COMPASS: The New Way to Plan and Achieve Success
For Communities and Large Organizations

Virtually all communities and businesses in America today are experiencing major changes. These changes are mostly market-driven - caused by global competition, advances in technology, economic linkages and other forces beyond local control. Some changes are positive, but some are negative. To be sure your future is positive, you need a strong action program that helps your community or business resist the negatives, and work together to achieve what your people want.

• COMPASS™ is as realistic as humanly possible.

• It taps into the greatest resource - human energy - by enabling people to work on issues they care about.

• It does not "appoint committees" of sacrificial people who take on community or company burdens.

• It encourages real-time adaptation to changing circumstances, not lock-in to outdated ideas.

• It involves far more people in the work of guiding the community or business, taking significant burdens off of elected officials and executive staff.

• It encourages shared learning so the community/organization as a whole gets smarter and makes better decisions.

COMPASS™ is not linear, with a beginning and an end. It is cyclical, like continuous improvement in business. Its 5 basic stages are:

• Identify critical issues

• Organize action teams

• Develop action strategies

• Implement strategies

• Observe results and market conditions

• 5 phases in a continuous cycle of improvement

• Internal lines indicate connections can occur between any phases as needed

• A team may be processing one issue in one phase and another issue in another phase at the same time

• IDENTIFY and recruit a Leadership Team (steering committee) of diverse leaders

• Explain the system to them and get their input, adapting to their preferences

• Help them recruit people they know

• Have a big meeting open to the public

• Let people discuss what they’d like to see in the future for the community (organization)

• Then identify the critical issues which must be managed to accomplish that vision

• Form Action Teams of people interested in each critical issue

• If interest is low in a specific issue, take it off the list or combine two-three

• Create a website and email set-up to facilitate on-going communications

• Train Action Teams in teamwork and other expectations

• Action Teams begin to meet and develop action strategies

• Facilitator reviews and responds

• After 2-3 rounds, teams finalize plans - but swing immediately into action

• Plans are consolidated with other information

• Facilitator prepares a draft report

• Leaders review the draft

• Draft is finalized

• Final report is presented to public by local leaders

• Teams continue learning and acting

• Board or Council takes action as needed for funding or other implementation

• All participants OBSERVE results as well as the market environment

• Teams adjust actions and strategies accordingly

• By empowering multiple teams, you will have a lot going on simultaneously

• All of this is in addition to what your Board/Council and staff are doing - which can be a big advantage

• The key to successful coordination is a high level of communication, including:

• Having a scribe on each team who produces and shares concise notes within 2 days of each meeting

• Posting all notes on a community web portal, which we will set up for you as part of this project

• If possible having a Board/Council or staff member serve on teach team as liaison - not to control team meetings

• All Team Leaders meet once a quarter with the overall Leadership Team

• Many urban-area communities have critical issues in common

• Smaller towns may not have enough people "talent" to adequately staff all teams

• Teams can be formed with representatives from several communities with similar issues

• A Leadership Council could also be formed representing all the Leadership Teams

• Some issues will be best handled on a community basis

• Others will logically be multi-community or "regional" in nature