Strategic Planning

While reading the chapter about strategic planning I realized that the Future Services Committee that I am on is a strategic planning tool. It is very complex and I wasn't able to directly relate all of the concepts in the Dessler's Chapter 5 on Strategic Planning, but I took some time to see some connections:

Strategic Planning Components of the Future Services Committee

Future Services Committee is involved in Strategic Planning: identifying the current business of the library and the business it wants for the future, and the course of action or strategy it will pursue. “What is our business and what should it be?”

Step 1 Define the Business and its Mission

We have a mission statement and a vision statement and in addition we have a values statement. Library services have been changing for over a decade and they will continue to change. This committee is examining what may be coming in the future.

Discussion in the committee meetings talks about

1.) Product scope – the range and diversity of the services the library wants to offer. We can’t be all things to everyone.

2.) Vertical integration – should we use our own information search products or use better and faster products that other companies offer?

3.) Geographic scope – defined as King County. What about Seattle and Renton?

4.) How will we compete – with other information service providers.

Step 2 Perform External and Internal Audits

Step 3 Translate the Mission into Strategic Goals

Step 4 Formulate a Strategy to Achieve Strategic Goals

Step 5 Execute the Strategy

Step 6 Evaluate Performance

Right now the Future Services Committee is working on a “Corporate-level strategy”. If the libraries portfolio of businesses are children’s services, teen services, cataloging, reference services, etc. than a corporate-level strategy is the way these businesses (or departments) fit together.

The corporate-level strategy will spill over to the competitive strategy: a plan to establish a sustainable competitive position against the forces that drive industry competition. Who is the library competing against? One theory is that the advent of the internet and web browsers like Google have infringed on the libraries search business. Patrons no longer need to come to the library for an answer – they just go to Google. This hasn’t been fatal to public libraries, it’s just changed our business. Google is a substitute product.

Eventually the recommendations from the Future Services Committee will translate into Functional Strategies which will specify the basic actions and policies each department must adhere to in order for the company to execute its competitive strategy.

In the committee meetings we are performing a SWOT analysis – identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Environmental scans:

Economic trends: funding is based on property tax values

Competitive trends: Google

Political trends: I-747 puts a cap on financing

Technological trends: Web 2.0

Social trends: demographic trends with teens, baby boomers, and ethnic communities

Geographic trends: location decisions for library construction and renovation

BCG Matrix: a strategic planning tool that helps a manager assess a business unit’s attractiveness, based on its growth rate and market share.

Star: There is a new effort to promote early literacy for children. Children’s services are also historically strong in the public library.

Cash Cow: Circulation of popular fiction, non-fiction, movies, and other media

Question Mark – Teen services are a fast growing market for libraries. They are seen as the future of library services. Resources are now being earmarked for this historically low use group.

Dog – General reference has a low market share and low growth. Physical reference books are now obsolete and reference does its business using databases and the internet.

Scenario planning:

What’s the worst case funding scenario if we don’t pass the next library bond?