Strategy and Trust: A Map's Not Enough

Yesterday I received the GuideStar Newsletter, a monthly electronic newsletter that's always full of great advice for non-profits. The second article down caught my eye: "The Most Important Part of Your Strategic Plan."

What do you think of as the most important part of your strategic plan, or any plan for that matter? Goals? Objectives? Timelines? Those all answer the question, "What are you going to do?" But what answers the question, "How are you going to get there?"

I find so often we're focused on strategy and metrics and process, that we forget to talk about what really gets us there. Partnerships and opportunities come from relationships, and relationships require . . . trust.

Trust, and integrity, drive everything these days. We're in the midst of an era of mistrust and skepticism, and the companies that will survive and thrive will do so because of their ability to engender faith and confidence. These are the companies that value relationship-building and the web of efficiency and support that come with that.

So the next time you're looking at a plan, see if you can answer the question, "How will we get people to trust us?"