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Strategic Planning

Creating Your Competitive Advantage
Note: This program is available in two approaches:

  1. NCSA facilitators work directly with senior leadership to guide your organization, step-by-step, through the strategic planning process. This is typically completed in a multi-meeting process.
  2. NCSA instructs attendees on the end-to-end strategic planning process in a workshop setting. Once back on the job, attendees may contact NCSA for assistance in implementing the strategic planning process.

At the heart of your business and its ongoing competitive advantage is its willingness to actively participate in and implement a strategic plan that will link line-of-sight for every employee to the mission and vision of the organization. Successful organizations became that way because they planned it. If a lack of planning in your organization finds your employees blindly wandering through their days, you, as the organization's leadership, must commit to getting all employees on the path to achieving the mission, vision and goals of your organization. This course will guide you through all elements of the complete strategic planning process. In NCSA's strategic planning approach, participants will:

  • Define the TOTAL end-to-end planning process—part of a plan is not enough.
  • Understand why there is no shallow end in the "planning pool."
  • Clarify and reconcile strategic planning terminology—gain consensus.
  • Engage in "component-specific" exercises designed to isolate and identify potential organizational opportunities at the various steps of the planning process.
  • Create or update and document the organization's mission statement—"Who we are," "What we do."
  • Create or update and document the organization's vision statement—identifying and clarifying "Where we are going"—leveraging your competitive advantage.
  • Develop strategic goals that support accomplishment of the organization's mission and vision.
  • Clarify how operational objectives / strategies will be developed (with ownership) for each strategic goal.
  • Discuss in detail the development of individual employee objectives with "line-of-sight" to the organization's mission, vision and values (optional).
  • Discuss methods for monitoring and ensuring individual goal achievement.
  • Share a simple and effective "strategic plan template" that makes your plan your servant and not your master.
  • Clarify strategies to ensure your plan remains "evergreen"—that you retain your competitive advantage.

 


Board Governance

Ensuring an Effective Board-Leadership Relationship
Governing boards are critical to the overall success of effective organizations. Often, though, the lines become vague or unclear relative to the appropriate roles and responsibilities of board members and those of organizational leadership. This is especially true for organizations that have faced a high turnover of board members or leadership, or where things are done just because that is "always how we have done them."

NCSA's skilled professionals work with boards and leadership to facilitate:

  • Identifying the true and necessary roles and responsibilities of board members and of leadership.
  • Recognizing opportunities to adjust current processes to create the appropriate "strategic-tactical" organizational balance.
  • Discussing board-leadership communication regarding what should be communicated, by whom, with what frequency and by which media.
  • Discussing how to manage operational activities that include board member participation.
  • Creating a "generative-thinking" board participation approach to harness valuable board member expertise and wisdom.
  • Building an ongoing "team" relationship grounded in bidirectional trust and respect.

 


Process Improvement

Enhancing Business Processes
Very often businesses find themselves with processes in place that are inefficient or ineffective. It can be a struggle to systematically identify, analyze and implement important process improvements while retaining focus on day-to-day operations. NCSA's highly experienced, professional staff are that valuable resource you need to assist you through your process improvement efforts. They employ a wide range of analytical, evaluative tools to:

  • Document and analyze current processes.
  • Identify performance gaps relative to the business's "desired state."
  • Clarify bona fide root cause issues vs. symptomatic conditions.
  • Identify realistic process alternatives with associated criterion weighting.
  • Develop cost-benefit analysis for managerial reporting and budgetary requirements.

 


Organizational Performance Analysis

Performance = Ability x Motivation x Direction
Every organization has multiple opportunities for improvement. Unfortunately, organizations often don't fully understand where many performance breakdowns and disconnects exist and thus miss opportunities for performance gain.

NCSA has extensive experience in analyzing "performance," and with our proprietary "Total Performance Model," NCSA's skilled professionals identify detailed current-state breakdowns and disconnects and provide businesses with clear, manageable improvement opportunities.

Contact NCSA today to discuss a performance analysis for your organization or department.

 


Project Facilitation

Providing Critical Project Management Support
Have a project that you just can't get off the ground? Let NCSA's experienced professionals provide the necessary oversight for successful project outcomes. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Developing a comprehensive project charter
  • Creating a project cost-benefit analysis
  • Identifying detailed project requirements
  • Developing a project operating budget with reporting requirements
  • Creating a detailed project plan with activity timetables and team member responsibilities
  • Identifying and securing correct project team personnel
  • Developing a project communication matrix—what, by whom, when and media
  • Managing the project team—providing feedback and adjustments as necessary
  • Managing the project "closure"—documentation, user acceptance and team acknowledgement

Contact NCSA today for assistance with your project management challenges.

 


Meeting Retreat Facilitation

Facilitation—Meetings and Retreats of All Sizes
Whether a short meeting, a multiple-day retreat, or something in between, let NCSA's skilled facilitators help you get the most out of these sessions. Our facilitators are seasoned business professionals with advanced degrees and years of practical business application experience. Key to our facilitation success is:

  • Understanding the real role and responsibilities of an effective facilitator
  • Possessing the skills necessary to successfully facilitate sessions
  • Having expertise and important insights into group dynamics
  • Knowing the important components of an effective meeting
  • Offering numerous facilitator tools that effectively move the group to accomplish its objectives
  • Being able to keep the meeting on track to accomplish its stated objectives

NCSA facilitators provide the objectivity that will keep your meeting in focus and provide for the outcomes you need.