Planning

Need for a Strategic Plan

In most condominium associations, board members and property managers make decisions on a day-to-day basis addressing the needs and concerns of the community as they became known. Rarely are these decisions considered within an overall framework or strategy that assures consistency while targeting an overall preferred future state.

It is important for the Board of Directors to consider spending the time and resources to understand the association's current state and to determine the type of future community that their diverse constituency would prefer. The future state is one that would provide an improved and more enjoyable lifestyle for the majority of the association's homeowners and residents.

The process begins with the knowledge of the type of community envisioned by the association's builders and the current state that it has morphed into. Most communities need to satisfy three diverse requirements of its members – primary residence, second (vacation) home, and rental investment opportunity. The needs of each of these groups is can be considerably different.

Strategic Plan's Purpose

The primary purpose of an association's Strategic Plan is to define a desired future state and an overall roadmap to get there. The roadmap generally consists of the development of Strategic and Tactical plans which define the long-range and intermediate-range respectively direction for the association. They are important in enabling the Association and Board to most effectively meet their obligations to the owners. It is anticipated that these plans would:

    • Facilitate decision-making,
    • Govern and guide operations,
    • Establish a framework or assuring proper prioritizing of competing projects,
    • Influence budgets and the allocation of scarce resources,
    • Set direction, assuring a more desirable future state, and
    • Benefit the overall best interests of a diverse community.

Strategic Planning Process

Step #1
Step #2
Step #3
Step #4

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Step #1 - The Strategic Planning process begins with the establishment of Mission, Vision and Core Values.

An association’s mission and vision statements should define, in a concise manner, what the association’s purpose is from the perspective of its customers (i.e., unit owners), and how the association’s leadership expects to enrich the owners’ experiences and lifestyle.

Core Values is the set of fundamental beliefs, ideals or practices that inform how the association's leadership will conduct themselves, both personally and professionally, in addressing the needs of the residents.

 

Mission-Vision-Values Document

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STEP #2 - Once the Mission, Vision and Values are established, the next step in the Strategic Planning Process is to determine the Association's Current Condition.

Current Condition is typically described  in terms of the association's positive and negative attributes within asset category: Capital, People, Financial and Governing. These are the favorable and unfavorable conditions that impact the association's ability to achieve its mission.

An understanding of the association's current condition is important in determining the desired future condition.

 

Current Condition Document

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STEP #3 - Once the Current Condition is known, you're ready to identify Goals to achieve a more desirable future state.

Goals are those things that the association's leadership strives to accomplish in addressing the mission. Unlike objectives, goals do not specify resource requirements nor timeframes as they set targets that are sought after but can never be fully achieved. Goals are established within the same 4 asset categories: Capital, People, Financial and Governing/Communication.

 

Sample Goals Document

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STEP #4 - Once Goals are identified, you are ready to establish Action Plans for achieving those Goals and complete the Strategic Plan.

Both short and long-term Action Plans are defined within each of the established goals. Action Plans need to be specific with resource requirements and target dates provided.

 Do to the specific nature of an action plan, no example is provided here.