• NEHES Newsletter
• Case Study A
• Case Study B
• Case Study C
• Case Study D
• Case Study E
• Case Study F
• Case Study G
• Case Study H

Case Study Company F:
PRISM International

Company Profile

Organization F is an international trade association with global membership. Membership is concentrated in North America, Europe and Asia.

Situation

The industry Organization F represents is undergoing shifts in its business focus as technology impacts the way that businesses and organizations use their members' services. Organization F needed to review its strategic objectives and establish tactical objectives that when executed would deliver their long-term strategic goals.

Solution

Barry MacKechnie led the strategic planning committee through a two-day strategic planning retreat and pre-retreat preparation. The committee was comprised of 8 business owners/executives and 2 association executives. MacKechnie created a strategic planning retreat agenda that included the following:

Day 1:

1. The attendees reviewed a competitive analysis and industry review prepared by MacKechnie based upon pre-retreat input from the attendees and a other members of the association. The review and discussions based upon the analysis provided the group with a better understanding of their organization's position in their industry and the services that they were providing their membership.
2. The group also completed a review of the changing focus of the industry they represented including projections as to the channel mix of services in the industry and how the industry would continue to change over the ensuing 5 years
3. The group completed a detailed SWOT analysis which included pre-retreat work performed by each retreat attendee
4. MacKechnie facilitated the group's discussions on the needs of the membership and how the industry changes would require new services and areas of representation by Organization F.
5. The group completed day 1 by identifying four critical areas of focus on improved services to its global membership.
   1. Five year objectives were defined
   2. Measurements were establish as benchmarks

Day 2:

1. MacKechnie led the group through a process that involved identifying and defining objectives for the balance of the current year and for the upcoming year of operations.
2. Each objective was broken down into identifiable tasks with defined deliverables, measurements and due dates.
3. Task groups of volunteers and resources were assigned to complete each of the defined tasks
4. Follow up processes were defined and initiated to assure the achievement of each objective and task.

At the end of the strategic planning retreat MacKechnie issued a full report to the strategic planning committee and board that contained the following:

Strategic (5 year) objectives

• Described and defined by measurable goals

Tactical Objectives (current and next year objectives)

• escribed and defined by measureable goals, deliverables and due dates
• Task delegation workbooks
  • Described and defined sub-tasks that needed to be completed
  • Identified resources that would be utilized to complete the tasks and sub-tasks
• Mind mapping and Gantt chart representations of the tactical objectives

Client Comments

“Thanks Barry it was nice working with you. Everyone had very positive things to say about you and the way you ran the process - very professional, not too intrusive, but intrusive enough to keep us subtly on track. Thanks again!”

“Barry, the fact that much of your experience was in the for-profit world turned out to be a huge plus even though we were working with a trade association. It made it much easer for us to relate to you during the process. It was quite interesting to see how although it appeared at first we were not moving forward at a good pace, you actually brought us through the process in total with time to spare! You were a pleasure to work with and we thank you.”