Strategy + Planning

Create a pattern for stepping out of the day-to-day and looking at the big picture. It’s your most important work. Karen can provide the process, structure and discipline required to make those big picture conversations and important initiatives happen — and become part of the rhythm of the organization.

“Optimize your efforts looking at the whole, don’t just maximize a single thread.”

Karen Walker

Working in Partnership with our Clients

We design and facilitate planning that integrates client values with client missions. Our expertise in multi-year plans ranges from $1 million to $17 billion in annual sales. We define the client value set and then working through scenario based plans, which are supported by those values.

“What if” and “why not” are two commonly used phrases in our work which generally lead to a plan based on clearly stated assumptions. Contingency plans for both upside and downside are also developed. In all cases, we are committed to designing effective implementation tactics for execution of the plan.

Time to Think

Too often, a client will say “I spend my days in back to back meetings, and I do my real job after work.” There are a number of things wrong with this sentence, but to focus on just two:

Why are you scheduled in back to back meetings?

What is your ”real job?”

Have You Considered Your Driving Force?

One of the most important decisions that you will make concerns your driving force. Not just what are you good at doing, but what is your driving force? What is it that you can’t not do? When put into new situations, where do you naturally gravitate? What situations will best allow you to develop and display your driving force?

Once you are clear about the driving force, you must put yourself in situations to maximize your ability to contribute.

Seek to Optimize,
not Maximize

We need to structure our work so that we know the measurements and criteria for success. What does this look like? On a project basis, the clearer you can be about this the better. Without clear success criteria, you and your organization will be unable to optimize your efforts. There is no shortage of projects to work on! On a daily basis, what 3 things must be done today?

Testimonials

“I’ve experienced first-hand the value Karen brings. Karen and I have worked together for over 15 years on a wide range of things from strategic planning, executive coaching, leadership development, M&A integration, and organizational development. Karen’s focus is on working with companies to help them navigate transformational growth and the change that requires of leaders, executives and the teams they serve. ”

“One benefit to working with Karen is having a partner that I can trust to help me look at the issues and find ways to move forward. She helps me see things from a different perspective, bringing new possibilities that I would never find.”

“In our first engagement, the value that Karen provided propelled us toward hitting our 5X sales growth number, with an ROI of over 500% to date. Our team is now fully aligned - we are looking in the same direction, working from the same page with a clear, cohesive vision and executable plan.”

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