Our Approach :: Ascendant Strategy Management Group

We help organizations navigate the strategic change process, from clarifying your strategy through to facilitation strategy review meetings. Our proprietary process, called the Ascendant Strategy Management System™, has been used to help hundreds of organizations plan, align, and execute their strategy.

Ascendant Strategy Management System™

Strategy Mapping

Can you describe your organization's strategy? If so, what are the chances that your description of the strategy matches the description of the person next to you? Many of the organizations that we work with have real challenges describing their strategy in a way that everyone -- from employees, to board members, to customers -- can understand and appreciate. We help organizations clarify and define their mission and develop a strategy map -- a logic model -- of how your people, processes, and customers can be aligned to deliver on your mission.

Metric Definition

Can you prove your impact? Do your metrics tell you if you are on track to achieving your mission? Most organizations track their finances, maybe their customers, and occasionally their operations, but few organizations have measurement systems in place that track their progress against their strategy and their mission. We help organizations build measurement systems that are based on their strategy and provide leadership teams actionable information on what they are doing well and where they need to focus their attention.

Program Alignment

Are you doing the right things to achieve your mission? Are your programs aligned with your strategy? Organizations often are challenged with managing the number and scope of the programs they have underway, and there is constantly a demand for new programs to meet emerging needs. We help organizations inventory their portfolio of programs and rationalize that portfolio against their mission. This allows organizations to keep their investments focused on key programs that make an impact.

Organizational Alignment

Is your entire organization working towards a common goal and mission? Or is your organization like many organizations -- where departments are often working at cross purposes? We help organizations put in place processes to work together efficiently and effectively, so that development, programs, operations, and finance are all playing off the same play sheet. This alignment helps larger organizations regain their agility so that they can effectively provide services and achieve their mission.

Reporting and Analysis

Are your management meetings a waste of time? Do often wonder why your organization bothers with "strategy" meetings? If so, you're not alone -- strategy has a bad name because strategy meetings are often no more than whiteboard brainstorming sessions with no real objective or goal. We help organizations plan and facilitate strategy review meetings that productive, focused, and dare we say it, fun. By managing by exception and focusing on key drivers of the strategy, leaders can drill down into problem areas and devote management time to critical drivers of success.

Leadership Accountability

Are your leaders accountable for results? Many organizations -- especially ones that have grown rapidly -- have difficulty defining roles and ensuring accountability. We often see organizations shift from board meeting to board meeting without key action items being closed off, simply due to the lack of effective delegation and leadership. We help organizations put in place the necessary systems (people, processes, and tools) to ensure effective leadership from the top and accountability from the bottom. Well-led organizations have a significant advantage in attracting talent, donor capital, and share of mind.