Yesterday during the Technology Essentials 2010: WebJunction Online Conference there was a session by Sandra Nelson about integrating your technology plan with your strategic plan. Home with a sick child, I enjoyed the conference via Twitter as tweets like this came in:

This tweet really stood out for me because defining the problem or what it is that we want is crucial, and I can’t agree with Sandra enough on the value of integrating anything that’s important to an organization into its strategic plan. The strategic plan is the North Star that guides an organization into the future. Not having a strategic plan is like sailing blindly into the night without any tools for navigation. You may end up in the Bahamas or you may end up in Antarctica. Your strategic plan determines your final destination and provides you with a map of how to get there.

My employer recently created a new strategic plan, and I was overjoyed to see the following listed as a strategic priority:

Once an organization has a strategic plan it’s important that each and every employee can find his or her place in the plan. This may seem like a small thing, but when employees know how they are contributing as an individual to the overall success of an organization, they feel ownership and pride in their jobs.

My place is clear, and I have this strategic outcome posted in my office. Why? Because this portion of the strategic plan is my North Star and it guides everything I do.

Any time I find myself with too many projects and not enough time, I step back and make sure that the projects I am working on contribute to my strategic plan (taking ownership). All of my goals and outcomes for my job support this one part of the Library’s bigger plan.

Last fall we created a new Employee Learning & Development Curriculum. All of the training within the curriculum ties in to the strategic plan for the Library.

Does your organization have a strategic plan? If so, have you identified your role in that plan? If your organization does not have a strategic plan, are there ways that you can ensure you are contributing to the overall success of the organization?