Strategic Planning Workshop

1. Strategic Planning Workshop • Presented by: Jason P Aubee

2. Agenda • Introductions • Keep it open and interactive • Overview of Carousel Industries • Define Strategic Planning • The Process • The Output • Delivery and Sponsorship • Questions and Answers

3. Why We Make a Strong Partner • A Well Managed, Stable Company • Privately-held with 20 years of growth and profitability • Highly regarded reputation as voice, data and video integrator • Customers include 35 of the Fortune 100 but range in size from 250 employees to 2.5 million employees and more

4. Our solutions align with our customers’ evolving needs Applications … • IP Telephony • Contact Center • Unified Communications • Collaboration • Security Support … • Professional Services • Managed Services • Hosted Applications • Virtualization • Disaster Recovery Physical Infrastructure … • Network Infrastructure • Data Center • Structured Cabling • Carrier Services Our broad portfolio gives us the flexibility to design, integrate and support solutions that give you a competitive edge.

5. 200+ Engineers Maintain Highest Levels of Certification

6. Strategic Planning? • The process by which leaders of an organization determine what it intends to be in the future and how it will get there. • To put it another way, it is the development of a vision for the organization's future and determines the necessary priorities, procedures, and operations (strategies) to achieve that vision. • Included are measurable goals which are realistic and attainable, but also challenging; emphasis is on long-term goals and strategies, rather than short- term (such as annual) objectives. • Strategic planning assumes that certain aspects of the future can be created or influenced by the organization. • Strategic planning involves "charting a course that you believe is wise, then adjusting that course as you gain more information and experience”

7. The Process – Phase I • Agree on a strategic planning process. • Carry out an environmental scan. • Identify key issues, questions, and choices to be addressed as part of the strategic planning effort.

8. The Process – Phase II • Define or review the organization's values, community vision, and mission. Be sure there is consensus on why the organization exists, what goals or outcomes it seeks to achieve, what it stands for, and whom it serves. If it has specific mandates –things it must do or not do based on its articles of incorporation or bylaws, or long-term contracts or grants – then these should be clearly defined. Consider beginning your strategic planning by agreeing on the following: • Organizational core values or operating principles • Community Vision • Mission • Develop a shared vision for the organization • Develop a series of goals or organizational status statements which describe the organization in a specified number of years – assuming it is successful in addressing its mission. It is usually a short step from the vision to goals – sometimes the statements describing the vision are essentially goal statements. It is extremely valuable to transform the vision into a series of key goals for the organization, preferably in the form of status statements describing the organization. For example, goals might cover a variety of categories, stated as follows: • Relationships • Institutional Development • Governance • Agree upon key strategies to reach the goals and address key issues identified through the environmental scan. • Value – Will the strategy contribute to meeting agreed-upon goals? • Appropriateness – Is the strategy consistent with the organization's mission, values, and operating principles? • Feasibility – Is the strategy practical, given personnel and financial resources and capacity? • Acceptability – Is the strategy acceptable to the Board, key staff, and other stakeholders? • Cost-benefit – Is the strategy likely to lead to sufficient benefits to justify the costs in time and other resources? • Timing – Can and should the organization implement this strategy at this time, given external factors and competing demands?

9. The Process – Phase III • Develop an action plan that addresses goals and specifies objectives and work plans on an annual basis • Finalize a written strategic plan that summarizes the results and decisions of the strategic planning process • Build in procedures for monitoring, and for modifying strategies based on changes in the external environment or the organization

10. The Process

11. The Process

12. The Process

13. Understanding External Influences • The world around you does not stand still..

14. The Output

15. Sample Timeline Output

16. Near Term vs Long Term Elements Near Term Long Term Is in support of business goals Can be solved for in multiple ways Delivery need is known Exact elements are recommended but not mandated Costs are order of magnitude and substantiated • Solves an immediate need • Is an exact solution • Is rooted in flexibility to allow for shifting future demand • Or is minimal investment with quick ROI • Costs are known and justifiable

17. Delivery and Sponsorship • Keep it Simple • Five Slides or less • Break it down to bullets • Link business need to deliverable • Tie investment to corporate stated return • Highlight the enabling technologies • Bypass the “Infrastrucutre” discussion • Provide the ‘Full’ plan as a leave behind • Ask for a review cycle with sponsors at least by-annually

18. Q&A