Strategy

Unless you are leading a start-up, strategy rarely comes first. It is built on a history of success and failure, on goals and ambitions, and an assessment of the effectiveness of prior strategies.

For nonprofit organizations and mission-driven companies, strategy is the guiding compass and the spine of the organization. Grounded in core values, strategy puts operations in service of mission and purpose to achieve an organization's vision.

Whether collaborating with a multinational business, a progressive charter school, or a national nonprofit organization we help organizations create dynamic and executable strategies rather than static strategic plans. Matched to the particular situation of each client, our strategic services often include:

• Landscape and market assessment
• Competitive analysis
• Obstacles analysis
• Stakeholder engagement
• Attitudinal assessment of key audiences
• Over-the-horizon scenario development
• Internal execution plan, responsibilities, timelines and tools
• Alignment mapping with external communications and other core functions
• Mapping to existing KPIs or a KPI refresh
• Facilitated roll-out, internal socialization and leadership coaching

For seasoned organizations seeking to refine or amplify core purpose as part of a strategic review, we measure performance using our 10-point Markers of Corporate Purpose™. Looking across an organization at these ten key indicators, we garner insights and perspectives often invisible to internal leaders and fold them into new or refreshed strategy.

Our Markers of Corporate Purpose:

1. People: staffing structure, benefits, wages, inclusion, training
2. Resources: finance and human capital
3. Culture: diversity, access, transparency
4. Authenticity & Trust: Stakeholder engagement, regulatory and legal
5. Trade-offs: patterns of decision-making
6. Governance: structure, board, collaborations
7. Advocacy: policy positions, campaign contributions
8. Communications: lobbying, advertising, marketing, reports
9. Alignment: products, purpose, operations, leadership
10. Sustainability: targets, integration, reporting