TonyTerusa_StrategicPlanExecutiveSummary-11.pdf

Strategic Plan Executive Summary  Tenfold Harvest Inc.  

 

Tony Terusa 

10-3-2018 

LDRS 341 Strategic Planning and Forecasting 

 

 

 

 

 

PURPOSE  

The purpose of this summary is to clearly communicate the intended strategies 

that have been identified for Tenfold Harvest to achieve organizational goals and 

increased success. This document provides clarity to organizational strengths and 

weaknesses as well as possible threats and opportunities as identified by both internal 

staff and external constituents. With this information, strategies have been set in place 

by the staff that they feel will help improve public awareness of the organization as well 

as productivity and increased clientele. 

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND  

Tenfold Harvest is a professional edible garden service entity. The company is a 

for profit corporation which generates income by building and maintaining edible 

gardens on a commercial platform. All practices performed by the company are done 

naturally or through organic methods so that safe foods are grown for consumption at 

their clients places of business, churches, cafeterias, hotels and a variety of other 

establishments. 

Tenfold Harvest was built on the premise of giving back. We feel that edible 

gardening is best accomplished when growing food is done for a greater purpose than 

merely yourself. Gardening and eating is a communal activity. The main reason the 

company was formed was to serve the pediatric cancer community by setting aside ten 

percent of all net profits generated by the company to provide gardens for children 

battling cancer. Not only is it important that cancer patients eat clean healthy foods to 

strengthen their bodies, but when given the chance to tend their own personal garden, it 

gives them a sense of peace and ownership over their current situation.  

The company has existed for 3 years and through this time we have struggled 

with the logistics of exactly how the giveback program should work. Also, there is a 

disconnect on how we have been able to message and communicate our mission and 

efforts to the public and possible clients. In the following pages, we have identified areas 

that we feel need to be addressed to help refine this program so that our purpose is clear 

and our direction are tied to a tangible set of goals to meet.  

 

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METHODOLOGY  

Tenfold Harvest consists of only three staff members. Emy Terusa is the President 

of the company and the only full time staff member. Ryan Pipkin is a part-time gardener 

who’s main focus is to maintain our local commercial urban garden accounts on a 

weekly basis. Tony Terusa is the Giveback Coordinator in charge of the direction and 

implementation of our giveback program. The company does not have a formal board of 

directors but we do have a short list of trusted friends and colleagues that we seek advice 

and counsel from in regards to our internal operations. This variety of individuals range 

from local farmers, Mothers of children with cancer, contractors and non-profit business 

owners.  

Through research on the web and other studies we put together a set of questions 

to ask our internal staff and outside constituents with the intention of identifying the 

company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). The questions for 

each of these categories are listed below.  

STRENGTHS: 

1. What does the company do well​? 

2. What qualities separate you from your competitors​? 

3. What internal resources does the company possess?  

4. What tangible assets does the company possess, i.e. intellectual property, capital, 

proprietary technologies etc​… 

WEAKNESSES: 

1. What does your company lack, either items or processes? 

2. What do your competitors do better than you? 

3. Where are your resource limitations? 

OPPORTUNITIES: 

1. Are there underserved markets for specific products? 

2. Are there competitors in your area? 

2   

3. Are there emerging needs for your products or services? 

4. Has there been press/media coverage of your company? 

THREATS: 

1. Are there currently emerging competitors in your area? 

2. Are there external resource threats?  

3. Are there internal resource threats? 

The answers to all of these questions were compiled from all constituents and the 

following SWOT Analysis was put together. Items that resonated with the internal staff as 

an area of focus are underlined and marked with an asterisks.  

SWOT ANALYSIS 

 

  STRENGTHS 

  1. Communication w/ clients  2. Detail oriented service  3. Community giveback​ *  4. Knowledge of gardening and craft  5. Connection with people and the public  6. Quality of work 

     

  WEAKNESSES 

  1. Marketing - public awareness​ *  2. Limited capital  3. Limited resources, vehicle, warehouse 

space etc...  4. Taking risks 

     

 

  OPPORTUNITIES 

  1. Low operating overhead  2. Growing interest in organic land 

management  3. Added services to future and existing 

clients, i.e. composting, special events​ *  4. Limited competitors  5. Need for employee engagement  6. Press coverage 

   

 

  THREATS 

  1. Emerging competitors, growing trend  2. Local product availability​ *  3. Internal employee redundancies, field 

work  4. Labor 

         

3   

By moving through the exercise of this SWOT Analysis, we were able to recognize 

not only where our company strengths lie, but also where we are weak, what we need to 

focus on and possible threats that may emerge. It was important for us to involve 

external constituents in this process because they provide a trusted 3rd party 

perspective. Without their insight, we would be less informed of the realities we need to 

address. 

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 

The company identified the areas of community giveback, additional services to 

existing clientele, marketing, and local product availability as being the highest 

importance. For the feasibility of our efforts we have decided to slim this down these 

focuses to only two strategies of which we will tackle over the course of the next 3 years.  

1. Giveback Program Revitalization 

2. Website Overhaul 

We have learned that we are weak in the area of marketing and self-promotion 

which has affected our growth as well as the public’s clear understanding of what we do. 

There is a desire for the public to know what exactly we do in regards to our giveback 

and services and currently there seems to be a disconnect. In reviewing our SWOT 

Analysis answers, we believe that because we have changed up our giveback efforts over 

time our activities have not clearly resonated with our market and community. Our 

giveback efforts have not changed haphazardly, they have evolved due to the feasibility 

of what we can offer, afford and perform with the tools and labor we have available.  

The long term implications of accomplishing these two strategies are foundational 

for the company. For 3 years we have wrestled with our giveback program and it has 

taken many twists and turns. We are still on the roller coaster to success but by 

developing our new giveback product and defining it clearly to the public will help most 

everyone understand clearly what we do, how to stay involved and participate.  

In essence these two strategies will align with one another. Defining our giveback 

program will take first precedence mainly because this is the essence of what we do. We 

cannot develop a refreshed website before defining our program. Once the program 

product , methods and processes are defined our website overhaul will be developed as a 

tool to message our mission, services and efforts. We will also use this new website 

platform to market our company services and any new offerings.  

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CAPABILITY ASSESSMENTS   

​Legend: @ Exists  + Acquire ? Develop - Eliminate 

FOCUS​: PEDIATRIC CANCER GIVEBACK PROGRAM | INTERNAL | EXTERNAL | 

CAPABILITIES/RESOURCES  (people, time, money, infrastructure) 

Board  Staff  Resources  Constituents  Partners 

FINANCES    +  @    + 

LABOR    @      + 

TOOLS TO BUILD PRODUCT     ?  @    ? 

DESIGN/PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT  +  ?      + 

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT  ?  ?  @    + 

TECHNOLOGY - WEBSITE    ?  @    + 

SPACE TO BUILD PRODUCT    ?  @     

PEDIATRIC CANCER COMMUNITY  INVOLVEMENT 

  ?  @    + 

CREATIVE TEAM - THINK TANK  +  +      + 

 

FOCUS​: WEBSITE OVERHAUL | INTERNAL | EXTERNAL | 

CAPABILITIES/RESOURCES  (people, time, money, infrastructure) 

Board  Staff  Resources  Constituents  Partners 

FINANCES    +  @     

WEBSITE DESIGNER    +  +    + 

VISION - DIRECTION    ?      ? 

EXISTING SITE - DOMAIN    @  @     

ACTIVE BLOG TIED TO WEBSITE    +      + 

EMAIL LIST - STRATEGIES TO BUILD    ?  @     

TIME    @  ?    ? 

5   

​PIPELINE OF SOLUTIONS 

FOCUS​: PEDIATRIC CANCER GIVEBACK PROGRAM   New 

Evolutionary A   

1. Community Involvement  2. Community Outreach 

      Existing 

People  Revolutionary 

  1. Design - Product Development  2. Program Development  3. Creative Team - Think Tank 

   

New 

Practices  Incremental 

  1. Finances  2. Labor  3. Tools to Build Product  4. Space to Build 

  Existing  

Practices  Evolutionary B 

  1. Technology  2. Website   3. Blog - Email List Development 

   

People 

 

FOCUS​: WEBSITE OVERHAUL    New 

Evolutionary A   

7. Vision  8. Direction 

    Existing 

People  Revolutionary 

  5. Website Designer (hired) 

     

New 

Practices  Incremental 

  7. Time  8. Finances  9. Existing Site - Domain 

     

Existing  

Practices  Evolutionary B 

  5. Blog Development  6. Email List 

       

People 

6   

ACTION PLANNING AND EXECUTION 

   

STRATEGY 

GIVEBACK PROGRAM  DEVELOPMENT  YEAR 1 (2018-19)  YEAR 1 (2018-19)  YEAR 1 (2018-19) 

S: specific  M: measurable  A: attainable  R: realistic  T: time bound   

GOAL 1​:​ Finalize the  design of our giveback  planter. (1st quarter)    Activity​:​ Gather a creative  team of contractors,  parents and community  partners to brainstorm  ideas to produce an  excellent product.    GOAL 2​: ​Finalize the first  prototype​.​ (2nd quarter)    Activity​:​ Work with  contractor partners to  build multiple prototypes  until it is finalized.     GOAL 3​:​ ​Finalize the  definition of our giveback  program. (3rd quarter)    Activity: ​Internal staff to  sketch out realistic desired  goals and methods to  complete the program.  

GOAL 1​:​ Set year 2  giveback goals (1st  quarter)    Activity​:​ Internal staff to  set realistic giveback  goals to serve the local  the pediatric cancer  community for the year.     GOAL 2​: ​Establish  partnerships with local  non-profit entities  serving the pediatric  cancer community (2nd  quarter)    Activity​:​ Giveback  Coordinator to set up  meeting with PCRF, Max  Love Project and  KickCancer     GOAL 3​:​ ​Monetize the  garden box as a  marketable item.     Activity​:​ Staff to place a  dollar amount to the  product to help produce  finances to fund the  giveback and company  operations.  

GOAL 1​:​ Set year 3  goals for the giveback  (1st quarter)     Activity​:​ Internal staff  to set realistic  giveback goals to serve  the local the pediatric  cancer community for  the year.    GOAL 2​: ​Introduce the  product online (new  website) as a  deliverable product.  (2nd quarter)      Activity​:​ Giveback  coordinator to work  with website designer  to place the product  for sale online    GOAL 3​:​ Media and  press coverage    Activity​:​ Reach out to  local media  representatives i.e.  newspaper, websites,  magazines to cover  our program.  

 

 

 

 

 

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STRATEGY 

WEBSITE OVERHAUL  YEAR 1 (2018-19)  YEAR 1 (2018-19)  YEAR 1 (2018-19) 

S: specific  M: measurable  A: attainable  R: realistic  T: time bound   

GOAL 1​:​ Establish desired  goals for the website (1st  quarter)    Activity​:​ Internal and  external staff meetings to  brainstorm each  individuals desired goals  for the new website      GOAL 2​:​ ​Design style  direction (2nd quarter)    Activity​: ​Internal staff to  research desired online  presence styles. Examples  prepared for future  collaboration with  designer.     GOAL 3​: ​Budget allocation  for the website (3rd  quarter)    Activity​:​ Internal staff to  create goals and path  toward allocating funds for  the upcoming website  build out. After gathering  proposals from different  designers, intended dollar  amount will be  established.  

GOAL 1​: ​Website  designer chosen (1st  quarter)    Activity​:​ After budgets  and design direction is  set, staff to contract with  the desired designer.     GOAL 2​:​ ​Website  Construction (2nd and  3rd quarter)    Activity​:​ Giveback  Coordinator to work  closely with the designer  to keep deliverables and  schedule on pace for  completion in the 3rd  quarter.      GOAL 3​: ​Blog Creation    Activity:​ ​Staff to develop  a monthly blog that will  be linked with the new  website and all social  media channels.  

GOAL 1​:​ Website fully  functional at the  beginning of year 3  (1st quarter)    Activity​:​ Staff to  implement website  maintenance practices  as a part of our  standard operating  procedures keep the  new site relevant and  productive to our  operations    GOAL 2​: ​Establish an  analytics metric (2nd  quarter)      Activity​:​ Staff to  monitor website traffic  to fine tune the  productivity of the  new website.      GOAL 3​:​ Add press  release coverage to the  site    Activity​:​ Coinciding  with our giveback  efforts, staff to place  any press release or  write-ups about the  company on the new  site 

 

The goals and action plan laid out above were set by our staff with reasonable 

time frames in mind. With limited staff, labor and financial resources to draw from, we 

cannot expect to accomplish our intended goals by setting unreasonable expectations on 

ourselves. For timing purposes, this report was written in the Fall of 2018 so this will 

officially become our first quarter of planning efforts. Each goal is to be met in the noted 

quarter above and plans will be made at the beginning of each quarter to lay out 

roadmaps to successfully accomplish each goal.  

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VISION AND INTENDED IMPACT 

Tenfold Harvest is a small entity but it’s purposes and values are enormous and 

extremely important. To simply think of this company as an organic gardening service 

would be a crime. At Tenfold Harvest we believe that gardening is merely a means to an 

end, and there is so much more potential to gain. The company is focused on people first, 

the environment we live in and the health and welfare of children suffering through the 

challenges of cancer. All of the strategies, goals and activities listed above are intended to 

enhance our community involvement and increase our giving efforts to the community 

we serve.  

By defining our giveback program, creating a product to distribute free of charge 

to needy children and enhancing our online presence, we will be able to change the 

world one life at a time, which could change their world quite possibly when they need it 

the most.  

A wise man approached a young man on the beach and asked him "Good morning! May I 

ask what it is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up, and replied 

"Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into 

the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.To this, the young man replied, "The sun 

is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."Upon hearing this, the 

wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of 

beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"At 

this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. 

As it met the water, he said,  

"It made a difference for that one.”  

― Loren Eiseley 

 

 

 

 

 

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