February 2, 2024 —There is a saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will do.” As Dick Baznik, Chair for The Kendal Corporation’s Strategic Planning Taskforce, sees it, “we live in a world where there are limited resources, and it’s not wise to go through the life of an organization just taking any path.”
Dick is also a Kendal Board Member and resident at Kendal at Oberlin. He stresses, “It’s important to know where you would like to go, how you’d like to get there, and what is important to you.” It’s been a while since The Kendal Corporation has had a formal strategic plan, as, like many organizations, limited time is often focused on day-to-day needs. However, strategic planning is crucial to any organization’s success, ensuring everyone works together toward a shared vision. A well-defined plan will help Kendal navigate the complex economic environment and changing aging services landscape.
Planning for the Future
In the Fall of 2023, The Kendal Corporation set out to create a Strategic Plan in partnership with the Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF) and The Kendal Corporation Staff Leadership team, with a goal of having a plan ready in Q2 2024. The Task Force (SPTF) was created to guide the process. Its seventeen members include Kendal staff, Kendal and Affiliate Board members and Affiliate CEOs.
The strategic plan will help to define how best to fulfill The Kendal Corporation’s two primary objectives: supporting Affiliates and growing the System.
Steve Bailey, Chief Strategy Officer, is The Kendal Corporation’s staff point person on the Task Force. Steve notes, “Growth that’s occurred has been done in a way consistent with our values and, going forward, will certainly benefit from being guided by an inclusive strategic planning process.”
“The goal is for the plan to be easily understandable, clear, actionable, and concise,” he said. “The plan will address Kendal’s strategic needs for the near future and its impact on the long-term.”
Task Force’s Role and the Planning Process
The planning process has been underway since late summer, first with the selection of a consultant.The Task Force is working with strategic planning consultant Olivia Mastry from Collective Action Lab to create an organizational landscape, SCOT assessment, and constituent analysis to generate the first draft of a strategic framework. The final plan to be delivered in the spring will be a Strategic Initiative Charter that the Kendal team can reference and use to guide operational planning and hold the organization accountable to goals.
Working with Olivia, and now with Kendal’s new CEO, Vassar Byrd on board, the process got into gear, beginning with an inclusive information-gathering process. “We’re really listening to all stakeholders,” notes Steve.
Progress So Far
The current stage of planning draws on the comments from all the interviews and survey results gathered in the discovery process, including input from Kendal Affiliate leaders, board members, external partners and Kendal employees. The Task Force is analyzing this information, and findings so far have shaped productive conversations.
As part of the strategic planning effort, participants in the January Kendal System Leadership Forum, which includes Board Chairs and CEO representation from each Affiliate, participated in a provocative exercise along with Kendal’s leadership team called a “polarity session.” This discussion, facilitated by Olivia Mastry, delved deep into ideas and beliefs regarding Kendal’s two primary mandates to support Kendal Affiliates and to grow the System. The exercise effectively identified and addressed issues, and the group was pleased to see much alignment around priorities.
Spring 2024 Goal
Work continues at a good pace as the Strategic Planning Task Force analyzes and discusses its findings and drafts the plan. They hope to formulate a draft strategy in early 2024 for review and reflection across the Kendal System.
The Kendal Corporation appreciates the participation of those leading the process and contributing through surveys and interviews. More information an opportunities for participation will be coming soon!
Kendal Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF)
- Steve Bailey, Chief Strategy Officer, The Kendal Corporation
- Dick Baznik (chair), Board Member, The Kendal Corporation; resident, Kendal at Oberlin
- Bill Benson, Board Member, The Kendal Corporation
- Jan Bigelow, Executive Director and Chief Executive Office, Kendal at Lexington
- Howard Braxton, Senior Vice President for Marketing, Sales and Communications, The Kendal Corporation
- Anna Marie Butrie, Board Member, The Kendal Corporation
- Vassar Byrd Chief Executive Officer, The Kendal Corporation
- Lynne Giacobbe, Chief Executive Officer, Kendal at Home
- Ann Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer, Collington
- Amy Harrison, Chief Financial Officer, The Kendal Corporation
- Annetha Hall (ex officio), Board Chair, The Kendal Corporation
- Julie Houpt, Board Member, The Kendal Corporation
- Dave Larkin, General Counsel, The Kendal Corporation
- Rob Lippincott, Board Chair, Enso Village; Former Board Member, The Kendal Corporation
- Laurie Mante, Executive Director, Kendal at Ithaca
- Stan Pelli, Board Member, The Kendal Corporation
- Beth Vettori, Chief Executive Officer, Kendal at Hanover
Also working with the Task Force are two Kendal staff persons: Frank Mandy, Vice President of Development, and Pam Moriarty, Executive Assistant, Affiliate Services.
