Strategy with Spine: Inclusive Planning That Prepares for Change

I’m excited to share my recently published book chapter from Metrics, Mapping, and Modelling for Masterful Management in Higher Education (Emerald Press, 2025) entitled Create an Inclusive and Robust Planning Process that Prepares the Institution for Change.

Chapter 22 focuses on building a strategic planning process that’s inclusive, resilient, and genuinely capable of preparing an institution for change—without triggering the immune response that so often kills good ideas. Because strategic planning is inherently political (it allocates real resources and reshapes priorities), the chapter takes seriously the principle that “a change imposed is a change opposed.” Readers learn how to plan for the planning itself: putting the right systems in place for input gathering, designing a committee structure with clear charges that empowers participation and responsible risk-taking, and outlining how the final plan will be written, assessed, and approved. The chapter also emphasizes accountability—developing tools to evaluate both the quality of the planning process and how effectively its goals were achieved. Finally, it shows how to prepare fertile ground for change through targeted fund allocations and stakeholder education, so when the plan is ready to move, the institution is ready to move with it.

This chapter has a companion video which can be viewed for free on the Higher Education Leadership Learning Online Community web site. Visit the site to see the complete list of our videos.

If you’re involved in higher-ed leadership, strategy, assessment, or institutional research, I’d love for you to take a look at the chapter and add your comments below. If you would like assistance implementing any of the ideas addressed, please compete a consultation request form – the first hour is free for any institution.