Group Begins Work to

Develop 5-yr Strategic Plan

2 July 2008 - TW

Representatives of top management and various programs of Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) met with CEO and President Samuel Sipes on July 1 to begin developing a five year strategic plan for the agency.  The group set a goal of December to complete their work and deliver it to the LSF Board of Directors who will then issue a report on the plan in January 2009.

The last strategic plan was developed in 2004 and updated in 2006.  The new strategic plan will reflect the change in leadership in the organization with the addition of Sipes as CEO in September of 2007 and David Yarborough as Vice President of Operations March of this year.

Sipes opened the planning day with a devotion using several passages from Jesus' parables on working in the vineyard, especially noting the care with which the workers plant, nurture, prune and make decisions about the vines and the fruit.

"What's most important here is that none of the work we do here is really ours,” said Sipes.  “We are doing this for the Lord of the vineyard.”

REVIEW OF MISSION

Following the devotion, the group set about the task of reviewing LSF's current mission, vision and values statements. (Click here to read them.) Sipes reported that this was also done at the most recent meeting of the LSF Board of Directors in late May.  Both groups noted that some of the statements needed some editing.  However, said Sipes, "Nothing about the mission is going to change."

The Strategic Planning Workgroup had significant discussion about the faith-based nature of the agency and its work, as did the Board of Directors, reported Sipes.

“We are unabashedly, unapologetically Christian,” said Sipes, "while not being a proselytizing organization."  The discussion emphasized the servant nature of the agency's ministry, especially as it brings "healing, hope and help" to those in need.

PROGRAM & ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS

The group then turned its attention to setting some program goals, including expanding various areas of current ministries.

“I believe there is plenty in our current book of business to grow,” said Sipes as the group added to the program list.  At the same time, he cautioned, “I would not advise at this point in the agency’s development bringing to the table programs that we do not already know how to do.  We need to look for opportunities to do what we do best.”

The planning group also began addressing organizational goals.  The CEO set the bar high for the group by asking, "What do we need to do to become a $100 million agency in ten years?"

In that same regard, David Yarborough, Vice President of Operations, noted that "as the organization grows, we will need more infrastructure.”

PLANNING PROCESS

The meeting on July 1 was described by Sipes at the outset as a "plan to plan" complete with a schedule of tasks, assignments, benchmarks and deadlines.  Accordingly, the group identified monthly meetings through December with specific tasks set within the calendar of meetings for developing various parts of the strategic plan.

Over the next month and a half, Sipes will be traveling to the various offices of LSF to do a review of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities with staff managers and members and in that way to begin engaging others in the planning process.  Also assigned to various members of the planning workgroup for the next month were reviews of identity, organizational structure, expansion and improvement opportunities, office support, external communication, and evaluating performance metrics.  A survey is also being planned to go out to pastors, churches, donors and other stakeholders in LSF's work.

At the end of the meeting, the CEO asked for feedback on the planning day and on the proposed process for planning.  All expressed appreciation for the inclusive way in which the process was being conducted.

"This is the first time any of our CEOs has gone to the programs and requested input from staff for our strategic plan," said Rubis Castro, Regional Director for Tampa Bay.  "And I truly appreciate it."

"A plan is not a document," Sipes told the group. "It’s something you want to be part of people’s consciousness. We’re going to have a process over the next number of months that will involve a lot of people."

Those who attended the planning day and form the Strategic Planning Workgroup are: 

Samuel Sipes, President/CEO
David Yarborough, VP Operations
Zee Palmieri, VP/CFO
Pamela Beal, Human Resources Director
Rubis Castro, Tampa Bay Regional Director
Patricia Leonard, Southwest Regional Director
Beth Deck, Northwest Regional Director
Elizabeth Von Werne, Miami-Dade Regional Director
Shirley Walker, PEPPI Head Start Director
Thomas Desio, CMO Director
DeeWynn Wiley, Tampa Bay Guardianship Manager
Pepe Mejias, IT Director
Lakshman Batni, IT
Danielle Kearney, Church & Community Relations
Lavern Franzen, Development Associate
Thomas Weitzel, Communications

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