MCLS Blog

Thinking strategically at MLC

November 21st, 2006 Randy Dykhuis

The staff at MLC are in the middle of a strategic planning process. We’re using a method called scenario analysis.

Last August we began with an envrionmental scan to try to assess what’s happening outside and might have an impact on us. We set up an internal blog for the staff, who all volunteered to monitor a web site, newspaper, magazine, TV show, or other media outlet and scan them for interesting tidbits that might portend a trend that we need to be aware of. We gathered dozens and dozens of posts every week. At the end of September, we gathered all the posts so that we could discern the important trends. The trends fit into broad categories, such as technology, social, demographics, government/political, and science.

Now we’re painting the picture, so to speak. We have four teams, each with a different worldview, based on the trends and uncertainties we face. It’s up to each team to come up with a story about how MLC copes in their world. By writing these stories and discussing them, we would like to find some unexpected opportunities or uncover organizational problems that need fixing. All to help us develop the services that will serve Michigan libraries well into the future.

We’d love to hear some of your thoughts about the trends and events that you think will affect your library over the next several years.

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