Case Studies

The leadership of Ayers Saint Gross Architects and Planners understood
the value of stepping back and thinking through the current direction and
future plans for their firm.

Strategy Arts designed and delivered a personalized planning
program that incorporated the unique perspectives of each
ASG owner. Through a series of facilitated meetings the
firm’s owners debated and agreed on a five-year vision for
their firm. Vision work culminated in a two-day planning
retreat that included a cross-section of managers. During the
retreat, ASG owners presented and received direct feedback
on their Vision. Following this, the wider organization agreed
on the important initiatives needed to pursue the Vision, and crossfunctional managers collaborated to develop plans for each.

As a result of the program ASG:

• Identified important organizational structures for ASG offices.
• Agreed on target markets to drive growth.
• Prepared for owner alignment on leadership approaches and
firm culture.
• Engaged business leaders with their organization in accountable
pursuit of their strategic initiatives.

The Steering Committee of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of Greater Philadelphia recognized the need to make important choices that would drive the continued and growing success of their nonprofit agency.

Strategy Arts designed and delivered a participative three-day planning retreat that provided a framework for discussion of ideas important to the diverse stakeholders. It then facilitated SBN’s planning process within a collaborative work environment, creating ownership of and commitment to a clear vision of success. Finally, Stategy Arts engaged SBN in team-based planning to develop action plans for key initiatives.

As a result of the retreat, the Steering Committee:

• Agreed upon three-year goals by prioritizing and selecting from a wide range of options.
• Determined staff and Steering Committee responsibilities for critical actions.
• Built important personal connections between diverse members of the team.
• Developed plans and agreed upon accountability for important and immediate actions.

KIPP Philadelphia Schools (KPS) has delivered outstanding results since opening in North Philadelphia in 2003. The organization is building on that success, increasing the benefits it delivers to the students and community of Philadelphia: it is engaged in a ten-school growth plan, and currently four of the ten projected schools are in operation. The expansion plan is designed to provide increased and better access to KIPP—the Knowledge Is Power Program, a nationally-recognized network of high-performing, college preparatory charter schools—by opening schools in high-need areas across the city and providing K-12 curricula and programs.

In addition to managing the creation of their strategic plan for growth, Strategy Arts consultants have included in their multifaceted relationship with KPS:

• Vision development to help stakeholders define their vision of success for KPS
• Project management for an application to expand enrollment
• Horizontal and vertical alignment of English language arts and mathematics curricula
• Collaborative creation of an eight-session Emerging Leaders course

Reading Terminal Market’s Board and the Reading Terminal Merchant Association’s Board needed to develop a collaboration plan that their stakeholders could stand behind. Strategy Arts supported their efforts by working with individual stakeholders to clarify their key issues and to develop and the full range of ideas for collaboration.  The joint one-day planning retreat needed to be a meeting that all stakeholders could engage in, and that would acknowledge past challenges,  allow for difficult conversations, and focus on building a positive future.  Strategy Arts worked with the planning team to develop the agenda and then facilitated this challenging but rewarding session.  The meeting resulted in actionable agreements that would guide action for the next two years.