---
title: "Idea Bank: Pocket-Sized Strategic Plan"
id: "17688"
type: "post"
slug: "idea-bank-pocket-sized-strategic-plan"
published_at: "2013-06-01T11:30:07+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-15T20:22:04+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/06/01/idea-bank-pocket-sized-strategic-plan/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/06/01/idea-bank-pocket-sized-strategic-plan.md"
excerpt: "Your strategic plan doesn’t have to weigh your members down."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Organizational Strategy"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Business"
  - "Leadership"
  - "organization goals"
  - "Strategic Planning"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Director"
  - "Executive Team"
  - "Manager"
  - "VP"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Idea Bank: Pocket-Sized Strategic Plan

What’s the great idea? Portable, trifold cards printed with the association’s strategic plan. Who’s doing it? The American Chemical Society. What’s involved? Five years ago, ACS would never have been able to fit its entire strategic plan on a card that slips easily into a member’s pocket.

“We had 15 goals then,” says Robert Rich, Ph.D., CAE, director of strategy development for ACS. “The biggest challenge in this was getting the planning committee and the board to focus in on a short number of top priorities for the organization.”

Today, ACS’s strategic plan has four main goals. They fit neatly on the back of the trifold, which folds down to the size of a standard business card.

Why four goals? Rich cites social science research showing that “people usually can’t remember more than four things.” Distilling the strategic plan to just a few points also “allows us to cover the breadth of what’s really important for us to focus on for the next few years,” he says.

The card is supplemented by a website with video, a discussion area, and more information on ACS’s strategic plan. What are people saying? “The whole package is something that our members really like,” says Rich. “They can see, here’s what their organization is really all about, and they can see it in a convenient way.”

The ACS staff carry extra trifolds to hand out to members or prospects, and some even have them prominently displayed at their desks.

(Steven Errico/Getty Images)

[Rob Stott](https://associationsnow.com/author/rob-stott/)

Rob Stott is a contributing editor to Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/rob-stott/)

Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/)
 [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/)
 [#organization goals](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organization-goals/)
 [#Strategic Planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/strategic-planning/)

**Stay Informed**

[Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/)
, *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day.

## You Might Like

- [VideoChallenge Legacy Mindsets at MMC+TechApril 17, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/04/17/challenge-legacy-mindsets-at-mmctech/)
- [ArticleKeys to Innovation at Long-Running AssociationsNovember 3, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/03/keys-to-innovation-at-long-running-associations/)
- [ArticleThree Habits Association Leaders Should Adopt for Agile Strategic PlanningOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/three-habits-association-leaders-should-adopt-for-agile-strategic-planning/)
- [ArticlePart 1: The Sponsorship Problem Isn’t Actually a Sponsorship ProblemAugust 11, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/11/part-1-the-sponsorship-problem-isnt-actually-a-sponsorship-problem/)

## Comments

**Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/)

[Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2013%2F06%2F01%2Fidea-bank-pocket-sized-strategic-plan%2F%23comments)
 to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/)
!