InterLINK Management Consulting Products
StrategyLINK

From Zero to Strategy in 100 Days

Does your organization work together smoothly towards commonly understood objectives? Or does everybody seem to have their own agenda?

Do you take regular time for formal, long-range planning? Or do you react to events on a "fire drill" basis?

If you are frustrated by the lack of an overall, integrated set of plans, then StrategyLINK is for you.

We've developed a concise, simplified process for strategic planning, based on years of experience with large and small organizations. It uses a high-involvement approach, and results in people working together toward goals and objectives that they have developed themselves. It delivers a Mission , Vision, Values and Strategy, along with a process to monitor your progress.

Our high-involvement method results in living, tangible strategies owned by your managers, not binders that sit on the shelf. We specialize in "dust-free" strategic plans.

StrategyLINK is implemented at a fixed price, so you don't have to worry about an open-ended consulting engagement. And we schedule it for 100 days-or shorter, if you like.

Phase 1: Stakeholder Input/Environmental Analysis

We sit with you and identify your key business stakeholders: owners/shareholders, customers, employees, vendors, board members, etc. We then obtain their input on a wide variety of topics, such as your customer services, your quality levels, new products and services, management, your industry trends, changing demographics, technology, etc.

We do this through a combination of personal contact and surveys. This approach provides a high degree of participation from those most affected by your business, on issues that most directly affect you. You get a perspective from all stakeholders, not just your management team.

Phase 2: SWOT Analysis

Based on the input from phase one, we draft a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and present this to your strategy team. We will spend a lot of time coming to understand why various stakeholders identified the strengths and weaknesses noted. (This can be a real eye-opener.)

In the end, the strategy team will prioritize the various elements of the SWOT analysis. Often, this is the first time that the management team has come to consensus on the real environment of the company: its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This becomes a powerful platform for developing strategies.

Phase 3: Mission , Vision and Values

In parallel with the first two phases, we facilitate the development of your Mission (your reason for existence), your Vision (your long-range picture of the future), and your Values (your driving principles). It is important to realize that you already operate by certain ideas of mission, vision and values-in fact, everybody in the company has them. The problem is in making them collective-that is, shared by everybody.

This process involves a real reflection on what drives the company, and where it wants to go. It powerfully taps into people's deep motivations, and results in some overarching objectives that everybody supports, both with the head and with the heart.

Phase 4: Strategy Development

With the SWOT analysis on the one hand, and the Mission , Vision and Values on the other, your business strategy practically writes itself. That is, your strategy is what is necessary to get you from where you are (SWOT analysis) to where you want to go (Vision and Values), doing what you do best ( Mission ). With the limited number of resources at your disposal, your team must select the optimal actions to fit your situation. In order to make these actions real, you will need to assign lead managers, identify costs and other resource needs, and lay out general schedules.

Phase 5: Implementation and Monitoring

Here's where most strategic planning goes wrong-failure to implement and monitor. If you are serious, your team will need to track your progress conscientiously and hold managers accountable for progress. And here is where StrategyLINK really helps you: we stay with you for one year to monitor your progress and coach your managers.

We serve as independent "reinforcers" of your strategy process. This is very important, as the new strategy-oriented behavior requires an adjustment period, just like any other behavioral change.

If you would like to start strategic planning, but are unsure how, then StrategyLINK is for you.

To order, simply fill in the products under the contact us page and we will have a representative contact you within 24 hours.