Planning Process Hits Stalemate
The surge in commercial building in Idaho put PETRA, Inc., a Boise-based commercial construction company, on the bullet train to growth. Aware of the need for long-range planning, especially to maintain equilibrium in this boom time, PETRA president, Jerry Frank, and his management team worked on crafting their mission, values and strategic objectives for more than two years but never achieved a final plan that was visionary, compelling and focused.
"I invited Ron Price [president and CEO of Price Associates] to sit in on one of our sessions and give a bit of feedback," Jerry Frank explains. As Ron shared his observations with the team, it was clear his intuitive perspective was already helping relieve bottlenecks. PETRA invited Price Associates to guide them through creating a strategic plan.
Clarity Creates Consensus
The team agreed to approach strategic planning in four, day-long sessions over a 12-month period. The first session went to the heart of the matter though exercises aimed at reaffirming or discovering the unique value PETRA brings to their customers and industry. They worked toward identifying company values and mission.
By the second session, the team developed a mission and values that all stakeholders could stand behind. "We had been unable to come to agreement on mission and values after two years. Ron helped us get to the core of who we are and where we want to be. The process changed our thinking and our communication," says Jerry.
The third and fourth session focused on understanding the issues, market and internal, facing PETRA via research, analysis and discussion. This understanding enabled them to step away from the urgency of current projects to think futuristically, identifying key results and creating strategic initiatives to realize those results.
Long-range Plan Maintains Integrity
As a project-centered business, PETRA found it challenging to look beyond projects currently in construction. Ron observes, "This strategic plan creates a counterbalance to the immediacy of all the projects PETRA is working on from day to day to make sure they become who they want to be in the future."
One of the most valuable results of the strategic planning process has been to create a clear vision of where PETRA wants to be which has empowered the leadership team to evaluate projects and commitments on the basis of how they will serve the company purpose and objectives.
This focus is producing dynamic results as PETRA is able to center their energies and
resources on the projects and customers that are in alignment with who they are
and what they want to become.
Clarity, equilibrium, momentum and vision promise a
tremendous future for PETRA.