“Strategic plan execution” might sound like a big, scary monster, but it doesn't have to be. Think of it as the fun bridge that connects your vision to real-world results. Sure, there are a few moving parts, and you might have hit some roadblocks before — like overly complex plans, limited resources, uncertainty, communication hiccups and plain old resistance to change.

But guess what? You can totally simplify this process! In doing so, you’re less likely to put it on a shelf and then end up ghosting your strategic plan.

Here are four easy (and fun) tips to streamline your strategic plan execution and empower your team to smash those goals with confidence and clarity.

1. Calendar Magic: Your New Best Friend

Keeping track of meetings is a cornerstone of executing your strategic plan. Regular meetings help maintain momentum, foster communication and ensure everyone is on the same page. Here’s how.

• Set regular meetings. Schedule recurring strategic planning meetings to review progress, tackle challenges and celebrate wins. We suggest planning out a year’s worth of meetings in advance. Here’s a handy template for suggested meetings throughout the year. Remember, you can adjust as needed, but setting placeholders in everyone’s calendars ahead of time ensures the team stays connected to your strategic plan.

• Agenda and minutes. Always distribute an agenda before each meeting and document minutes to track decisions and action items. Share these with your team afterward to keep everyone in the loop.

• Track and discuss progress. Keep the agenda focused on sharing successes (i.e., “what’s working”), challenges (i.e., “what’s not working”) and pivots (i.e., “what you’re going to do differently going forward”). 

• Celebrate success. Make sure you celebrate success as a team, stay positive and celebrate the accomplishments.

2. Bite-Sized Tasks: Make Projects Manageable

Big projects can feel like climbing a mountain, but breaking them down into smaller, manageable tasks makes everything easier and way less stressful. 

Here are some tips:

• Break-up tasks. Split projects into clear, actionable tasks with specific goals and deadlines.

• Assign task owners. Each task should have a designated owner responsible for its completion. Include start and due dates so everyone knows what's expected from the start.

• Track progress. Use task management tools to monitor progress and tweak plans as necessary to stay on track.

3. Tech to the Rescue: Monitor, Evaluate and Communicate

Technology is helpful for monitoring and evaluating the progress of your strategic plan. It provides real-time insights and helps with informed decision-making.

If you don’t know where to start, here are my recommendations.

• Strategy execution software. Use a tool like Causey to host your plan, monitor project timelines, measure metrics and track task/goal completion.

• Try artificial intelligence (AI). AI can help build your plan (or suggest changes) by assessing your organization and benchmarking common goals. It can track progress, analyze data and provide insights on resource allocation. Just remember to verify the information AI provides.

• Make it pretty. Occasionally, communicate your plan’s progress externally — to your funders, key constituents and partners — using tools like Zeck or Canva.

4. Automate the Boring Stuff: Focus on What Matters

Automation frees up valuable time and resources, letting your team focus on high-impact strategic initiatives. Start by identifying repetitive but essential tasks — these are the processes that could benefit from being sped up through automation. Once you’ve pinpointed these tasks, consider implementing automation tools for activities such as email marketing, data entry and report generation. 

Using automation tools, you can redirect the time and resources saved toward more strategic activities, ultimately driving greater impact and efficiency for your organization.

By following these four tips, your organization can turn strategic plan execution from a daunting task into an achievable, fun process. Calendars for meetings, manageable tasks, tech for monitoring and evaluation, and automation for repetitive tasks will keep your team focused, efficient, and on track to achieve your mission.

This article was originally written for Nonprofit Pro.