Strategy & Business Planning

Our consultants can work with your leadership team and board to define a new strategy, or turn strategy into operational plans.

We’re experienced in facilitating leadership team (SLT and/or board) Away Days. Our consultants have run strategic planning sessions for Parkinson’s UK, Kick It Out, the Royal College of OTs, Headway East London and the English-Speaking Union.

How we work

We typically start with some examination of your operating environment and planning constraints. Then explore the leadership risk appetite; where is risk accepted, or even welcomed, and where is it best avoided? How radical are we able to be in departing from what we do now?

Then we typically help you explore target impact; what’s the difference we want to see in three, five or ten year’s time?

We can also work with SLT and staff to convert strategy into operational plans.

This work can all be tailored as appropriate for the size and shape of your organisation, with tactical replanning in response to operational issues, or funding difficulties, delivered much more quickly.

More detailed work - Theory of Change

We can deploy a more formal Theory of Change approach to review services and operations; initially focussing on impact, then working backwards, supported by evidence, to determine the optimum outcomes, outputs and then activities. This can be a one-off session, or longer engagement, with a series of workshops and consultation activities. This often involves staff, volunteers, supporters or beneficiaries.

Embedding a new strategy across organisational governance

We can help you ensure that a new strategy or plans are properly reflected across different areas of governance, helping you to answer questions like:

Risk management: Are new plans consistent with your organisational risk appetite? Are significant changes needed to the contents of your risk register, to reflect new objectives, partners, or ways of working? Does the structure of the risk register enable you to quantify the distribution of risk across strategic themes?
Projects: Strategic delivery may require projects to make changes to infrastructure, structures or processes. How are projects prioritised? Do you need to reallocate resource to make change happen?
Performance management: How will you track the delivery of plans? We can design performance management frameworks, complete with performance indicators and targets, enabling the SLT and board to monitor progress and identify slippage from plans.

Client testimonials - Strategy & Business Planning

"Joe defined our five-year strategy, 2015-2020. This included the co-facilitation, with our Chair, of a hugely successful, two-day strategy workshop for SLT and Trustees. This enabled us to define a radically different strategic direction for the charity, working in completely new ways in research and healthcare. I’ve no hesitation in recommending Joe as a consultant to support the strategic and business planning for any organisation."

Steve Ford - former CEO, Parkinson’s UK
“Joe planned and facilitated a day’s strategy workshop for us - attended by the leadership team and Board, with all staff joining in the afternoon. He’s a highly skilled and capable facilitator, and successful delivery was an important milestone in the strategy development."

Roisin Wood - former CEO, Kick It Out
"Joe and Anne planned and delivered a strategic Away Day for the leadership team and Board. They structured the day to get maximum value from our time together, and facilitated skillfully but firmly, to keep us focused at strategic level. Afterwards, they consolidated high quality output at pace. I'd recommend Coney Consultancy to anyone who wants support with strategy and planning."

Glen Hodgson - Chair, Headway East London
"Anne facilitated a two-day strategic Away Day for our SLT and Board. With a new CEO and Board of Trustees, this was the first time we brought together an experienced group of leaders to determine the long-term direction of the charity. Anne used some accessible, innovative exercises and techniques to quickly establish effective working relationships and build consensus. She read the room exceptionally well, adapting the format of the day to ensure everyone remained engaged and focussed. She worked us hard and we delivered some great outputs, including clarity around our purpose and vision for the next five years. We’re very happy to recommend Coney Consultancy to support strategy work"

Nathan Strong - Chief Operating Officer, English-Speaking Union

Our other services

Projects & Change

We can manage projects - and specialise in turning round failing projects. Our consultants have decades of experience in running programmes or portfolios of projects. We can facilitate project management training, project-focussed Action Learning Sets, or process-design workshops.

Find out more

Organisational Governance

We can improve organisational performance management or risk management. Bolster the efficacy of leadership meetings; changing the agenda, papers and culture, enabling high quality decision-making and focus on strategic issues.