Douglas Compton, Principal, Anchor Development
“Thank you, Darcy, for pushing me through the strategic planning process! I don’t know what I would be doing with my company right now if we hadn’t done it. We are now positioned very well to come through this downturn with a company that will not only survive, but also have strong growth.”
Joe Stegman, Director of Employee Development & Organizational Excellence, Plus Group
“Darcy – just a note of thanks for the best meeting yet! It was difficult, but we needed to discuss real issues and confront them in a positive, straightforward way. The group isn’t really used to that, but you managed the room beautifully and we had a breakthrough!”
Tom Schaefer, Managing Director, Wells Fargo Insurance Services
“Darcy is the best thing that ever happened to our company. We have been working together for about 8 years and she truly gave us the road map to becoming a more strategic management team. I recently attended our National Leadership conference for Wells Fargo Insurance, where they acknowledged the Cincinnati office as having the best template and processes in place for strategic planning which they are now using for National Strategic initiatives. Of course the process is great but execution is more important and Darcy has a great knack for establishing accountability and truly giving us the road map for success.”
Chad Creech, Director of Operations, Alternate Solutions HomeCare
“The Certified Strategic Planner Training Program expanded my understanding of the overall Strategic Planning Process. It allowed me to work with our Leadership team members and fine-tune our Strategic Planning effectiveness. We have become more efficient and have aligned our critical success factors (CSFs) with our Vision.”
David Bartish, Marketing Director, AMPAC
“Our experience with Partners in Change was very positive. Darcy introduced and mentored us through the Strategic Planning Process in a thorough and professional manner. Having gone through the process across all three of our divisions, we gathered both an internal assessment of our company’s strengths and weaknesses and a road map for moving forward. We have a much deeper understanding of our value proposition and the business segments that warrant our focus as well as those that do not. Most importantly, we have a process that we can continue to employ. While there was significant work required from our leadership team, the end result is a strategic plan that we all believe and understand. I highly recommend Darcy and the Partners in Change Team.”
Peter Feil, Vice President / General Manager
, Stober Drives, Inc.
“Strategic Planning is vital in moving a company forward in today’s competitive world. No one can afford to do things the way they have been done in the past. The planning process is a means of developing more professional management, structure, processes, continuous improvement, culture, investment strategies and much more!”
Lou Vilardo, President, PDI Communications
“PDI has been working with Partners in Change since 2004. Darcy Bien has been our facilitator and coach throughout this period and has helped guide us through the analysis and decision making that has helped us create a concise and powerful Strategic Plan that drives our business. Our double-digit growth these past 5 years is a direct result of our Strategic Plan and Darcy’s guidance, discipline and coaching have been an essential ingredient to making it a success. “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” A Strategic Plan and Partners in Change will help you define your goals and give you the tools to reach them.”
Tony Johnson, Vice President, Huntington National Bank
Boone County Education Foundation Board
Former Board Member, Family Nurturing Center
“Kathy has helped the Family Nurturing Center and the Boone County Education Foundation successfully map out a strategic plan. Kathy has been working with the Family Nurturing Center for several years now, and I have been through three of her planning sessions. Since the time she has been involved with the agency it has almost tripled in size and expanded into several new strategic markets. We just finished the process at the Boone County Education Foundation and I am confident that we will experience similar results now that we have mapped out where we want to go. Kathy does a great job getting everyone involved, sharing her personal experience and keeping everyone focused and on task. I look forward to my next opportunity to work with Kathy where I will be able share with her the progress that we have made on the plans that we now have in place.”
John Mitchell, Executive Director, Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired
“Kathy’s guidance and expert facilitation to assist CABVI with the development of a three-year strategic plan was tremendous and a great success. Her direct, no-nonsense style helped us to develop a thorough plan that is providing our agency with a clear path to take us to our shared vision. Our Board and staff take pride and ownership in the plan, which could not have been achieved without the objectivity that she brought to the process.”
Susan Wilkinson, Ed.D., Former Associate Director, Hoxworth Blood Center
“Strategic Planning helped us focus on the critical areas for our organization and become more customer focused. The program had a huge ROI. In our first such effort, we reached our fundraising goal, and, at the same time, saved more than $500,000 through process improvements.”
John Jagodzinski, Sr. VP and Managing Director, Wells Fargo Insurance Services
“Going into the Certified Strategic Planner Training Program, I was skeptical of how this would work for my company. The interaction among and between the participants and instructor were amazing! Not only did I get to test my ideas on others, but I was able to actually draft most of my company’s plan during the working sessions. What an amazing experience, I can’t wait to implement our plan and see the impact and success it achieves for the company.”