Strategic Planning Without Micromanaging the CEO

Board directors are often worried about how they can participate in strategic planning without imposing their will on the CEO or taking over their responsibilities. There has been a shift away from three to five year time horizons and lengthy planning processes towards strategic frameworks that articulate the priorities of the boardmeetingsolution.org organization and business plans that mix operational and programmatic goals, financial forecasts and robust annual plans that are clear in their time frames and metrics.

A Board that is solely focused on its oversight duties must be involved in the development of strategy, acquainting itself with the strategic actions taking place, and acknowledging that special circumstances will always require the Board to be aware. They should also create a strategy monitoring plan. This article discusses ways to accomplish all of this while allowing the Board to be involved in strategic discussions and contribute positively to them.

One of the most popular articles on this site is our blog on how to conduct an event for strategic planning for your board. This article addresses an important problem that is raised time and time again in this field where the board has to draw the line between managing strategy and managing the company. This is a critical discussion, because when the Board believes that its responsibility is to stamp any plan put forward to it, it’s at risk of becoming a “rubber stamp” board. It is crucial to avoid this by having a clear conversation between the board and management on the strategic issues that they believe are the most important. The board can then assist to frame the issues, while management will be more open to suggestions that refine and improve the way they frame problems.