When leadership changed, decision-making had to change too.
A family-owned B2C company used a leadership transition to create a strategic plan, review financial performance, and bring its management team into the planning process.
Family-owned B2C company
SERVICES WE PROVIDED
Strategic planning, financial analysis, employee survey, management team interviews, planning session facilitation
SUPPORT TYPE
Strategic planning facilitation and financial analysis
OUTCOME
A guiding vision, operating plan, and a more engaged management team
THE STORY
Using a leadership transition to build the plan and the culture behind it.
Leadership transitions create a natural opening to ask bigger questions about where an organization is headed and how decisions should be made. The incoming president of a family-owned B2C company saw that opportunity. The company did not have a strategic plan guiding decisions, and the planning process could also begin shifting the culture toward more inclusive and collaborative management-level decision-making.
Warren Whitney was engaged to facilitate the strategic planning process and conduct a financial analysis of the business entities held within the corporation. The work included employee surveys, management team interviews, and three facilitated planning sessions. The result was a strategic plan with a guiding vision, an operating plan, and a management team that became more engaged through the process.
The Situation
The company was at a turning point. A new president was preparing to lead the organization, but there was no current strategic plan to guide priorities, decisions, or accountability. At the same time, the organization had an opportunity to change how leaders worked together by involving the management team more directly in planning and decision-making.
Because the corporation held several business entities, strategic planning needed to be paired with financial analysis. The leadership team needed a clearer view of the business and a planning process that connected financial realities with future priorities.
Key needs included:
• Create a strategic plan during a leadership transition
• Develop a shared vision for the company
• Build a practical operating plan
• Make decision-making more inclusive and collaborative at the management team level
• Gather input through employee surveys and management team interviews
• Facilitate planning sessions to align leadership around priorities
• Analyze financial performance across the corporation’s business entities
• Strengthen management team engagement and ownership
Warren Whitney’s Role
A planning partner that connected strategy, finance, and team engagement.
Warren Whitney facilitated the strategic planning process from discovery through planning sessions. The team began by surveying employees and interviewing members of the management team to understand the organization from multiple perspectives.
Warren Whitney then led three planning sessions that helped the company clarify its vision, priorities, and operating plan. In parallel, Warren Whitney conducted financial analysis of the various business entities within the corporation so leadership could make planning decisions with a stronger understanding of the business.
Rather than treating the plan as a leadership-only document, Warren Whitney designed the process to bring more voices into the conversation. That helped the management team become more engaged in the company’s future and more prepared to carry out the plan in daily decisions.
Our Value
A stronger plan and a stronger management team.
Before and After
From a leadership transition without a shared plan to a more collaborative management culture.
Before Warren Whitney
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Incoming president stepping into transition
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No current strategic plan guiding decisions
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Management team not fully integrated into planning
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Decision-making less inclusive and less collaborative
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Financial information needed to be reviewed across business entities
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Leaders needed a shared vision and operating plan
After Warren Whitney
- A strategic plan with a guiding vision
- A practical operating plan
- Employee input and management feedback built into the process
- Three planning sessions that aligned leadership
- Financial analysis incorporated into strategic planning
- A more engaged management team
Need Similar Support?
Considering a strategic planning process? Warren Whitney can help your team clarify priorities, involve the right voices, and build a plan people can use. Contact us to start a conversation.
Data Directions Inc.