It probably goes without saying that a strategic plan is one of the most important documents an organization produces. It’s the culmination of months or even years of intense work. And it will dictate the organization’s future.

Problem is, people don’t always read them. Strategic plans can be pretty dry reads, full of arcane charts and tables and supporting detail.

So how do you get this crucial information across? Video can help.

Recently we had the opportunity to work with the Free Library of Philadelphia on their strategic plan. Here are some takeaways from the experience:

  1. Boil the plan down to its key components.
  2. Stay out of the weeds (e.g. supporting detail).
  3. Make it conversational.
  4. Stress the visuals.
  5. Keep the text short and simple.
  6. Emphasize the people part.

Here’s the end result:

If you haven’t visited a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia lately, you should. It’s better than ever.

Bill Haley

P.S. Have a video topic you’d like to see discussed? Let me know and I’ll try to get to it in a future post.