There are many who believe that strategic planning has to be a long, drawn out process and that the more time and effort spent, the better the end result. I don’t believe that. In my work with associations, I’ve seen many benefit from gathering staff and leadership in a room for a short period of time, giving themselves permission to talk about the things they don’t normally talk about. This type of permission-giving is the heart of strategic planning. It doesn’t need to take weeks or months to be meaningful.