Is “What Got You Here” Sufficient to Take You to the Next Level?

BY LORI SMITH

In the fall of 2019, three consultants, who were a part of a Mastermind group, joined forces.  All came from different backgrounds and had skill sets that complimented each other beautifully.  The goal?  To provide one non-profit organization with pro-bono consulting services in 2020.

“Consulting for a Good Cause” was formed in November 2019 and an RFP was sent out via social media inviting non-profits to apply. The criteria was simple: a non-profit based in the state of Florida, under 25 employees, with real tangible challenges they wanted and needed to address – but had no budget – to work through.  The Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council (FSMSDC) was selected for this exciting project with the plan to engage in a company assessment to determine the “health” of the organization.  The FSMSDC had under gone various stages of growth over the course of several years and was experiencing “growing pains” to match.

The Challenge:   Matching Growth & Maturity to Long Term Strategic Planning

  • The FSMSDC fosters the development of minority-owned businesses throughout Southern Florida and in 2016 was given the responsibility of serving the entire state.
  • Operational gaps came to light as a result of serving the entire state and providing new programs in three ways.
    • The pace of integration.
    • Growth created challenges to operating efficiency within the organization.
    • Complications brought on by the current global crisis (COVID-19)

Process and Findings:

The project was ready for kick-off in early March 2020.  COVID-19 could have thrown a horrible wrench into the project, however adjustments were made to adapt to the new world and the entire project was conducted virtually. In addition, there was a shift in the scope of work to focus on using the pandemic as a spring-board to identify what was working and not working pre-COVID-19.

The Results:

Staff members felt like their leadership cared about them during an unprecedented time, areas of strength and opportunity were identified, and quick wins and long term recommendations were provided to the Council, their board members and the entire team.

Two major outcomes:

  1. First, the assessment revealed specific areas of challenge within the Council that could easily be addressed with ‘Quick Win Task Forces’.
  2. There was a need to match business, organizational, people, and leadership strategies through long-term strategic planning.

Kudos to the Team:

Hats off to the three consultants, Lori Smith, Lori Smith Consulting, Rachelle Stone, R Stone Consulting and Dave Saliaris, Saliaris Consulting Group, for their success in leading the FSMSDC through their initial challenges!

Click here (FSMSDC Case Study) to read the complete case study and learn more about the project, challenges and outcomes.

Let’s talk!

Is your organization experiencing a shift in size or maturity?  Assessing the health of your business is a great way to get to the root cause of what might be causing growing pains for your company too.  I can help. Visit my services page to learn more or reach out to me so we can discuss how I can help you through these challenging times.