The art of making complex things simple.

Strategic plans often become shelf decorations for one of two reasons:

1. They are too complex to be practical for regular use

2. They become out of date and irrelevant

For mission-driven organizations with limited resources and complex stakeholder relationships, these problems are especially acute. The solution to both challenges is the same – build a strategy that is simple enough for teams to understand and rally around, and straightforward enough to keep updated as conditions change. One effective tool for this is the "one-page strategic plan."

Three Levels of Strategic Clarity

There are many audiences for a strategic plan, we think it’s helpful to keep these three needs top of mind:

• Highest level – What is the organization trying to accomplish? – what is the big picture? Is everyone aligned?
  

• Mid-level – What does this strategy mean? If I’m a homeless shelter and I say I want to solve the problem of homelessness – do we want to serve more people in our shelter to help solve the symptom? Or serve less people in our shelter because we’ve addressed the root cause?
  

• Ground-level - a simple explanation of the big picture, communicating the strategy effectively means turning it into a message that is straightforward, actionable, and easy to remember.

The Power of Intent: Lessons from Leadership

I grew up as a U.S. Army military dependent, which was a transformative environment. While we have to be careful about using military analogies in the nonprofit world – civilians don't take orders quite the same way and the stakes are different – there are valuable leadership lessons to be learned.

One of my favorite things I learned in this environment was the concept of “Commander’s Intent” – which is really just explaining the "why" of a goal three levels deep:

• Order: Secure the bridge.

• Why?: So that we can cross the river

• Why?: So that we can get to the airport.

• Why?: So we ensure our troops remain fully supplied.

Given this layered context, you can imagine that if the team arrives at the bridge and finds it destroyed, they don't need to wait for new orders. The leader has empowered them with enough strategic context to make an independent decision – if the bridge is destroyed, let's look for a boat to cross the river.

“Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” – General George S. Patton

Connect to Daily Work

This same decision-making dynamic plays out in thousands of small choices every day in organizations. That's why it's critical to distill strategy into something team members can remember and apply to their daily work – and this is where a one-page strategic plan demonstrates its value.

Elements of an Effective One-Page Strategic Plan

The most effective one-page plans typically include:

• Mission: Who you serve and why you exist

• Vision: Your aspiration for the future

• 3-5 Year Strategic Pillars: Major focus areas that won't change frequently

• Annual Objectives: Specific, measurable goals for the year ahead

A Template for Strategic Clarity

Below is StratSimple's One-Page Strategic Plan template. We've refined this through work with dozens of mission-driven organizations. The design intentionally shows the connection between long-term aspirations and immediate action, helping teams see how their daily work contributes to the bigger mission.

What makes this template particularly effective is the clear hierarchy that helps diverse stakeholders—from board members to frontline staff—understand both the big picture and their specific role in achieving it.

You can download the editable PowerPoint version here: Download this template

The Bottom Line:

The best strategic plan isn't the most comprehensive one that tries to account for every possibility, it's the one your team actually uses, and where team members can understand how and why their contributions matter. A one-page strategic plan bridges the gap between long-term thinking and daily action, making your strategy visible, memorable, and actionable.

If you can't effectively fit your core strategy onto a single page, is it realistic to expect that your team members will keep it in mind during their day-to-day work? And isn't that where a strategy really becomes real?

Have you used a one-page strategic plan with your clients or organization? We'd love to hear your experience. Send us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for your support!
-Mike & Alan

P.S. - past newsletters/blogs are available here: https://www.stratsimple.com/blog