Strategy & Performance Management
Strategic Planning | International Teams Strategic Planning | Balanced Scorecard & Performance Management | Financial Forecasting & Scenario Planning | Other Specialty Areas
Strategic Planning
Align your organization with a practical, energizing path forward.
Many organizations are full of great ideas—but the real challenge is choosing what matters most in a fast-changing environment, with limited time and unique resources. We help nonprofits develop clear, collaborative strategic plans tailored to their context and goals. After decades of experience working with over 100 organizations, Chisel has honed a thorough, enjoyable, and effective process focused on deep consultation and the participation of a diverse strategy planning team in the formation of an energizing but practical strategic plan.
The result is a focused, actionable roadmap that builds alignment, drives accountability and results, and gives your team the confidence to move forward with purpose.
Outcomes:
- A clear, focused 3-5 year strategic plan
- Stronger alignment across the board, staff, and stakeholders
- Realistic priorities, success measures, and actions connected to an operating plan
The Chisel Strategy Development Process
Each stage of the Chisel process is supported by templates and exercises that are designed
to pull the best from your team and result in a high-quality plan.
Consult
It is essential to consult comprehensively and deeply among key stakeholders - staff, board, volunteers, community partners, clients, and members.
Analyze
Together, we'll review the internal and external factors that are aiding or hampering your organization's ability to accomplish its mandate. We take a close look at your natural capacities and evaluate how they can be tuned to address the challenges of the people you serve.
Dream
Using design thinking principles, we can dream about the next possibilities and value-enhancing contributions of your organization that will delight the people you serve, including partners and staff. This is usually done in a multi-day retreat setting with a planning team and can be accommodated to our online realities.
Plan
The final element is to put it all into a comprehensive plan that the staff, volunteers, leadership, and the board understand and to which they will make themselves accountable.
International Teams Strategic Planning
Support global teams with context-specific, collaborative strategy.
International leadership and program teams are situated in rapidly changing environments with complex needs and funding restraints - they too need the opportunity to pull back, assess the needs and challenges of the regions and communities they serve, the assets and skills available, the individuals and families they exist to serve, their unalterable values, and the most promising opportunities ahead. Through our innovative virtual planning cycles, we can bring together leaders from around the world and facilitate the development of a clear and motivating strategic plan for international leadership and program teams.
Outcomes:
- A unified strategy reflecting diverse contexts
- Engaged, aligned cross-cultural leadership
- Practical plans that respond to local needs and a longer-term vision
Balanced Scorecard and Performance Management
Gain a clear view of what matters—and what needs attention.
Boards and leadership teams need more than anecdotal updates — they need a clear line of sight into how the organization is truly doing. A well-crafted Balanced Scorecard provides a focused, real-time dashboard that helps leaders monitor performance, flag emerging risks, and prioritize what needs attention. It goes beyond activity tracking to illuminate critical dimensions of organizational health. When developed collaboratively and rolled out with care, the Balanced Scorecard becomes a shared language across the organization. It helps staff see how their contributions matter and gives boards the confidence that the organization is staying on course, responsive to change, and alert to what could jeopardize its mission.
Outcomes:
- A real-time, evergreen performance dashboard aligned with your mission
- Greater board confidence and informed oversight
- Early identification of what’s working and what’s not
Financial Forecasting and Scenario Planning
Make strategic decisions grounded in financial reality.
Major strategic decisions — like launching a new program, building a facility, or shifting a service model — are often made based on intuition or experience, and sometimes that intuition is bang on! However, without a full understanding of the financial implications, the decision can feel like an uncertain leap and lack the clarity and confidence that propels a team forward. We help organizations move from gut decisions to grounded ones. Our financial models provide clarity to complex choices by mapping out the real costs, long-term sustainability, and potential trade-offs associated with each path forward. Whether you're exploring a new initiative, adjusting pricing, or considering growth, we help you understand the impact on those you serve and your bottom line. If you're weighing a major decision, let us help you see what it really means — before you commit.
Outcomes:
- Custom financial models for key decisions
- Clear understanding of costs, value, and risks
- Confidence in the financial sustainability of changes
Other Specialty Areas (Strategic Learning)
Are you dealing with a sticky team challenge?
Need to bring clarity to a problem that creates a distracting and unproductive environment?
Want to encourage a team to think differently about a product, a service or the industry because you want them to experience a breakthrough?
Design thinking can help with this.
Chisel can help you think about what is, what might be, what will wow, and what will ultimately work. Finding solutions that put your clients at the centre of the process will produce breakthrough moments for your team. The benefits are indisputable — an energized and engaged team, the possibility of a new approach, product or service while honouring your organization’s mandate and purpose.