Nonprofit Strategic Positioning

Nonprofit Strategic Positioning: Decide Where to Be, Plan What to Do is the first nonprofit-oriented book to describe strategic positioning as an alternative to traditional strategic planning. Even in the nonprofit sector, strategic planning is becoming discredited as a formulaic, go-nowhere exercise. This book will take the reader on a stimulating journey through nonprofit strategy development and implementation. The book is timely because the nonprofit sector has reached a turning point where the need to be more business-like is undeniable, and the continuing retreat of the public sector has left even wider gaps in services that nonprofits will be asked to fill. Nonprofit Strategic Positioning: Decide Where to Be, Plan What to Do offers a fresh new way for nonprofits to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

Introduction.

Section 1: Preplanning.

Section 2: The Logic of Strategic Positioning.

Section 3: The Formal Points of Control.

Section 4: Prepare.

Section 5: Scan Your Future.

Section 6: Scan for Internal Strengths.

Section 7: Decide Where to Be.

Recipe Card: How to Devise a Statement of Desired Strategic Position.

Appendices: Toolkit.

Introduction to Appendices.

A. Quick Start.

B. National Research with Personal Perspectives.

C. Brainstorming/Clustering Technique.

D. Weighted Voting Techniques.

E. Media Markets.

F. Future Scan Form.

G. Data Sources for Competitive Research.

H. Attention Board Members and Staff: Develop Your Own Personal Strategic Position.

Index.

Thomas A. McLaughlin has more than 25 years of experience as a nonprofit manager, trade association executive, and management consultant. He is nationally recognized as an expert in nonprofit mergers and alliances, strategic positioning, and financial management. He is a nonprofit management consultant with Grant Thornton in Boston, and is on the faculty of the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
A frequent speaker at nonprofit-oriented events nationwide, he has been quoted in numerous industry and national publications. Tom is a monthly columnist and contributing editor for The NonProfit Times. He is also the author of Streetsmart Financial Basics for Nonprofit Managers, 2e and of Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances, both published by Wiley.

What will you have to do to get there?

These are the defining questions Nonprofit Strategic Positioning: Decide Where to Be, Plan What to Do helps nonprofit organizations answer. A streamlined, practical alternative to traditional, cumbersome strategic planning, the structured strategic positioning process produces a realistic, actionable platform that serves as a clear and engaging basis for the organization's decisions.

This groundbreaking work includes:

• An explanation of the six distinct steps in developing the strategic position and devising a dynamic work plan
• Ways to check the staying power of the organization's mission statement, such as the Theme Identification Percentage score (TIP), the Business Card Test, the Deli Principle, and more
• Easy-to-follow guidelines for scanning the organization's future, including seven specific strategic factors that affect all nonprofits
• The principles of strength-based internal scanning
• Creating a strategic financial plan encompassing cash flow, capital structure, and profitability
• Tools such as Recipe Cards with step-by-step directions for implementing ideas, a QuickStart version, templates and forms, a list of resources, and more
• Examples demonstrating applications of the approach
• The characteristics of an entrepreneurial leader
• A guide to help board members and staff develop personal strategic positions

The strategic positioning approach can be tailored for all nonprofits: federations like United Way and Goodwill Industries; very large nonprofits such as universities and large hospitals; associations and professional societies; and small community organizations. This is inspiring, empowering reading for nonprofit executives and directors, members of boards of directors and trustees, nonprofit managers, fundraising professionals, and consultants who must address the challenges nonprofit organizations face in the twenty-first century.

—Jan Masaoka, Executive DirectorCompassPoint Nonprofit Services

"Tom McLaughlin's Nonprofit Strategic Positioning makes good sense. And Tom is right! Strategic planning is hard work and well worth the effort. Tom writes the truth, knows what works, and offers solid guidance in this new book."
—Kenneth L. Gladish, PhD, National Executive DirectorYMCA of the USA

"As leaders, we live and work in a vastly changing world. Tom McLaughlin provides an excellent framework and basis for strategic thinking and acting when responding to these changes. Nonprofit Strategic Positioning provides a treasure chest of best practices, relevant planning principles, and rules for engaging issues that will improve the performance of the twenty-first century not-for-profit."
—Ronnie E. Jenkins, National Vice President, Services to Clubs Boys & Girls Clubs of America

"Once again, Tom McLaughlin does what consulting experts rarely do—he teaches others how to do it themselves. Drawing on his vast experience and keen powers of observation, Tom offers insights on trends, a practical approach to organizational strategy and even recipe cards to guide the process. With this how-to guide, even the most reluctant organizations can position themselves for the future."
—Jill A. Schumann, President and CEO Lutheran Services in America