MARCELENE ANDERSON
RAVEN STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS
226-503-8583
TORONTO, ON Canada
Community Vision & Goal Setting
1-Year Plans, Budgets & Strategies
2-3 Year Departmental Plans
3-5 Year Organizational Strategic Plans
specifically designed for …
INDIGEONOUS PEOPLES
SPECIALISTS serving INDIGENOUS Councils and Administration
Build Forward with Confidence
Let us help you build a Foundation for Future Success
Talent – Empower talent to be productive anywhere
Transformation – Reimagine legacy processes into transformed services
Trust – Increase secure, safe and private means of collaboration
PROVIDING SOLUTIONS to EXCESSIVE COSTS & OTHER CHALLENGES
- COSTLY and CHALLENGING SYSTEMS & PROCESSES AFFECT ORGANIZATION EFFICIENCY
Examine the effectiveness of existing organizational systems and processes.
Take advantage of proven systems, tools & training that provide knowledge, skills and resources for leaders, managers and employees enabling them to increase performance and achieve breakthrough results. - COUNCILOR UNFAMILIARITY WITH GOVERNANCE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES CREATES FRUSTRATION
Learn ways to introduce new and/or improve existing education, resources & training programs to help councilors, leaders and employees develop the capacity to identify and resolve existing and potential issues.
CLIENTS - a Partial Listing
CLIENTS include entrepreneurs, SME (small & medium-size enterprises), divisions of Fortune 500 companies, Non-governmental not-for-profit organizations (NGO), and institutions of all types. Here are just a few …
Air Creebec Inc.
Kahnawake Economic Development Commission
Click here for testimonial
Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation
Waswanipi First Nation
Cree Nation of Nemaska
Click here for testimonial
Ericsson Communications Canada
Sun Media Corp.
Toyota Canada Inc.
Merck Frosst Canada
Canadian National Railway
Sara Lee Household & Body Care Canada
Alsteel Canada
The RAVEN STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS ADVANTAGE
WHAT MAKES OUR PLANNING DIFFERENT?
Just as there is a significant difference between vehicles, e.g. Mercedes Benz and Chevrolet, not all planning processes are the same. Simply because others may use the word “planning” doesn’t make them equal in the results they produce.
WE USE a 5-LEVEL INTEGRATED PLANNING PROCESS (click “+” symbol to expand item)
Create strategic framework for community e.g. mission, vision, values and priorities
- Set a 3-5 year direction for the organization
- Essential for being proactive and making progress
- Without a longer term focus, the organization operates reactively and progress stagnates
- Without clarity of focus, departments operate in silos and employees are more likely to be disengaged, working primarily for only the “paycheck”.
- Develop specific 2-3 year departmental plans aligned with the organizational plan
- Creates clarity of purpose for the department, its goals and outcomes
- Fosters longer term thinking about the department versus status quo thinking
- Aligns employees with the mission, vision, goals of the department and the organization
- Helps employees set objectives for the key areas of their job description for the coming year
- Develops work plans to achieve assigned departmental priorities and job related objectives
- Establishes annual priorities to realize the organizational plan & Strategic Budget and departmental 1 year plan
- Confirms annual targets and planned outcomes
- Strategic budget to realize organizational and departmental priorities
- Shared purpose from top to bottom
- Future focused versus status quo
- Clarity of direction at all levels
- Results/outcomes based planning versus activity based
- Alignment across and at all levels
HOW OUR PLANNING BENEFITS YOU (click “+” symbol to expand item)
Often reactive short-term piecemeal approaches are put in place to address crises and issues.
Although they may bring about some relief, they are insufficient to bring about transformation.
Piecemeal approaches are fragmented, leaving gaps in terms of what needs to be done.
A proactive approach helps to focus on the desired future and what is needed to realize them.
You get what you focus on – problems, or solutions.
Your community or organization is a system and for it to function effectively all components must work together.
Planning for only one or two areas of your community or organization breaks down because they are interdependent with other areas.
It is essential to create a plan for your whole community or organization.
Make sure you are headed in the same direction and have a shared roadmap.
Organizational plans and initiatives often falter because they are not operationalized.
To be achieved the organizational plan must be cascaded down to departments and employees to carry out day to day.
Just as a stream must flow to nourish those downstream, goals and strategies must flow to every function and employee in the organization to work together to create the desired future.
Many planning processes start with today’s current situation.
This is like looking in the rear view mirror hoping to get safely to your destination.
We believe plans must be Future Focused, engaging the community and leaders to anticipate what is likely to change in the future environment so that they can develop a vision and plan for the future.
If you start with the present situation, you are planning for the past.
“Begin with the end in mind.” Reverse-engineer how to get there.
In many planning processes, organizations identify activities that they hope will move them to
their desired future.
Unfortunately, with such processes you have no way of measuring progress towards your desired economic future.
In our planning process we assist you to establish Key Success Measures and Performance Indicators with specific targets over the time span of your plan so that you can systematically track economic development progress along the way,
allowing you to make continuous improvements as needed.
“You can’t control it, if you can’t measure it”. Measuring is the first step to taking control
In many planning processes, organizations develop a mission and vision, and then do “silo objective setting” in which each department/function sets unrelated goals.
Valuable momentum is lost when this happens.
It is more effective to create organizational strategies, which are cascaded to each department to develop plans consistent with those of the organization, yet are flexible to the mission of the department.
Just like the geese fly 73% faster, organizations achieve greater momentum when they are aligned.
Every year large numbers of plans are developed, many of which will fall victim to the “SPOTS
Syndrome” (Strategic Plan on Top Shelf).
Over 75% of plans fail because there is no system in place for implementation.
Raven offers more than simply planning.
We offer a systematic implementation process to ensure you achieve the desired results from your plan.
“The only good plan is one that is fully implemented.”
We don’t just facilitate the planning and/or implementation process – we build capacity as we
facilitate the process and then engage your leaders in facilitating the process with their
department and employees. “Teach a man to fish”

Why RAVEN STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS?
About MARCELENE ANDERSON

Do you have seemingly unobtainable DREAMS for your business or organization?
Are you facing CHALLENGES that seem difficult, if not impossible to overcome?
What if the challenges you are facing right now could be turned into OPPORTUNITIES to help you not just reach your dreams – but surpass them!
Through interaction and collaboration, I have helped many clients just like you introduce positive changes and achieve phenomenal results!
My name is Marcelene Anderson – a board member, advisor, and Certified Management Consultant (CMC*) – certified by the Canadian Association of Management Consultants.
*CMC is the highest recognized designation for management consultants
Other qualifications include a Gold Level Certificate in Strategic Management from the Haines Strategic Management Centre and a Masters in Human Systems Intervention from Concordia University, Montreal Quebec as well as a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology from University of Minnesota at Mankato.
Formerly, I was a partner with the Haines Centre for Strategic Management, a Principal and Senior Management Consultant with KPMG, specializing in Change Management and a referring partner for Results BI.
Additionally, I have developed and trademarked “The Results and Implementation Certainty System” – a valuable tool to help clients along the path to reaching their goals and objectives.
I am the author of “Determine Your Future or Someone Else Will” – seven steps to creating your future.
I have worked with leaders in business, “Not for Profit” organizations, and First Nations groups for over 30 years developing strategies that transcend typical solutions – putting them on a path to achieve results beyond what many dreamed possible.
I specialize in strategic management that integrates …
- Strategic Planning,
- Implementation of Plans,
- Improving Organization Effectiveness,
- Training & Development,
- Change Management.
Here are some examples …
- Customer service representatives of a manufacturing company were dealing with angry and frustrated customers because orders were taking too long and were often incorrect.
- A sales and marketing general manager who believed his division had excellent products and a good team but they were not achieving their annual targets set by corporate.
- An economic development organization that had updated its strategic plan but lacked an implementation system, endangering not achieving results
- A technology company whose international corporation had changed its focus and the Canadian division needed to realign with corporate strategies
- A transportation company that was experiencing ‘near misses’ and in danger of being shut down by the national transportation authority
Let’s connect and have a chat. I’d appreciate the opportunity to offer a fresh perspective on any challenges you may be facing.
STRATEGIES vs TACTICS

Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
- Strategy defines your long-term goals and how you’re planning to achieve them.
In other words, your strategy gives you the path you need toward achieving your organization’s mission. - Tactics (or initiatives) are much more concrete and are often oriented as smaller steps with a shorter time frame that can be used to measure progress along the way.
They involve best practices, specific plans, resources, etc.
FREE REPORT - How to Get Results Beyond your Wildest Dreams

I want to help you to achieve results beyond what you dream possible!
That is why I am offering you a FREE short report called “Results Beyond your Wildest Dreams”.
I’d like to give it to you as my gift – there is absolutely no cost or obligation.
This valuable report will reveal
- The magic method that will 10x your results every time,
- Questions to increase your creative power, and
- The fuel that makes all your projects go smoothly
ACT NOW – Don’t Wait Another Day!

What people say about
RAVEN STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS
“Strong implementation breaks through established barriers.”
“We’re Working Better as a Team”
“Reduced Customer Complaints and Cost of Sales”
“Raven Strategic Remains Unsurpassed”
“Over the past 25 years you have provided down to earth solutions and processes which have helped us as a nation.
Our staff and members are comfortable with you and like your friendly and respectful manner, including your sense of humour.
It is nice to know that you have a genuine interest in our community and our progress as a Nation, shown by your interest over the years.
The planning you did with our managers was instrumental in helping them to create solid plans to achieve our Nation’s vision and priorities”

Cree Nation of Nemaska
“Your team proved that the impossible is possible.
As you know there was an over abundance of skepticism about the “ realignment and restructuring project”.
However, it turned out to be extremely successful.
We are ahead of our implementation schedule by 6 months.”

Ericsson Canada
“Raven Strategic Consulting worked with us to bring our organization to a higher level of performance and results through a system wide focus that included planning, implementation support, measuring progress and reporting.
This is a system that works and Raven Strategic Consulting excels at what they do!
The investment has continued to pay dividends since year one.”

Kahnawake Economic Development Commission
“Our client, a high-end office furniture manufacturer, asked us to help reduce customer complaints, improve delivery and installation times and reduce its cost of sales.
We designed and facilitated a full customer-service training program for front-line staff, with custom product-knowledge content.
Then we trained the sales and marketing staff to deliver the program.
Customer service complaints plummeted 50 percent in the first month following the program.
Sales profitability went up 15 percent from decreased waste, improved order entry and expanded product knowledge.
The client’s customers reported increased perceptions of service and professionalism in surveys following the intervention.”
Alsteel Canada
Participants have reported successes in applying their new skills.
The workshop was catalytically interactive.
I was particularly impressed with your special skills as a master facilitator, teacher, and instructor.”

Organization Effectiveness & Learning,
Merck Frosst Canada
“Our national organization had a long history of mistrust between labour and management.
This history hampered efforts to address safety-related issues.
Raven assisted the organization in designing an intervention that lead to Canadian National Railway improvement.
“The program helped to change the traditional railway culture from one of confrontation and mistrust to one of ‘open honest communications, teamwork and feedback.’
Participants said this was one of the best courses that they had ever attended.”

Canadian National Railway

Contact Us
Marcelene Anderson • RAVEN Strategic Solutions • 226-503-8583 • Toronto, ON Canada