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---- e there has been a reawakening of interest on the part of the public sector in strategic planning. He said that governmental strategic planning should be judged by different standards than private strategic planning. Additionally, the strategic planning process must be custom-tailored to each jurisdiction. The amount of time required to complete the process varies widely; the pro- cess is often messy, and subject to fits and starts. Dr. Luke said that if strategic planning is pushed too fast, people are pushed out of the process. Ms. Hawkins asked how long a period of time a strategic plan was useful. Dr. Luke responded that it depended on how fast the environment changed; it could be as little as six months or as long as six years. He recommended that the planning period be limited to five to ten years. He stressed that the fur- ther out the planning period extends, the weaker the plan assumptions are. It was best to revisit the plan every two to three years. Dr. Luke said the purpose of the process was not to develop a plan but rather to develop stra- tegic thinking and action. Dr. Luke said successful completion of the strategic planning process will require a powerful process sponsor, such as the Mayor and key outside stake- holders, to provide the plan with political legitimacy. Additionally, there must be champions of the process on the inside working daily to keep the process vital and moving ahead. Dr. Luke recommended that there be more than one process champion. Dr. Luke said that the process also requires a strategic planning team. He added that the team should be assembled carefully; members must be good man- e agers, good thinkers, and good "doers." He said the members of the planning team are often required to process raw data for consumption by a larger audi- ence. He indicated that the process champion sits on the team, perhaps as chair. Dr. Luke stressed that it should be clear to those participating on the team that they should expect disruptions and delays in the process. The process is not clean or simple. He said that the participants must also be willing to be flexible regarding what constitutes a strategic plan, as well as willing to consider and construct arguments geared to many different cri- teria. Dr. Luke pointed out that there is a wide variety of stakeholders in the public sector, each with their own criteria. He said that an open pro- cess must consider all points of view. Dr. Luke distributed samples of plans developed by other government entities. Dr. Luke discussed the differences between strategic and operational plan- ning. He said that strategic planning has a long time frame and a strong external focus. The theory behind strategic planning was "doing the right things," rather than "doing things right," as in operational planning. Mr. Boles asked Dr. Luke to expand on the difference between assigning prior- ities and assigning resources, which he maintained were intertwined. Dr. Luke agreed, but said that one must assign priorities before one assigns resources to achieve those priorities. He termed it as a "goals versus means" approach. Mr. Boles asked if priorities were assigned without consid- eration of resources. Dr. Luke responded that strategic planning tries to e MINUTES--Strategic Plan Committee November 1, 1990 Page 2