Strategic Planning
A Proven Process that Transforms
Top reasons why strategic planning fails to deliver better results
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Lack of engagement & data collection with internal and external stakeholders
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Focusing primarily on the product or service, Neglecting culture, leaders, processes, & teams
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The Plan & SMART goals did not realistically account for the availability of resources
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Strategic goals and initiatives were not prioritized or were prioritized incorrectly
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An imbalanced strategic planning team was selected leading to blind spots or bias (over-representation of an area/department)
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Lack of an easy, visual way to assess our adherence to the strategic plan (a large, complex document is almost always put on the shelf, never to be seen until the next planning session)
*See the following videos for Strategic Planning Tips
At our first meeting, we’ll ask about your strategic planning goals. ITCB works with you to match your allocated time and resources with your strategic planning needs. Those needs may include one or more of the following:
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Simply provide a basic plan
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Verify we are on the right path
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Increase our current level of success
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Develop a transformational process to attract, retain, and motivate the best.
There is a dramatic difference in the work required based on the goals of your organization. We assure you, whatever your goal, ITCB will help you meet or exceed it.
ITCB’s Strategic Planning in a nutshell:
1 - Determine Your Location
2 - Select Your Destination
3 - Map Out Your Journey
ITCB’s winning formula works time after time.
Our premeeting process ensures that people feel safe, comfortable, and heard. We spend extra time to collect vital details that make all the difference in the end. We map out and prioritize various groups and determine how many to approach to generate reliable feedback. ITCB’s lifeblood is based in trust, and our approach enables us to gather key, often “hidden” information from stakeholders. We then apply an extensive process to turn messy conversational data into quantifiable ranked results. It's not a dump of everyone’s comments, but data that points to problems, solutions, and opportunities. Yes, this process takes longer than just throwing out a survey, but this is where you find transformational gold nuggets. This accurate and reliable information can then be used to create a survey to reach and verify with a much larger audience.
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Our strategic planning meeting process is far beyond putting sticky notes on a big SWOT chart on the wall. We use scientifically proven creativity and brainstorming processes to generate the best ideas. ITCB uses a weighted priority system to rank these in a way that shows the impact of each idea. These are used to generate the Strategic Goals & Initiatives that will guide your organization forward.
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Our post strategic planning meeting process builds on our signature culture improving, buy-in approach by doing a deep dive into the Objectives (SMART objectives) for departments, directors, and managers. An analysis of resources and priorities is performed to determine an accurate timeline and resource needs to accomplish goals and initiatives. We also work with you to create a simple visual dashboard that allows key stakeholders to quickly and easily assess progress to generate talking points at your monthly meetings.
Successful strategic planning doesn't result from leadership sitting in a room for a day or two doing a SWOT analysis. True strategy comes from gathering the right information from the right people and systematically evaluating both qualitative and quantitative data. At ITCB, we bring the "cream to the top” by utilizing a weighted priority system and data visualization methods which allow planning teams to simplify complex decisions and move forward with doable action steps. Some of our clients have said we have the forward-thinking and buy-in of sales and the mindset of engineers. We prefer to think of it as business engineering.
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ITCB can do the heavy lifting or guide you every step of the way. Utilizing our 360 x 360 CXO approach, ITCB develops a custom strategic planning process for your organization based on your goals. This may include data collection and analysis, strategy selection, weighted priorities, resource study/allocation, and strategic implementation including a change management and buy-in plan.
When selecting a strategic planning partner you should look for someone who:
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has a track record of proven repeated successes in life (they know what it takes to get there)
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has learned from the best & highly successful companies (not just theory from a book or class)
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is driven and truly cares about helping you to achieve successful results (they go above & beyond)
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is flexible and adaptable to your needs and your situation (not forcing you into a cookie cutter approach)
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does the majority of the heavy lifting (many will charge a fortune but ask you do all the work for them)
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has a realistic practical approach to the strategic planning process (the end result is simple and doable)
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is professional and trusted in order to obtain that high level of engagement from everyone
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focuses on the key internal areas that enable effective outcomes (not just competitors & products)
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is trustworthy and will share truth with you in a confidential setting (never surprise you at the meeting)
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will work with you to review the findings and determine the best course of action for the meeting
Kevin Nelson
Board Chair
North Dakota State Board of Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors (NDPELS)
"Their team possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics, competitive analysis, and long-term planning, allowing us to make informed decisions with confidence. Throughout our collaboration, ITCB has demonstrated exceptional analytical skills, novel thinking, and a results-oriented approach. They take the time to thoroughly assess the unique needs of their clients and provide tailored solutions that drive success. Their professionalism, responsiveness, and dedication to excellence make them a trusted partner in any strategic endeavor.
Their expertise and commitment to delivering measurable results" set them apart in the industry.
Alyssa Meier
Board VP
North Dakota Newspaper Association (NDNA)
"Kevin provided unparalleled service in executing a thorough, efficient and effective analysis of our association, while also providing objective and inciteful recommendations for improvement.
Kevin gained an acute understanding of our organization beyond anything our board ever expected, a testament to his committment and the time he put in.
Kevin’s work for us went far beyond data collection or surface-level analysis. As he studied our operation, industry and and membership, Kevin also looked into factors behind every data point.
It was clear that he was dedicated to not just handing over the information, but to ensuring we understood it completely.
He spent time talking with us about our own ideas for improvement, and provided us with specific, clear and realistic recommendations based on priority level."
Kirby Evanger
SVP Chief Credit Officer
Bank of North Dakota (BND)
"Kevin’s facilitation and coordination of our meetings, documentation of key points and strategies derived, and accountability to our timelines was all very good. Kevin was able to categorize a myriad of thoughts and ideas into 5 key areas which helped greatly in our focus for our strategic plan for the upcoming 3 years. Kevin also provided us with direction and insight from a third party perspective that was very helpful as we went through the various rounds of our strategic planning."
Stephanie Blake
Owner
Social Sparrow
"Kevin is a powerhouse and was an incredible resource for our team as we worked to increase revenue, develop plans for growth and think through long term logistics.
I highly recommend working with Kevin!"
Catherine Jones
YPN Board Member
HR Analyst NISC
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Please let me know what type of Strategic Planning services that you are interested in.