Not all problems are created equal.

That doesn’t mean they are any less worthy of solving, but it does mean our approach and strategy need to match the nature of what we’re up against.

This may seem very obvious, but engagement is something so many organizations overlook in Strategic Planning in favour of tight timelines and minimal budgets, especially considering growing demands on service delivery in the non-profit arena.

Many Boards and leaders believe they know what the priorities of the organization should be. And while this may be true, the value of a highly engaged process goes beyond the output of a public Strategic Plan. With significant obstacles non-profit organizations face, such as recruiting and retaining skilled staff, board engagement, and developing highly engaged organizations, the value of high engagement in the strategic planning process is only growing.

Strategy matters because we can’t do everything.

In a world with urgent challenges and endless demands, strategy compels us to make tough choices, directing our attention and resources toward areas where we can have an outsized impact. If done in a way that invites the right voices to shape those decisions, and considers intersecting issues, strategy can align teams and movements for greater impact. By identifying actions we can take to turn those choices into tangible action, strategy can provide a compass to guide us through ever-changing terrain.

We’re thrilled to (officially) share some news that has been quietly unfolding behind the scenes for the past year – Mutatio has grown! Krystal and Victoria – that’s us – have officially joined forces and merged our social impact consulting practices under the Mutatio banner.

Working with groups to stitch together the working of a system is something I love. What I continue to find difficult is where to draw the boundary of the system we’re working to change.

I’ve noticed often in recent conversations, a shift in the language among colleagues and collaborators working at the frontier of systems change. Few are talking about trying to prevent systems from collapsing altogether. Instead, conversations have shifted to ask how we act as stewards to navigate collapse wisely.