When I was hired at Virginia’s state chamber, I knew it was going to a wonderful place. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is well-known as the voice of the Virginia business community. My new coworkers are dedicated, knowledgeable, and leaders within the space. But, what really makes my nonprofit association heart sing is their strategic business plan, Blueprint Virginia 2025. Starting a new job with a plan this well developed, robust, and professionally displayed really makes me feel like I won the strategic plan lottery… if there ever was one.
Here is the backstory, the first Blueprint for Virginia business plan was adopted back in 2013 and an updated version was released in 2017. Blueprint Virginia 2025 (BP2025) was created by community leaders from around the Commonwealth to build an action plan for strengthening Virginia’s economic competitiveness. More than 6,000 leaders participated in the process through electronic surveys, regional briefings, strategic partnerships, industry council meetings, and the Virginia Chamber’s signature annual events.
The overall mission is to “elevate prosperity in every part of the Commonwealth and make Virginia the best state for business”. The six key priorities of the plan provide a focal point for the Chamber’s work and the nine industry recommendations help drive public policy, industry councils, events, and research. This plan is laid out in a 35-page booklet that can be downloaded from our website and I invite you to take a look.
As we know from the “Strategic Planning” handout we received from Bob Harris, CAE, “Organizations with a good strategic plan are more successful.” Having this well-defined roadmap for staff and leadership to follow helps us work to achieve consistent goals year after year. For example, over the last 10 years, the Virginia Chamber has grown from a membership of only 1,000 to 26,000 companies.
A lot of thought has gone into building the plan and a lot of hard work has gone into implementing this plan. I’m just lucky enough to have the opportunity to help execute the great initiatives within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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