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INTRODUCTION TO DESIGNING & IMPLEMENTING COHERENT GROWTH STRATEGIES
January 2012
Natalie Walrond Consulting, LLCWe achieve more when we pull together
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INTRODUCTION
Natalie Walrond Consulting LLC specializes in strategic planning that results in comprehensive and coherent growth plans. Our projects are tailored to each client’s needs and range from assessing impact and understanding the ecosystem in which clients work, to setting growth goals and prioritizing growth opportunities, to designing a coherent plan for the future. We bring a strong point-of-view about the mission of improving public education to serve all children well, and we believe that in this crowded and ever-changing landscape, a thoughtful strategy is an essential first step to achieving an organization’s goals. Our clients vary in maturity, business model, and need. A coherent, comprehensive growth strategy is comprised of three big areas of work and several sub-pieces. Our strategic planning process can be illustrated this way:
I. Discovery II. Prioritization III. Planning
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A COMPREHENSIVE GROWTH STRATEGY
• …is aligned with the organization’s mission and vision, and guides all major areas of work.
• …comes from the organization, not the consultant. I design and facilitate a good process to elicit your best thinking.
• …reflects the interdependencies of all parts of the organization.
• …illustrates the aspirations, limitations, and priorities of the board and leadership team.
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GROWTH PLANNING PARTICIPANTS
ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES WITH RESPECT TO STRATEGIC PLANNING
Board Set priorities and strategy toward missionApprove metrics and milestones toward missionHold ED or CEO accountable for achieving mission
Executive Director or CEO
Lead the organizationPartner with board to set priorities and strategy toward missionHold staff accountable for achieving mission
Leadership Team
Establish milestones and metrics toward mission
Staff Specialists
Execute the workCollect data
Customers Provide feedback on impact
Partners Collaborate and share risk
Funders Inform priorities and opportunities
Competitors Provide benchmarking data
Consultant Design, guide, and manage the process
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INTRODUCT ION TO MISS ION, V IS ION , THEORY OF CHANGE , THEORY OF ACT ION
Purpose of the Organization
Mission
How the education space will change
Theory of Change
How the organization participates in the Theory
of Change
Theory of Action
What the education space can be
Vision
The Goal The path to the goal
Th
e O
rgan
izati
on
Th
e E
du
cati
on
Sp
ace
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THREE PHASES OF GROWTH PLANNING
I. Discovery• Assessment of organizational effectiveness• Analysis of ecosystem
II. Prioritization
• Alignment of growth and impact goals with mission and vision
• Identification of universe of growth & impact strategies
• Analysis of potential strategies• Prioritization of potential strategies
III. Planning
• Program strategy• Marketing & Sales Strategy• Funder & Partnership Strategy• Staffing Strategy• Key milestones & metrics• Learning agenda• Long range financial model• A Coherent Strategy Including All of These
Components
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NINE STEPS TO GROWTH PLANNING
I DiscoveryII
Prioritization
III
Planning
1. Review Aspirations: Mission,
Vision, Theories of Action & Change
2. Due diligence on
internal status
S
W
3. Due diligence on
external status
O
T
4. Gap Analysis
8. Articulate impact of key strategies on
every aspect of the organization
9. Identify metrics,
milestones, risks and their
mitigation strategies, and
learning agenda
5. Identify strategies
7. Prioritize Strategies
6. Analyze Strategies
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PHASES OF GROWTH PLANNING
PHASE ACTIVITIES OUTCOMES
I. Discovery Use internal documents, interviews, focus groups, surveys, and research to evaluate the organizations performance to date.
An assessment of organizational effectiveness and an ecosystem assessment, which illustrate areas of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
II. Prioritization
From the outcomes of the discovery phase:• Surface potential strategies• Analyze strategies• Prioritize strategies
An analysis of potential growth and impact strategies
III. Planning Design component strategies to support each key initiative:• Program strategies• Marketing and sales strategy• Funder & partnership strategy• Staffing strategy • Long range financial model• Key milestones & metrics• Learning Agenda
A coherent, comprehensive growth plan
PHASE I : DISCOVERY
Program alignment with
the Mission, Vision, Theory of
Change, & Theory of Action
Market Knowledge,
including competitors and
collaborators
Evaluation of Internal Systems,
including staffing, go-to-
market strategies
Evaluation of Impact for all
constituencies
Long Range Financial Model, including metrics
& milestones
The discovery process allows an organization to beginning planning with a shared understanding of its successes and challenges. It is an essential part of starting an informed planning process. Components of discovery include:
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PHASE I I : PRIORITIZATION
High Impact
Low Risk
Low Cost
A list of potential growth and impact strategies is generated based on what we learn in the discovery phase, and those opportunities are prioritized based on impact, cost, and risk.
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PHASE I I I : PLANNING
Key Initiatives
Program Strategy
Marketing & Sales Strategy
Partnership & Funder Strategy
Staffing Strategy
Long Range Financial
Model
Learning Agenda
Key Metrics &
Milestones
Key strategies anchor a comprehensive growth strategy and inform all major functions of the organization.
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NATALIE’S BIOGRAPHY
Natalie Walrond is the founder and principal of Natalie Walrond Consulting, LLC. Natalie brings to her engagements 18 years of experience in education, finance, and strategy for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Her advisory, communication, project management, and group facilitation skills were developed in a variety of roles: investor, management, board leadership, and outside consultant. Natalie earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and international business from Trinity University and an MBA from the University of Chicago, with concentrations in analytic finance and policy studies. She earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1999.
In addition to her consulting practice, Natalie serves on the boards of several education organizations: Beyond 12, Envision Education, and Live Oak School. For more information please go to http://nataliewalrond.com/