You’ve Tried Strategy Before.
It Went Nowhere.
YOUR TEAM NODDED ALONG. NOTHING CAME OF IT.
WAS IT YOUR STRATEGY, YOUR EXECUTION, OR YOUR PEOPLE?
You sat through days of strategic planning — maybe you hired a consultant, maybe you ran it yourself — and walked away with a deck full of insights and a roadmap nobody followed.
That result isn’t inevitable.
Most strategy efforts fail because they skip the hard part: getting capable executives aligned on what's actually true about your business, what you're really choosing, and who's genuinely accountable for making it happen.
I facilitate strategy sessions that force those conversations. No theater. Just your executive team, in a room, working through the decisions you've been circling for months. Leaving ready to move.
The SME-Smart Approach: Strategy that Fits
Most strategy approaches are designed for Fortune 500 companies, then awkwardly scaled down for SMEs. I do the opposite—design specifically for how SMEs actually work.
Sharp, Focused Questions
Not "let's define our strategy," but "here are the 3-5 critical questions we need answers to." Every minute of strategy work attacks a specific decision you're facing.
Surgical Use of Data
Heavy reliance on existing knowledge, surgical additions only where they matter. For each question: what do we really need to know?
Executive Alignment First
Your team in the same room, having the right conversation. SME success depends on executive alignment more than perfect analysis. Get your team synchronized, then move.
Built for Speed
Design for learning while executing, not for certainty before acting. Two-day sessions produce sharper results than 12-week engagements because we optimize for speed, not false precision.
Why Facilitation?
You have three options for strategy development. Each serves different needs.
The telling difference:
Do you want strategy done for you or with you?
DIY Strategy
Your team locks themselves in a room and tries to figure it out. Works when you need quick directional decisions on familiar territory.
Doesn't work when: Group dynamics derail conversation, biases go unchallenged, debate circles without resolution, or you need someone to call out hard truths.
Strategic Facilitation
An expert guides your team through intensive, structured conversations to extract the insights already within your organization, supplemented by targeted analysis only where needed.
Works when: You have capable executives who know your business cold, but can't access that knowledge effectively through normal dynamics. You need someone to orchestrate the conversation, challenge assumptions, prevent groupthink, and push through to real decisions.
Traditional Consulting
Hire consultants to analyze your business and recommend a strategy. Works when you lack strategic experience entirely or need extensive market analysis.
Doesn't work when: Your team will resist external recommendations, you know the answers lie within your organization, or you need widespread buy-in for execution.
A Case Study: When Owners and Operators Can’t Align
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Family-owned hospitality company. Three sibling owners, only one active in the business. Strong executive team running operations. Everyone capable. Nobody aligned.
The executives were hesitant to make bold moves without knowing what the owners actually wanted. The owners—two of them not immersed in daily operations—couldn't articulate strategic positions they felt confident about. Strategy conversations circled. Nothing landed.
Their 2019 strategic plan had devolved into a tactical to-do list. COVID disrupted what little momentum existed.
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After covering strategy fundamentals in the morning session, I moved everyone to a room arranged like a talk show set. The three owners sat as "guests." The executive team was the "audience." I was the host.
This format gave executives permission to ask questions they'd never pose in a boardroom: What's your actual risk tolerance? Do you want to own assets or just manage them? If two of you don't work here, why should we care what you think?
It gave owners permission to be vulnerable about what they didn't know—and to articulate what they cared about most.
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When we got to defining strategic initiatives, I asked: "Who wants to own this?"
Uncomfortable silence.
Then one executive volunteered. Not because it was in her job description. Because she believed in it and saw how it connected to her own growth. Others stepped forward, claiming initiatives outside their functional roles.
That's when you know it worked. When people fight for accountability instead of avoiding it.
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Revenue aspiration: $250M (from current baseline)
Five strategic pillars with clear sequencing: foundation first, then growth
Target customer definition that actually differentiated them
The owners and executive team now speak the same language. They're not wondering what eachother thinks anymore. They're executing against a strategy they built together.
How it Works
I can promise you there aren’t generic, “industry-standard” frameworks with me.
Every business is unique and I fully tailor my approach to your needs. The core process often looks like this:
1
Interviews
I meet your team. Together, we bring more definition to the problem we’re aiming to solve. And, I start to see where the sticky parts might be.
2
Preparation
Together, we craft the details of the facilitated session. I bring you ideas and you give me feedback. May also include coaching your team to create the needed factbase.
3
Facilitation
I guide you and your team to solve your problem, drawing out contributions from all, shining light in the corners we’ve been avoiding, fostering fruitful debate, adjusting as needed to get to results.
4
Synthesis
I pull it all together, so you know exactly what you’ve decided and why. We’ll work together to create a clear written document in your preferred format for your chosen audience.
5
Ongoing Support
I’ll stay involved as much as you want as you transition from deciding to executing. From additional workshop-style sessions to individual thought-partnership, I’ve got your back.
Strategy facilitation for SMEs typically ranges from $30K-$80K depending on complexity, team size, and scope. Far less than traditional consulting, far more effective than pure DIY.