Newsletter Articles
Scenario Planning for TLi: How we prepare for the unexpected winds that blow us off course.
When we were doing strategic planning at our company in 1996, we called in Charlotte Roberts to facilitate. Charlotte, who was on the founding board of the Transforming Leaders Initiative, and continues as a consultant, acquainted me with the process of scenario planning. After we had articulated our vision and strategy, Charlotte said, “What will you do if you get blown off course by the unexpected?” From there, we began to explore two alternate scenarios, one that would arise if things went far better than expected, and one that would make sense if the economy cratered (a worse case scenario).
TLi Board explores alternate scenarios
At our summer board retreat the end of July, after we had worked through our plans for a national gathering and an April ’09 start, we decided it would be prudent to explore two alternate scenarios. The first scenario was based on how we would respond if we raised the finances to go with our plan, but could not recruit the candidates as we had intended. This was a fairly simple exercise, looking at the impact on our financial projections if we started with 30 instead of 50+ candidates. Scenario Three dealt with what we would do if we succeeded in recruiting candidates, but were unable to raise sufficient funding. This scenario took a good deal more thought.
Continuous Learning Communities adapt to changing circumstances
At the core of what we are trying to create is a learning community, one that continually scans the horizon and adjusts based plans on what we are learning each year. So, as we progressed through August, and watched the deteriorating condition of our financial markets, Scenario Three took on greater urgency. In a Board conference call in early September, we decided that conditions were changing to the extent that we needed to shift gears and fully develop and execute on Scenario Three. This new direction is articulated in another article.
A Shift in Strategy; a Shift in Leadership
We spent the month of September exploring the various implications of our new strategy, and fleshing out the details. At the same time, we began to explore a new partnership to help us execute on the plans. With the frantic schedule kept by the pastors on our board, we realized the plan to rely on a working board for execution was not feasible. So far, we have run with minimal staffing, given our startup basis, and the recent approval of our 501C-3, TransformingChurch.org. The Board, at my request and suggestion, has explored and now entered into a strategic partnership with A Renewal Enterprise (ARE), the consulting partnership of Dave Daubert, Kelly Fryer, and Tana Kjos. Dave has stepped down from his position as Board Chair, and he is taking on the role of Executive Director of the TLi, with the support of Kelly, Tana and ARE.
In turn, Beth Marie Halvorsen has agreed to step up into the Chair, and Mark Grorud has agreed to serve as Advisory Chair, supporting Beth’s leadership in an advisory role. I will work with Dave and ARE with a focus on Communication, Marketing, and Development. Jerry Cox continues in his role as Treasurer and COO. These decisions bring significantly more resources to bear as we work to execute on our plan. With these moves, I have a much higher degree of confidence in our ability to make the TLi happen in 2009. Stay tuned for details.
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