Overview of the QWA Alignment Process

While every organization’s situation is potentially different, there is a general flow to identifying management alignment challenges and charting a course forward to help rectify this situation. The process below identifies the most fundamental steps in a continuum of options- one that can be accomplished with a limited commitment of senior management time and money.

Step 1: Meet with the CEO to discuss any previously identified alignment concerns, to understand the CEO’s views on corporate strategy and direction and to identify the key managers that form the CEO’s “inner circle” for the purposes of this exercise. It is also important to understand the CEO’s view of alignment issues with his board and/or investors.

Step 2: Send a statement of work to the “inner circle” that explains the targets of the exercise, the process and the time commitments required.

Step 3: Schedule 2-3 hour interviews with the identified managers preferably in person, but video conference or telephone could also work if time, distance or costs are a consideration. These interviews would be used to discuss anonymously the individual’s view of the business, the risks and rewards of the business, the marketplace or anything else that the individual felt was relevant to their “company view.”

Step 4: Create an anonymous “key issues” list for review with the CEO, identifying apparent points of misalignment, confusion or concern and from this discussion, create the outline for a one day off site alignment workshop.

Step 5: Provide a pre-meeting outline of issues and topics to the senior team for them to be reference and be thinking about prior to the one day session.

Step 6: Moderate a face to face off site session working the team through key issues and opportunities, identifying and discussing alignment issues, seeking some consensus and creating some concrete action steps moving forward.

Step 7: Following the meeting, issue a final written report to the participants summarizing issues that had been identified and action steps moving forward.

Step 8: Conduct a final meeting with the CEO reviewing findings from the alignment exercise.

The basic alignment process can be utilized as a straightforward tool to help the senior management team identify priorities and create corrective plans relative to alignment and to identify concrete steps that the team can use themselves to work on getting aligned and staying aligned.

Additionally, the QWA alignment process can be used as a starting point for further help in creating a more defined and actionable plan for the organization relative to alignment, such as the creation of a company alignment plan that could be formally reviewed and maintained on a quarterly basis.

Additional Client Services

Whether you are an early stage company or a more mature operation, QWA can deliver value in a variety of additional ways once the management alignment issues are addressed:

• Continuing engagement with the management team to help them remain aligned and all pivot in the same direction when that is necessary
• Supporting companies that have identified some key strategic issues that need work and focus, whether that is defining a new product introduction, geographic expansion or contraction, or some other impending challenge.
• Providing knowledge, insights and experience into addressing operational challenges that if resolved will result in substantial economic benefit to the enterprise.
• Due diligence and transaction support for either the acquisition of or sale of operations/assets of the company.