Strategic Planning - Case Study
Strategic Planning has gained increasing importance as a tool in the management of organizations of every kind.
In recent years, Strategic Planning has gained increasing importance as a tool in the management of organizations of every kind. It is used both to evaluate present operations and to chart a course for the years ahead taking into account the particular circumstances of the organization at the time. Last year Richard Miller, Board Chair of the Empire State Performing Arts Center, commonly called The Egg, asked ESCOT for assistance in developing a Strategic Plan for that organization. Two assigned consultants worked with the Board and the Executive Director, Peter Lesser, to complete this project.
The process initiated by the ESCOT consultants was designed to insure both the quality of the Plan and the commitment of the Board members to it. They began by interviewing Board members to determine their concerns and to identify major issues that needed to be addressed. Since they discovered no serious differences or sources of conflict at this stage they moved immediately to the next step. They convened a day-long Strategic Planning retreat at an off-site setting and, using the insights gained through the interviews, guided the Board through the work of developing the Plan. The consultants designed the meeting to assist the Board in arriving at a consensus about the various aspects of the plan and to insure the participation of all the members in decisions about what should be included.
The group was first asked to review and refine the mission of the organization and their vision for the future. They then examined current objectives and developed a revised statement that responded to present needs. They next took a critical look at current strategies and analyzed the internal environment for organizational strengths and weaknesses. They then examined the external environment to determine opportunities for particular program initiatives and looked for any threats to the organization that needed to be addressed. With this analysis as a base, they developed strategies to employ to carry out the mission and vision and identified actions needed to implement them. A further step involved identifying ways to evaluate these action steps.
Following the retreat, the Executive Director, with the assistance of the consultants, prepared a draft Strategic Plan, which incorporated the agreements reached at the retreat, and distributed it for comment before preparation of the final document. At the end, the Performing Arts Center had achieved a road map to guide its efforts during the next four to five years.
What our clients say:
"After a fire destroyed our agency, ESCOT was instrumental in helping the Albany Damien Center to get a volunteer experienced in Real Estate to assist us with determining our space needs. ESCOT was very quick in responding to our requests for help and I would highly recommend their services to any agency looking for highly motivated and skilled volunteers."
— Perry Junjulas, Executive Director, The Albany Damien Center
“ESCOT allowed our agency access to services such as designing a strategic plan … that had been otherwise unattainable due to budgetary restrictions. The project managers assigned to our agency were incredibly knowledgeable and professional.”
— Megan Quillan, Executive Director, Mechanicville Area Community Services Center
"The ESCOT team was very reliable and dependable, invested themselves in the process, and learned from us, as we learned from them. The final product is outstanding and we couldn’t have done it on our own.”
— Denise Ringer, President, Board of Directors, Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society
"We’ve employed ESCOT a half dozen times over the last five years. They’ve completed program evaluations, as well as finance, personnel and purchasing projects—all done by experienced consultants at a price everyone could afford. We recommend them to all!"
— Dan Dwyer, Mayor, City of Rensselaer
Interested in Working With Us?
Take the next step in empowering your organization. Contact ESCOT today.