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 2^nd 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

Feasibility Study and Business Plan to Start a Private School

Hello:

I’m slowly getting into the holiday spirit here in Vancouver. You won’t believe it but we just had our first day of frost on Monday! After setting records in November for rainfall and days without sunshine, December has started with a bang, with three consecutive days of sun. Of course the rain has translated into record amounts of snow on the local ski hills (in preparation for our Winter Olympics in February). However, to avoid the traffic, we’ll be in Belize snorkelling. Oh, and did I mention our Vancouver Canucks hockey team won last night? Back on the band wagon. ;^)

I also wanted to let you know that I’ll be in Los Angeles next week (Dec 8-10) for meetings with clients. If you’d like to make arrangements to meet with me in the evenings, please send me an email to info@halladayeducationgroup.com

Many of you ask what HEG specializes in. In short, we focus on the development of new and established private and public schools. We’re a consortium of internationally recognized educators and business professionals with first-hand experience in starting, operating, leading, and improving schools internationally, with clients based in the USA, Canada, and internationally. We’ve helped public and private schools, major corporations, and institutions maximize their established institution’s performance or support the development of new for- or non-profit private schools; be it one school or part of a planned land development project in new city. Our services include:

• Private School Formation and Expansion
• Strategic Planning
• Board Governance
• Institutional Assessments and Audits
• Mergers, Sales, and Acquisitions of Schools
• Site Selection and Zoning
  
• Advising on financial structures and Grants
• Government Education Regulatory Relations
• School Management Services
• Head of School Evaluation and Support
• Executive and Faculty Searches
• Publication Development and Admissions
• International Marketing and Recruiting
• Fundraising and Development
  

Our experienced team of consultants have hundreds of years of combined experience dedicated to providing customized solutions to start, operate, and lead private schools in the USA, Central America, Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, Canada, and other international locations. Our team has started more +20 K-12 schools as well as advised on the development of over 100 other school development projects.

To find out more about our school development services, please click here.

Today I want to share some thoughts in the eNewsletter on how to begin the process of starting your own school. Our firm receives many inquiries from parents, investors, and land development corporations about how to start their own private school (K-12 or college). The starting point we recommend is the completion of a Feasibility Study and Business Plan. It becomes your Blue Print to define what has to be done before you move forward, and how much is needed to be invested to do it successfully.

We always advise clients to avoid the “field of dreams” syndrome; building a school and hoping students show up. We think it’s wiser to make the investment at the beginning, determining what the market demand is and statistically project enrollment against demographics, and then develop the start-up and operational business plan and budget based on hard numbers. This approach provides a crystal clear picture of what your vision will cost and what your donors or investors need to contribute to ensure success.

Please read on to find out more about how you can develop a feasibility study and business plan.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President
Halladay Education Group Inc.

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

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

IN THIS ISSUE

1. In The News

2. Focus On Our Key Services

3. Feasibility Study and Business Plan

4. Products At Our Online Store

1. IN THE NEWS

>> IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN
Forbes: That's why most private schools are governed by nonprofit "trusts". As a result, investors were wary of putting money into any K12-focussed entrepreneur..


>> INDEPENDENT SCHOOL TO OFFER ITS OWN DIPLOMA
SFS Group: Harrow School, an independent school located in north-west London, has announced it is to become the first to offer it own diploma to students...

>> CONFESSIONS OF A TWILIGHT ADDICT
Jennifer Morrison says that, despite its reputation, there's a lot for language arts teachers to like in the Twilight series. ...

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 firm with experience starting schools in 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.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS
Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our informative online self-assessment survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus 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 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, United States, and Internationally. HEG and our Licensed Brokers are experienced in acquisitions, mergers, and advising established schools.

3. FEASIBILITY STUDY & BUSINESS PLAN

I’m a strong believer in performing due diligence when starting a school. I believe that you should develop a school based on facts rather than gut instincts. Don’t get me wrong, most schools start over a conversation between parents or investors who are either dissatisfied with the present educational options or have an entrepreneurial drive to start a school in their community that is not yet available, or would be a magnet to their land development. That being said, there are a number of qualitative and quantitative survey tools (e.g., phone, mail, online, focus groups) that need to be utilized to determine the level of demand for the school you envision.

The purpose of the Feasibility Study which HEG utilizes is to provide reliable data that will help answer the following questions:

• What is the level of demand for the school you envision?
• Who is the target market?
• What is the likelihood of parents enrolling their children at your school?
• How many students will enrol (grade, gender, origin, present school-type)?
• What will prevent families from enrolling?
• What level of tuition would they pay?
• Would they need financial aid?
• What is the impact of pricing on enrollment and features or benefits to reduce price sensitivity?
• What is the response to the educational programs?
• What are the critical milestones?
• Does the founding group have the capacity to start and/or operate the school?
• What types of facilities are available and/or needed for the school?
• What are the financial assumptions and costs to start and/or operate the school?
• What are the obstacles that need to be overcome to achieve success?
• What will generate confidence in a brand new, premium priced private school?
• What are the most effective strategies to promote enrollment?
  

The process allows HEG to evaluate your project’s capacity for success, market for enrollment, and ensure clarity in the development of your business plan and start-up preparation. We view the feasibility study like building the foundation of a house; you need to establish the foundation before you commit to putting resources and capital into building the school. We understand that the study and business plan will be the backbone of discussions with your partners and/or investment group and needs to be comprehensive and compelling.

Once you’ve the hard data for projected enrollment, we then develop your business plan, which includes Proformas for start-up budget and five year operational budget. The plan illustrates the opportunity, program requirements, timelines, facility needs, leadership structure, and investment structure. We focus on:

• Projected resource/facility needs and costs
• Timelines for each stage of school formation
• Competitive market analysis to determine demand and niche segment
• Economic analysis to determine tuition price point
• Marketing/admissions strategies and positioning
• Facilities and location for the school
• Financial and investment framework
• Initial start-up and five-year operational budget
• Construction and Renovation Budget
  

HEG and our experienced team are well suited and experienced to help assess and lead the development of your school or multiple schools in a major land development or new city. By utilizing our detailed quality controls, it ensures proper planning, development, and operation of your institution, delivery of a world-class curriculum, and assurance that your school will provide sustainable returns.

To find out more about our firm’s school formation 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. To find out more about our firm’s services and how we can help, please click on to download the following PDF’s that provide an overview of our firm’s detailed School Formation Services, staff bio’s, and school formation projects click here.

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.


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

Can You Recite Your School's Mission Statement?

Hello:

I’m eagerly waiting for my new Dell desktop to arrive today. I’m moving from 2 GB RAM to 12 GB and hoping to appreciate the 23 inch monitor that comes with it. While I’m waiting for my new computer (come on UPS), Vancouver is being pounded by ridiculous rain and wind storms (I’m keeping an eye out my window for Dorothy and Toto). That being said, I enjoy going down to my cabin in Pt. Roberts and watching the big storms and surf pound the beaches, while taking in the sounds and scents of the ocean. A few years back I would be out there in my Hobby Cat or wind surfer catching the big winds…

Today I want to share some final thoughts in the eNewsletter on effective board governance.

One important element to consider is the development, implementation, and monitoring of your organization’s mission. I was online and found a fantastic video on how NOT to develop your school’s mission statement. Please click here to view the video.

Too many times boards write a mission statement that is like a novel; they throw everything into it but the kitchen sink and end up with a bunch of words that mean nothing to the organization. My challenge is that it should be one sentence, able to fit onto the front of a t-shirt, and every member of your community should be able to memorize and recite it. Can you do that at your school?

Read on to find out more about writing a great mission statement.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group Inc.

>> TWITTER ->> Receive our updates.

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

IN THIS ISSUE

1. In The News

2. Focus On Our Key Services

3. Can You Recite Your School's Mission Statement?

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 firm with experience starting schools in 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.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our informative online self-assessment survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus 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 with our “In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan.” Click on the following link for more info:

(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, United States, and Internationally. HEG and our Licensed Brokers are experienced in acquisitions, mergers, and advising established schools.

3. CAN YOU RECITE YOUR SCHOOL'S MISSION STATEMENT?

Effective boards are missions focused. Great boards uphold and articulate a compelling mission-vision, and ensure congruence between strategy, values, and operations of the school. Competent directors focus on being:

• Convincing mission statement that allows them to keep eye on the target
• Aspirational and inspirational having a mission provides call to action that motivates staff and board and guides decisions
• Decisions are based on a clear understanding of your needs and you don’t operate in a vacuum
• As custodians of the mission, you’ve courage to refocus mission when needed
• You articulate your organization’s values and can translate them into action, and inspire staff by serving as role models

Your mission statement should answer the following questions:

• WHY you exist and WHY you’re committed to supporting that existence
• WHO you serve
• WHAT you provide, and
• HOW you serve them.

On the other hand, your vision statement should do the following:

• It answers WHERE you want your school to be in 5 or more years.
• Compelling image of the desired future that describes what the school should look like as it successfully implements the plan & achieves its potential

Your vision is the product and the mission is the process.

My litmus test for a mission statement is the following checklist:

• Does it state the purpose of your organization?
• Is it broad enough that everyone can see how they can contribute?
• Is it rarely changing?
• Can it survive leadership changes?
• Will it make sense to the average citizen who sees it displayed on your walls?

How did you score? Your mission has to inspire your staff and board, and direct your purpose for existing. Don’t treat it like some sort of cliché; take it serious and you’ll have a better board and school.

BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOP

To help your board move from good to great, we can provide our one-day board governance workshop with your school’s trustees. Our thoughtful workshop provides feedback to analyze and develop a clear set of strategies to guide your school’s leadership with the ongoing development of your school and governance.

The Board Governance Workshop and Survey refocuses Trustees on the Critical Elements of Effective Board Performance. This includes a comprehensive 360° online “Board Performance Self-Assessment Survey” based on years of research that assesses your board’s performance and a one day workshop to identify and resolve critical governance issues, review best practices, and focus areas for board development. This includes:

1. Presentation of governance best practices for school trustees.
2. Participation in hands-on case scenarios that highlight effective board practices.
3. Building a profile of your board’s performance gap based on confidential responses to the online survey and identifying areas that need immediate improvement (the survey is implemented as part of the school evaluation process).
4. Facilitation of a one-day workshop that assists the board in developing strategies and action plans to close your performance gap for the governance of leadership of the school.
5. As part of the process, the Board members candidly discuss and reach consensus on issues surrounding the performance of your board and lay the groundwork for long-term improvement.

You receive a follow-up “Summative Board Performance Report” providing a comprehensive overview of the board’s survey results, issues, and a plan of action for improvement.

Please click on the following here for more info.

To find out more about our firm’s board governance workshops, 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.

To your success,

Douglas Halladay

President