I have been asked about strategy review meetings on a more frequent basis. The most recent one was "Tell me about the best strategy review meeting you have seen. Why was it so good?" It got me thinking that there are multiple ways to conduct a strategy review meeting: Review objectives that are off track, review everything, review by theme, and review just one objective. In this blog, I'll focus on reviewing everything.

With the news last week that U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden, a lot of the subsequent discussion has concerned whether Al Qaeda (undisputedly, a mission-driven organization) will continue to be an international terrorism force without its charismatic champion.

It occurred to me that the questions being asked to determine whether the terror organization has staying power in the wake of bin Laden's death are similar to those we ask when a mission-driven organization experiences a leadership change that may threaten the continued execution of its strategy management system.

What is a mission statement? What makes a mission statement effective? How do you become mission-driven? These were just a few of the questions that the microfinance institution in Moldova found themselves asking as they began the Balanced Scorecard process.

City Newspaper in Rochester, New York, recently published an article about their soon-to-be-ex superintendent, Jean-Claude Brizard. As a native of Rochester, and someone who has had the privilege of working with Jean-Claude in the Rochester City School District, I wanted to highlight this article. I think it does an excellent job of laying out some of the challenges facing urban districts -- and urban superintendents -- today.

This was a story of hope and real impact, but now it's nothing but a tornado of accusations, doubt, controversy, and anger.

Greg Mortenson spoke at Virginia Tech two years ago and I was lucky enough to get a 2nd row seat. He delivered a genuinely touching speech describing how the US military presence in Afghanistan (and Pakistan) set such negative impressions in the region, and how his organization delivered on an opportunity to rewrite those impressions.

Dave Eggers had an op-ed in the New York Times this weekend entitled The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries. In it, he argues effectively for paying teachers more. And in theory, I agree. Why wouldn't we pay teachers more for doing a job that is critical to the future of our country? Aren't our children worth it?

After living in Moldova for nearly a year and developing a new strategy for a microfinance institution, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the process of organizational change in implementing the strategy. It may look slightly different in a former communist country, but the key elements span the cultural divide.

In March 2011, Ascendant completed our first ever strategy management survey, the purpose of which was to learn about the management practices of mission-driven organizations. We asked respondents questions such as how well they thought their organizations were performing, what tools they are using to help manage their performance, and what their greatest challenges are.

We solicited survey respondents via press releases, web postings, and emails to our clients and 2011 Mission-Driven Performance Summit attendees. We received 85 responses from a broad mix of sectors including education, government, non-profits, and commercial industry. Most respondents were American based and have been in existence for over 20 years.

I have been asked about strategy review meetings on a more frequent basis. The most recent one was "Tell me about the best strategy review meeting you have seen. Why was it so good?" It got me thinking that there are multiple ways to conduct a strategy review meeting: Review objectives that are off track, review everything, review by theme, and review just one objective. In this blog, I'll focus on reviewing items that are off track.

A few weeks ago, we hosted "Managing for Performance," which focused on how performance management can help districts optimize the performance of their central office, school zones, and classrooms. Hosted in partnership with the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the District of Columbia Public Schools, the event convened districts from around the country on the critical topic of performance management.