Minnesota Institute of Public Health

For many years MIPH kept going forward - growing, achieving, accomplishing. While that's still very true, we are more strategic about this than ever before, and it's helped us.

There was a day where we were more on a mission than working toward a mission. One former Board member said "Jerry, I could understand if you said to us ‘With all due respect, don't BOTHER us with that talk of strategic planning!' ". Truth is, in hard times as well as in good times, if we don't have a strategic direction much less a strategic plan, we rob ourselves of identified specific tactics and major tasks, measures, goals, and a timeline for achieving them that really makes sense. What was that old saying, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there".

MIPH knows where it's going, and the strategic planning experience helped make that happen.

For a while we simply had a strategic direction which was essentially moving from a grant-getting machine to that and a more proactive plan for addressing emerging issues in public health. We also moved from 90% substance abuse prevention focus to a variety of health, safety, and civics topics as long as it fit our mission and we figured out the needed resources.

Thanks today to our Board, to consultant Stephen Dent, to Becky Sechrist and her ‘Strat Plan' team on staff here, to our managers and every staff member, MIPH is completing the first year of our three-year Strategic Plan that includes, measures, tactics, timelines, and staff owners. Plus it's a living document that permits, even encourages, mid-stream adjustments and refinements along the way.

It's nice to know where you're going and how you intend to get there.

Check out our brief version of the 2009-2011 MIPH Strategic Plan by clicking here. Contact me online by filling out our contact form or call me at 763-427-5310 x 143.

What's been your experience with strategic planning?

- JJ