HALLADAY EDUCATION GROUP

HALLADAY EDUCATION GROUP
4316 Arthur Drive, Delta, BC, Canada V4K 2W8
P: 604.868.0002 | E: info@halladayeducationgroup.com


Friday, December 11, 2009

10 Step Strategic Planning Process

Hello:


I’m sitting here at the Air Canada lounge at LAX waiting to fly home to Vancouver. I’ve had an incredibly productive 3 days here in LA working with a Private Investment Banking firm from S.E. Asia and a US-Based University to finalize our plans to develop US International Offshore Universities in S.E. Asia. As we move forward with this unique approach, I will share more details with you. We are planning on a limited roll-out for 2010, so if your investment group is interested in this highly profitable approach, please contact me for further details.


On a personal note, I had a great dinner last night in L.A.’s China Town with an LA-based Post Secondary Accreditation specialist, who joked with me about my less than consistent production of HEG’s Inner Circle eNewsletters (and he’s right). Well, needless to say, I’m here now ensuring that my commitment to writing my eNewsletter will return to at least once a week. I thank all of you who have signed up for my eNewsletter and your positive comments.


I’m looking forward to getting back home to my family in preparation for my children’s final week of school and all of their Christmas festivities at their schools. I understand that my wife has brought home a X-Mas tree in my absence. We’re staying home during the holidays then we’re off to Belize in the New Year (can anyone recommend great resorts there?).


On this festive note, please refer to the link below and type in any Christmas song and see what the little puppets do. Also, type in any non-Christmas song (I typed in Happy Birthday) and you'll get a kick out of the response. One of the funniest I typed in was Jingle Bell Rock... they forget the words half way through. Best wishes for a happy holiday season. Click here


HEG has been deluged with requests to develop strategic plans for new and established public and private schools, and non-profit groups (which we do exceptionally well). Today I want to share additional thoughts in the eNewsletter on strategic planning and its value to your organization.


To your success,


Doug Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group


>> TWITTER ->> Receive updates by clicking here.


P.S. Don’t forget to go to our secure Online Store to invest in our Strategic Planning or School Start-Up Toolkits.


IN THIS ISSUE


1. In The News

2. Focus On Our Key Services

3. More Tips On Better Board Governance

4. Products At Our Online Store


1. IN THE NEWS


>> RESEARCHERS PROBE PAY INCENTIVES FOR TEACHERS

While much of the national debate over performance incentives for teachers has centered on bonuses based on student test scores, a new book suggests that such incentives come in all shapes and sizes, and offers some new research on little-studied aspects of those strategies...


2. FOCUS ON OUR KEY SERVICES


(A) STARTING A SCHOOL

Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression. That’s why you need a turn-key firm with experience starting schools in the USA, Canada, and Internationally.


(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING

We can lead the development of your school’s Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for school improvement. No school should be without one.


(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOP

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Great schools have great boards (can you afford not to have one?). Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our unique online self-assessment survey) fine-tunes your board’s performance and annual priorities.


(D) SCHOOL EVALUATIONS

A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member, are you sure your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture now with our “In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan.”


(E) BUYING AND SELLING SCHOOLS

HEG and our certified Brokerage Associates assist buyers/sellers with the purchase and sale of for-profit Private K-12 Schools, Post Secondary Institutions, and Career Colleges in Canada, US, and Internationally. HEG and our Licensed Brokers are experienced in acquisitions, mergers, and advising established schools.


3. TIPS ON STRATEGIC PLANNING


As a leader of your new or established school or non-profit, what is the best plan of action for determining a thriving future for the organization under your influence? Today I want to help you better understand the value of a strategic plan, find success in obtaining board support in conducting your plan, engaging your stakeholders in the process, and overseeing the various stages of the planning process.


A strategic plan will provide your organization with a compass and roadmap for success. The specific content of a strategic plan is different for each school; with different approaches and steps. However, successful organizations have a plan to determine their future.


A non-profit is most effective when the different pieces of the organization are aligned by a shared vision, mission, strategies, and goals. Simply working hard will not do it anymore. You want your organization to move from being reactive (solving today’s problems) to being proactive (eliminating problems in the future).


Here’s a quick definition of strategic planning:

"It’s a management tool designed to improve the effectiveness of an organization, providing a framework that enables you to focus your energy, coordinating efforts of your members to work towards the same goals, and to assess your response to changing factors and adjust accordingly."


A plan helps you decide what the purpose of your organization is (mission), where it wants to be (vision), how to get there (goals/action plan), and how you know you’ve gotten there (monitor/evaluate/adjust).


Strategic planning in general has two approaches:

  1. Staff Driven Planning: Key staff and board members develop plan without much external input or extensive research over a short time frame.
  2. Participatory Planning: Extensive, time-consuming process in which considerable research is conducted in advance, and key stakeholders come together to develop the plan, which includes ongoing mechanisms for ongoing performance evaluation.

I prefer the 2nd choice, since it engages your community, develops buy-in, and utilizes their combined brainpower. However, this process takes longer and needs a capable facilitator to bring it together.

In its simplest form, here is a ten-step strategic planning process:

  1. Plan to plan. Assess the readiness of your organization for planning, define the scope, participants, costs, timing, etc.
  2. Assess the external environment: clients, economic factors, social issues and trends, etc.
  3. Assess the internal environment – forces shaping the organization from within.
  4. Re/define the mission statement (purpose).
  5. Re/define the vision statement (direction).
  6. Agree on the guiding core values (principles).
  7. Identify the issues holding you back by developing strategies to fulfill the mission toward the vision.
  8. Develop goals and objectives to support the strategies.
  9. Develop an action plan (tactics) to implement the goals.
  10. Monitor and evaluate progress and revise/update as needed.

If you'd like to read the overview for each of our strategic planning approaches, click here.


You can read more about our planning approach and testimonials by clicking here or go to our Online Store and invest in our Strategic Planning Toolkit


To find out more about our firm’s strategic planning services, or learn more about how we can help provide you solutions, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs in more detail.


4. ONLINE STORE


Here are 2 popular Toolkits to help you to either start your own school or develop your own strategic plan, step-by-step.


(1). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all here to help you develop your own plan.


(2). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share how they started their own school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your strategic plan. Click here for more details: http://bit.ly/2hjUAn


To your success,


Douglas Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group Inc.


P: 604.868.0002 / F: 868.472.8737 / Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com

www.HalladayEducationGroup.com