Are you following the continuing evolution of thinking about Strategic Planning? It has moved from accepted practice of planning 5 years out, to planning activities and goals for the next 3-5 years, to an emphasis on the next one-two year window. And in many cases, organizations now say "We can't plan because we don't know what will happen next!"

One concept that is big now is called Adaptive Capacity, positioning the organization to be able to quickly identify and respond to changes outside and within the organization. Some theorists go so far as to say that preparing to react quickly is the best that we can do in our fast changing world.

I tend to disagree. I suggest that Adaptive Capacity is only good if it is a complement to your planning effort. Let me offer a ship analogy. In the old days(80's/early 90's) we used to feel comfortable looking so far into the future that we could not only define our destinations, but also design ships and crews that we could use well into the future. If we give up on defining our goal and merely design a flexible ship, that may limit our thinking to merely keeping the ship afloat - losing track of our ultimate destination.

As organizations plan in this environment of tighter resources, it becomes even more important to identify what the priorities of the organization are and to be able to prove that you are genuinely creating the impacts you claim - reaching your destination, not just keeping your boat afloat.

One place that organizations might begin this process is by identifying the "sweet spot" of their organization - where the following four items intersect:

1) Your MISSION
2) Your EXPERTISE
3) The NEEDS or OPPORTUNITIES of the COMMUNITY
4) The NEEDS and DESIRES of FUNDERS – (government, individual, corporations, and foundation.) In this same conversation, discuss other organizations that provide similar and complementary services.

For the Board, I find this type of discussion quickly cuts to the heart of the matter. If the circumstances apply to your organization, you might identify services that are off mission or discover you are following someone's personal passion but not filling a true need. You could even discover that you do not have the expertise to accomplish what you desire or that you are duplicating the work of other organizations when you might be reaching more people using your core expertise.

Bryan Orander is President of Charitable Advisors, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Following a 12 year career with a Fortune 50 corporation and a 6 year stint as a Program Director for a large nonprofit, Bryan has been a full-time consultant with nonprofits for almost 10 years.