Case Studies

Client Problem

United States national defense is strong not only because of its size and the mass of its forces, but also the types of material, equipment and technology it develops and maintains. Key to current and future security is the ability to retain critical technological and informational advantage for the U.S. and its allies by preventing technology and information from being acquired by hostile states and non-state actors. With such a large and vital responsibility within the Department of Defense (DoD), the organizations that work to protect critical technology need to have plans in place to ensure success. Our client, a key player in protecting technology, needed an organizational strategy to establish and execute the best policies, procedures and programs to improve and protect critical technology security. After attempting to develop one internally, the client realized the importance of utilizing the expertise of an outside firm to guide them in developing the right strategic plan. After an extensive review of various firms, their past performances, methodologies and processes, Wedgewood Group was selected to develop a strategic plan in 2006.

Our Solution

Given that no such plan had been developed for organization prior to 2006, we first helped them define their mission, vision, values, and core competencies – the building blocks of an effective strategic plan. This was achieved through a fully interactive two-day planning session with the organization’s leadership team, during which we helped them create long-term strategies and related short-term goals the organization aimed to accomplish. Once this framework was established, we then collaborated with each unit of the organization to develop a detailed roadmap, comprised of specific performance metrics and projects, that if successfully executed, would achieve the goals and strategies.

This framework was accompanied by specific implementation plans which built up the organization’s ability to execute their new strategies, goals and metrics. And, through the use of scoreboards, they could monitor the progress and display how well they were doing on executing their plan. Wedgewood Group then facilitated quarterly review sessions with the organization’s director, the deputy director, and their entire senior leadership to review their progress, highlight successes, and identify any gaps between where they currently stood and where they were trying to go. We then assembled strategic execution teams consisting of various team members to collaborate on ways to close those gaps, allowing them to fully execute their strategic plan.

Outcome

After extensive information gathering, collaboration, and design work, we produced a comprehensive 2007-2008 Strategic Plan. This formal plan outlined how the organization would achieve its mission critical functions of ensuring U.S. national security by protecting critical technologies via strategies aligned with goals and metrics. Additionally, Wedgewood Group developed and maintained scoreboards allowing leadership to monitor strategy execution and make necessary adjustments to ensure the implementation stayed on track.

Since development of their initial plan, our client re-hired Wedgewood Group in 2008 and again in 2010 to develop the 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 plans respectively. We have also assisted in the ongoing monitoring phase of strategy execution which has since evolved into both quarterly and annual reviews to ensure that the strategic plan is consistent with the organization’s priorities and that these activities enable them to meet their responsibilities. During this period of time, the client has transformed the way it plans, implements, and evaluates success. This has allowed them to consistently accomplish greater than 95% of all established goals over the last several years – a success rate virtually unmatched by any organization. Today, all team members not only understand the top priorities of the organization, they also understand how their work drives desired results.