Balanced Growth led an interactive educational session on strategic planning at the fall “Meet and Eat” membership event of the American Fraternal Alliance (AFA). Held on November 5^th, the event was hosted by the Catholic Order of Foresters in Naperville, Illinois. In attendance were over 50 leaders (staff and volunteer leadership) from 12 different fraternal member organizations and several partner organizations. John Forbes, Principal at Balanced Growth, facilitated the session placing an emphasis on:

• How to avoid chasing the next shiny object so that the organization’s strategic plan would have a better chance of success.
• How to prioritize objectives and supporting initiatives so that they have good alignment with the mission, vision and values of the organization, are resourced effectively, and are sequenced so as not to interfere with the day-to-day running of the enterprise.
• How to execute using strategy maps, scorecards, dashboards and regular reviews to ensure the organization, at all levels (staff and volunteer leadership), is highly disciplined on achieving the desired state results.

Forbes summarized the session as follows: “The audience was highly participative and through their sharing of ideas this session seemed to benefit everyone in attendance. I also benefited from their interactions.”

The AFA, a national trade association, unites 59 not-for-profit fraternal benefit societies, and represents nearly 8 million individuals nationwide. Balanced Growth is an associate member of the AFA and is proud to be working with the following five leading fraternal organizations. Regional Meet & Eats are half day events for the purpose of networking and addressing challenges through roundtable discussions with peers. Fraternal executives from all departments can stay connected throughout the year by attending reasonably-priced Meet & Eats. 

Balanced Growth Consulting specializes in strategic and operational innovation. We create enduring value for our clients by enhancing customer experiences, achieving operational efficiency, and generating new sources of revenue. In collaboration with client leaders and teams, we design, implement, and accelerate high-impact operational, technology, and innovation initiatives.