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 efore
accepting an engagement, we seek to understand as
fully as we can the nature of the strategic issue,
the reasons the prospective client is thinking about
engaging professional strategic counsel and how we
can be most helpful
- Our
goal is to ensure that we understand the backdrop
to the present situation and that the objectives
of the proposed assignment have been well thought
through
- We
customarily meet with both board leadership and
principal staff in order to ensure that these preliminary
discussions are comprehensive and thorough
- We
also want to make certain there is excellent chemistry
and superb communication between the prospective
client and ourselves.
Following
completion of these discussions, we prepare a proposal
that lays out our understanding of the situation,
offers preliminary observations, defines the scope
of work, lays out a work-plan, indicates our qualifications
to undertake the assignment and delineates staffing
and professional fees
- We
typically submit our proposal in draft form to give
the prospective client an opportunity to comment
on it
- This
approach allows the prospective client to see how
we work and evaluate the quality of our analytic
and interpretative skills.
Upon
engagement, we seek to gain as full an understanding
of the client’s culture, situation and needs
as possible in the early stages of an assignment
- As
our analyses proceed, we develop "working hypotheses"
in order to summarize the work and enable the client
to gain immediate access to our research
- A
project may involve interviews with key individuals
within the organization, interviews with informed
individuals outside the organization, focus groups,
compilation and analysis of data from various sources
and analyses of best practices from other peer organizations
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Working closely with the client, we revise the "working
hypotheses" until we have developed the best
set of conclusions and recommendations
- We
maintain strict confidentiality throughout all phases
of a project and in all aspects of our work.
We
maintain regular communication with our clients, providing
interim progress reports and frequent informal briefings
and, as appropriate, modifying the work as initially
conceived
- We
give careful attention to adhering to the agreed
timeframe for the assignment
- We
typically prepare a final report upon completion
of the analyses; the report lays out our findings,
conclusions and recommendations and includes supporting
documentation.
Much
of what we do is to facilitate the work of strategy
formulation and implementation by boards and staff
- We
participate in brainstorming and are experienced
troubleshooters. We try to see the forest and
the trees
- We
focus efforts designed to strengthen organizations
through constructive change. We actively think through
with the client what is required within the institution
to carry forward the results of our strategic analyses
and execute effectively our recommendations
- We
often assist with implementation in a separate phase
of an engagement.
Our
goal is to develop a strong partnership with the client,
defined by strong mutual trust and regard, so that
the combination of our strategic skills and the client’s
institutional knowledge produce accurate, compelling
and high value-added results.
When our recommendations suggest changes in such specialized
activities as program development, finance, information
systems, deployment of staff or operational processes,
we identify qualified individuals to assist the client
in moving forward.
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