Strategic Planning and Execution
What differentiates us from the rest is our emphasis on not only developing strategy but also on its execution. Sure, we can help you develop the strategy and we’ve done it for countless companies. Our methodology is tried and true. But, our real value is in helping you execute on the plan. That is always the bigger challenge and where you get the bigger results.
Working with the CEO and their Executive Management Team, we facilitate the strategic thinking, decision-making and action planning essential in crafting a shared mission, vision and strategy for the company’s success. Inner Resources then guides the Executive Team in how they actively engage the organization from initial discovery and planning through to execution and accountability to ensure their strategic growth plan drives toward the desired results.
Within this service offering, Inner Resources brings a range of expertise and proven experience in the following areas:
Strategic Planning Operating System
Strategic Planning Operating System that provides a cohesive, step-by-step approach in designing and executing strategic growth plans. Within this framework, we work with CEOs to customize their own processes and systems that fit their particular business (e.g. industry, markets) and cultural (e.g. leadership, organization) needs. Click here for white paper.
Group Team Development
Group/Team Development that focuses on communication skills to improve the effectiveness of the group/team in strengthening their teamwork, achieving challenging team initiatives and messaging the strategic growth plan for staff’s understanding.
Here is a case study…
Company Background:
An educational publishing company with twenty years of success was suddenly faced with tremendous growth opportunities. How to manage for growth was the issue.
The Situation:
Faced with a management team who wanted to do it all, the CEO was looking for ways to make the management team “more strategic” and thus focus on the new opportunities in front of them. But, doing this also required they unburden themselves with many tasks they had been doing and delegate them to their staff. This called for a new way for them to restructure the responsibilities of the management team in supporting these growth initiatives.
The Process:
Inner Resources worked with the CEO and the executive team in designing the first formalized five-year strategic growth plan for the company. Through a series of one-day sessions, the team crafted a complete strategic plan including:
- A concise Mission Statement and set of Core Values to capture the real essence of the company’s success both past and future
- A clearly defined five-year vision based on a well thought out set of key assumptions considering internal/organizational factors as well as external/market trends
- A set of Strategic Growth Initiatives that required the work of cross-functional teams to address critical needs in achieving the vision.
After the plan was complete, Inner Resource worked with the CEO and her executive team to design a special company-wide meeting to communicate the newly designed Strategic Plan. Having never done this before, this required unfolding the plan in a way that would inform and engage all employees in how they could be a part of the execution of the Plan.
The Outcome:
In the CEOs words, the company-wide rollout meeting was “the single best day in the Company’s 20-year history.” Today, the Mission of the company is proudly displayed as a banner across the wall of the newly renovated conference room – visible to all as they enter the Company’s offices. New workflow processes guide all projects providing a more highly efficient coordination and communication among the three critical functions. Freed from everyday managing, the CEO and her executive team are on the road talking to clients and prospects.
Performance Management
Performance Management that ties the company’s mission, core values, vision and strategy with management and individual performance plans and accountability in eliciting the most relevant behaviors and activities.
Here is a case study…
Company Background:
A well-established, successful distributor of supplies, the leader in its industry, was acquired and became part of a nationwide firm. The Vice President of Sales who had worked with the owner for twenty years and knew the company and industry well was promoted to President of the division. The previous President ruled with an iron hand, calling all the shots. The result was a culture of non-participation.
The Situation:
The new President was faced with how to accomplish several key changes in anticipation of future growth. These included:
- Shifting the organizational culture to be more participatory with an emphasis on accountability
- Moving the company, which was a major undertaking. Failure was not an option.
The Process:
We worked with the President in performing a staff assessment of the current members of the management team. Interviewing dozens of employees across all departments, Inner Resources was able to assess the perspective of employees on the company. Simultaneously, the President had decided on a new location for the company offices and was moving quickly to relocate all operations within his first year as President.
Given the tremendous scope of work to be accomplished in making the move over and above the day-to-day operations, we proposed an approach to utilize “the Move” as it came to be known as the catalyst to bring about the critical changes with the Executive Management Team and the organization’s culture. The move could become the event that brought the company together.
We then coached the President through the process of putting some processes into place that had never existed under the prior owner. Whereas every function had previously focused on their own areas, rarely working together, cross-functional teams were assembled to become part of an overall “move-team.” This move-team would work with the President to design a plan for the move and execute on it together. Since the move impacted every employee in the company, an internal communication program was put together to keep all staff informed of the status of the move and how they could partake in its success.
Committees were formed to handle the myriad details and the executives in charge of the major projects were coached to bring people together from different functions. A series of “town meetings” were also set up for the President to meet periodically with all the staff and get their feedback on how the new offices could be set up more efficiently to handle the company’s anticipated future growth.
The Outcome:
The new President was thrilled to find a way to accomplish his initial goals of bringing his people together in a new participatory culture and was doubly thrilled to use the move of the company as a catalyst to bring about this change.
Two years later, after leading the company to great success, the President reflected, “much of the success of our company goes back to that first year when we made such substantive changes.”
Company Culture Development
Company Culture Development that sets up specific promotional and assessment programs to instill the company mission and core values into the day-to-day organizational climate and behavior.
Here is a case study…
Company Background:
A well-established, successful distributor of supplies, the leader in its industry, was acquired and became part of a nationwide firm. The Vice President of Sales who had worked with the owner for twenty years and knew the company and industry well was promoted to President of the division. The previous President ruled with an iron hand, calling all the shots. The result was a culture of non-participation.
The Situation:
The new President was faced with how to accomplish several key changes in anticipation of future growth. These included:
- Shifting the organizational culture to be more participatory with an emphasis on accountability
- Moving the company, which was a major undertaking. Failure was not an option.
The Process:
We worked with the President in performing a staff assessment of the current members of the management team. Interviewing dozens of employees across all departments, we were able to assess the perspective of employees on the company. Simultaneously, the President had decided on a new location for the company offices and was moving quickly to relocate all operations within his first year as President.
Given the tremendous scope of work to be accomplished in making the move over and above the day-to-day operations, we proposed an approach to utilize “the Move” as it came to be known as the catalyst to bring about the critical changes with the Executive Management Team and the organization’s culture. The move could become the event that brought the company together.
We then coached the President through the process of putting some processes into place that had never existed under the prior owner. Whereas every function had previously focused on their own areas, rarely working together, cross-functional teams were assembled to become part of an overall “move-team.” This move-team would work with the President to design a plan for the move and execute on it together. Since the move impacted every employee in the company, an internal communication program was put together to keep all staff informed of the status of the move and how they could partake in its success.
Committees were formed to handle the myriad details and the executives in charge of the major projects were coached to bring people together from different functions. A series of “town meetings” were also set up for the President to meet periodically with all the staff and get their feedback on how the new offices could be set up more efficiently to handle the company’s anticipated future growth.
The Outcome:
The new President was thrilled to find a way to accomplish his initial goals of bringing his people together in a new participatory culture and was doubly thrilled to use the move of the company as a catalyst to bring about this change.
Two years later, after leading the company to great success, the President reflected, “much of the success of our company goes back to that first year when we made such substantive changes.”
Executive-Team Facilitation
Executive Team Facilitation that focuses not only on a clear process for active discussions on strategy but also on an intent to build the team’s collaborative capability. This sets the foundation for creating alignment among the team members that will foster and promote alignment with the organization.