Why strategy maps beat strategic plans for NGOs and INGOs
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In this blog Bernard Ross,=mc consulting’s director explains why not for profit organisations need this flexible approach to strategy and shares the model that supports it.
Ancient truths
Some ancient truths first learned on the battlefield are about strategy, and are once again proving relevant in today’s most complex decisions —whether it’s the developments in several serious wars happening now, the failure of climate emergency agreements, or even the way health systems and governments had to try and change during the Covid crisis.
Most obviously, we see a familiar pattern in the gap between a plan and reality.
That gap is not new.
The 19th-century Prussian strategist Helmuth von Moltke the Elder observed that no plan can be relied upon beyond the first encounter with the enemy.
His essay is often paraphrased as:
“No plan survives first contact.”
More recently, Mike Tyson captured the same truth more bluntly:
“Everyone has a plan until they get hit with the first punch.”
Why do wonderfully elegant plans struggle to gain or maintain traction? In vivid language attributed to former British prime minister Harold MacMillan, when asked to explain why he had abandoned a key policy he gave the following reason:
“Events, dear boy, events.”
That is… stuff happens. Things change and so plans have to adapt.
The examples given here are from different voices, but the same insight. Reality intervenes and beautiful, elegant plans break under pressure, but that doesn’t mean that strategy fails.
As Dwight D. Eisenhower put it:
“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”
The key insight? — the value lies not in the plan itself-but in the thinking, the preparation, and the clarity of intent that sit behind it.
That perspective sits at the heart of the strategy map approach used by =mc consulting when planning with INGOs and NGOs for over 20 years. Full credit here. We’ve built on the work of two Harvard academics — Robert Kaplan and David Norton — who developed the model for commercial organisations.
An example strategy map
Every strategy map is unique to an organisation and the context in which it was created. Below is an example of a strategy map created for a UK charity working in the breast cancer field.
The white coloured boxes on the left and right sides explain what the different elements are that make up the map, and these explanations are expanded below in the phases.
As you can see strategy map is not a rigid instruction manual. It is a structured way of understanding:
- where you are now
- where you are trying to get to (your vision and outcomes)
- the causal pathways (the how and why logic) most likely to get you there
Crucially, it separates the destination from the route, and that distinction matters.
You can find out more about strategy maps and how you can use them here.
And you should be aware that a really effective map has two additional complementary items: a scorecard to measure success, and an implementation plan to sequence activity over time.
Strategy map process
Your strategy doesn’t just emerge explaining how to achieve change. The process below illustrates the systematic stages we use to help develop a contemporary strategy map plus the scorecard and implementation plan. These can take place over many months, though the map itself is typically developed in a two or three day ‘sprint.’
A Real-World Example
Strategy development with Smile Train
This insight seems especially relevant to the work we’re currently doing with one of our most loved clients Smile Train, led by the brilliant Susannah Schaefer.
The destination remains constant: expanding access to high-quality comprehensive cleft care and strengthening the sustainability of services globally.
But the pathway to that destination has evolved repeatedly.
- new insights from regional teams
- changes in delivery models
- different expectations from governments, partners and donors
- variations in income (+ and -)
Each of these factors has required adjustments, yet the strategy itself has not been completely rewritten each time.
Instead, the strategy map acts as a guiding framework, allowing leaders to test ideas, adapt approaches and refine priorities while staying anchored to the same long-term outcomes.
In our recent strategy work with Smile Train, this has become very clear. As we’ve developed the strategy, the destination — which includs improving access, scale, and sustainability of cleft care globally — has remained constant. The strategy map has not been torn up each time. Instead it has acted as a guide, allowing the team to test, adapt and refine how they move forward, while staying anchored to the same outcomes.
The route has flexed. That is exactly how strategy should work.
Strategy is a journey, not a blueprint
Perhaps a better metaphor for strategy is not that of a battle plan, but a journey on the London Underground or the New York City Subway.
You know your destination. You may even have an ideal route in mind, but then:
- a line is closed
- there are delays
- the system behaves in unexpected ways
The experienced traveller does not abandon the journey but rather they adapt or change lines, or they emerge and get a bus or walk — but they still arrive.
This is precisely what strategy maps are designed to avoid.
They force clarity about outcomes (what success actually looks like) and about the system of cause and effect that underpins delivery, but they also embrace uncertainty. They are not fixed sets of steps but rather living frameworks, and generally in complex environments —whether that be geopolitics, fundraising, or organisational transformation.
Complexity guarantees one thing: the reality that events will intervene is actually the one certainty.
The lesson from Moltke, McMillan, Tyson and Eisenhower is not “don’t plan.”
It is this:
- be clear about your destination
- invest deeply in understanding how change happens
- choose your best route
- but expect disruption
Be ready at any moment to change trains without losing sight of where you’re going.
Thinking about improving your strategy? =mc consulting has the experience.
For more than two decades =mc consulting has supported NGOs, INGOs and international foundations to design strategy maps and organisational strategies that deliver real impact.
Our work has helped organisations clarify their strategic priorities, align global teams and create adaptable plans in complex environments.
Our lobal and national clients include International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, Cancer Research UK, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Soi Dog Foundation in Thailand and Adeso in Kenya.
Across these organisations we have helped leadership teams translate ambitious missions into clear strategy maps that connect activities, partnerships, fundraising and measurable impact.
Because in the end, successful strategy is not about predicting the future perfectly.