Balancing Risk and Opportunity

Our year is off to quite a productive start with several of our strategic projects underway. This quarter, clients are working with us in the assessment phase of their engagements. This means that we are focusing on either strategic plans, market analysis, CDFI readiness assessments, or program evaluations. We start each of these projects by working with the client to develop a set of guiding questions. We have seen the following as common questions our CDFI clients are trying to tackle:

-How do we manage growth without putting a strain on our organization?
-Are our products and services responsive to the needs of our clients?
-What is the feasibility of receiving funds from various CDFI programs?

At the core of these questions is a common theme: “How do we balance opportunity with risk?”

Clients have indicated to us that our approach is a welcome change from past analysis and planning projects. While many associate marketing and strategy development with brainstorming sessions that often lead to nothing more than a “wish list”, FUND’s approach is based on data and assessment, resulting in practical management tools.

How do you approach strategic assessment? How does your organization identify both risk and opportunity?