ACE and the integration of work

If the stars are aligned, by the time you read this our team will be on a train headed for Washington, DC. Or if you took too long, on our way home again!

The story of our latest client engagement is one that helped us see our value as consultants more clearly. That's never a bad thing.

I had a phone call about a month ago that helped solidify something we’ve known for a long time at Floricane. Our best work is at the intersection of our core practice areas – strategic planning, leadership development and organizational change.

The call since evolved into our first major, out-of-Richmond client – the American Council on Education’s leadership division.

It was clear when Nicole Woods, vice president and chief of staff at ACE, first called that she was looking for integrated consulting. ACE’s Leadership Programs team provides a broad range of leadership and professional development opportunities for college and university executives across the country. New competitors, a changing landscape in higher education, and the arrival of a new leader for the Leadership Programs’ group have set the stage for a conversation that is part strategy, part leadership, part culture.

As we wound down our call, I asked Nicole how she found Floricane.

“I Googled you,” she said. She went on to explain that when she did a Google search for firms that integrated strategic planning with organizational change, Floricane surfaced fairly quickly. A review of our website, and subsequent conversations with members of our team, did the rest.

Our new client reminded us that what sets Floricane apart from much of our competition is the integrated approach we bring. It also reminds us that strategic planning is culture change, that organizational change is strategic, and that all change requires new approaches to leadership.