Message from the President Chris W. Brussalis, President & CEO

Tough economic times force organizations to critically evaluate performance and take an honest, introspective look at where they have been and what they want to become.  In this edition of Innovation and Insight, we examine how you can position your business to thrive through uncertain economic periods and beyond.  While the recession continues to have worldwide impact in 2010, organizations can begin the critical first steps to build the practices and strategies that will help them navigate current economic challenges and to ensure long term success by preparing now for future periods of growth. 

During times like these, revenue is often at record lows for businesses and other organizations, especially nonprofits.  This is a prime time to reevaluate priorities and to shift some valuable resources toward a few inward activities aimed at analyzing current operations and identifying future opportunities.  In his article, Hill Group consultant Jordan Pallitto discusses how nonprofits can evaluate their capacity and streamline their operations to ensure that their organizations are still standing on the other side of a tough economic period.   Agencies that likely weather this storm will have several characteristics in common.  Jordan prescribes six steps organizations can take now to maximize their capacity and provides methods for publicizing their success—a “must do” for any organization wishing to boost its bottom line.

This economy has forced many businesses to tighten budgets, and often marketing departments are the first to face the chopping block.   When your competition is making big cuts to their marketing initiatives, now may be the easiest time for your organization to differentiate itself from the pack.  Hill Group analyst Molly Kwiatkowski takes a look at the marketing lessons learned from 2009 and the timeless strategies for 2010 and beyond that focus on long-term endurance rather than short-term survival. 

In this edition, we also highlight one of our clients and a unique project that has received some positive media attention in the past few weeks.  The Community College of Allegheny County partnered with The Hill Group to assess the region’s human capital needs and trends by completing a joint qualitative/quantitative study of Pittsburgh’s emerging industries.  It is an excellent example of how a region, led by one of the country’s largest community college systems, is being proactive through education and workforce development in positioning southwestern Pennsylvania to thrive economically in the immediate and long-term future.

Each of the strategies presented in this edition of our newsletter can be integrated into an organization-wide strategic planning process.  As I wrote last year for the Pennsylvania CPA Journal, “a strategy of using external market intelligence concomitant with an internal assessment of capacity will significantly strengthen any organization’s ability to navigate an economic downturn.”  Instituting a dynamic planning process at this critical time will not only ensure that your people, capacity, and marketing are aligned for future survival and success, but that all aspects of your enterprise are working toward achieving strategic goals. 

As always, we welcome your feedback and questions.  Please feel free to contact me at cbrussalis@hillgroupinc.com or 412.722.1111 or any of The Hill Group team.

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