test potential fixes. When we applied the selected fix in the real organization, the problem was cut by 95%, making it a non-problem.

If you want more on the approach, check out some of my publications, or search the Web for the field of system dynamics.

Does that help?

[Paul A. Alter]

Thanks, Bill.

Yep, it helps.

Paul

[Bill Harris]

I just posted a new article today that may shed a bit more light on at least one pertinent aspect of system dynamics. See "System dynamics, black swans, and the management of business."