Implementation 221
burden. The report teaches. What do we mean when we seek national status?
What is the balance between legacy and change? What does it suggest to be
the best in our class? What is the specific content of diversity? What is the re-
source picture for the future? Why were these and not other construction or
renovation projects chosen? Why are we being asked to establish priorities and
to cut expenses yet again? The final report becomes one means to create a
sense of urgency and significance, which is essential to drive the plan to real-
ization.
Tactics to Communicate the Strategy
A final report does not, of course, stand alone as the product of a strategy pro-
cess. It functions as the source for a large variety of other communications and
for a set of emphases and actions that, in effect, comprise the tactics to commu-
nicate the strategy. It is much easier to accomplish these steps if the final report
has a suggestive name that describes its major themes, rather than the generic
“Strategic Plan, 2005–2010.” Centre College entitled one of its plans “Education
as Empowerment,” a theme that captured some of the goals of a transformative
liberal education.
The steps in a communications plan can include:
- The preparation of attractive summary reports to be circulated to special audi-
ences, like advisory groups and the press, and to be included in alumni publica-
tions, perhaps as a pullout section - The development of articles to be used in faculty, staff, and alumni publications,
often as a series - The development of stories and features based on the analysis of proposed pro-
grams and facilities, to be used by the admissions and development offices - The creation of Web sites that provide the plan, progress reports on its imple-
mentation, and coverage that may have appeared in press releases, stories, and
articles
At the basis of the communications effort, is the systematic distribution of
the full report to the campus itself. In the hands of many key decision makers, it
becomes a coherent set of directions and goals for their own priorities and plans,
as we shall see. If it is clear that budget decisions will be made in terms of the
priorities of the strategy, it will get everyone’s attention. A good final report also
prompts admissions directors, development vice presidents, and communications
directors to underline key ideas and narratives in the report. It offers them a
coherent story to tell about the institution’s direction for the future. The ideas
and even the language of the plan come to shape the way these key divisions
communicate with a wide variety of the constituencies of the university. As a
result, the organization’s identity and its messages become much clearer and
more coherent.