Strategic Planning

Objective Focus facilitates and manages the creation of a meaningful strategic plan, ensuring that all relevant voices are heard and that the plan’s outcomes reflect institutional goals and aspirations in a reasonable and achievable context.

An astute and carefully crafted strategic plan is critical to the successful realization of an institution’s mission and economic vitality. Its creation is a process that must involve all key stakeholders and is greatly facilitated when led by experienced professionals who do not have “a dog in the race” or a personal stake in any specific conclusion.

Beginning with an assessment of the institution’s internal, external and competitive strengths and weakness, the process explores the mechanisms available to enhance the former and correct the latter. This is to be accomplished within a time-table that makes judicious use of existing resources and manages expectations through a realistic assessments of assets – both current and potential.

The thoughtful and dispassionate development, codification and implementation of a strategic plan are essential determinants of an institution’s current and future success. Astute planning helps to facilitate the achievement of agreed-upon goals, creates a template for actions, timelines, metrics and objectives upon which stakeholders have reached consensus. It is based on relevant data and measured dialogue. Importantly, it also provides a yardstick by which success or failure in achieving those goals can be measured – allowing for rational and practical course-corrections, which are inevitable and essential as the plan is implemented.

With a history that includes the creation, successful management and/or revitalization of more than a dozen major institutions, the principals and associates of Objective Focus fully appreciate the importance of strategic planning and thoroughly understand its methodology. Through structured discussions, exercises and workshops, we help familiarize an institution’s faculty and administration with the concepts and procedures upon which a successful plan is based, articulated and effectively deployed.