Key Challenges

Parker University needed an ‘easy to follow’ framework that guided them through the ins and outs of strategic planning.

Beyond that, Parker’s traditional method of managing strategic planning (ie: spreadsheets and word docs) was incredibly difficult. It was a struggle for Parker to gain visibility into how they were achieving on our vision, Projects, and KPIs.

Biggest Wins

Parker University needed a method to follow in order to hold its position as a leader in Patient-Centric Healthcare. Cascade provided their board members and the executive team with our Cascade Strategy Planning eBook. Without any further guidance, the Parker team, led by Board Member George and President Dr. Morgan, designed their multi-year plan with the Cascade approach.

Now, they’ve been successfully executing on their comprehensive 5-year plan. Alignment for every critical goal is set from the top down; leadership knows what steps need to be taken, and employees know how their day-to-day actions contribute to Parker’s Success.

Cascade's framework made us sit back and kind of focus on what we are really trying to accomplish, not just big picture items, but steps that get you there.
Donnie McNutt - Vice President / COO

Moving Away from “Traditional” Methods of Strategic Planning

Why is it that strategic plans typically sit on the shelf only to collect dust months after they were established? It’s usually because traditional methods of tracking strategy are unworldly cumbersome and hard to follow. Spreadsheets, word documents, and PowerPoint are easy to forget when they are saved in multiple places and with multiple versions. Creating reports and tracking the real-time metrics can also be quite a challenge when that information comes from different systems… Parker University now has a cloud-based system that allows anyone to log in, view their live metrics, and make a real-time update. Leadership can pull impromptu reports without having to dig into multiple locations for information and updates.

I used to put my strategic plans in excel… And it’s really hard to keep up with. The Cascade tool is very defined and easy to use.
Dr. Jayne Moschella - Executive Vice President

Establishing a Culture of Transparency & Accountability

Accountability is critical to the success of any strategic plan. If we establish lofty goals without ownership. Who will be managing the projects and tasks necessary for its success? Who do we look towards if we didn’t meet those goals?

By following Cascade's framework, Parker established ownership for every single Objective, KPI, task, and Project. As Parker has been adapting and adjusting their plan, Managers and Staff have taken advantage of Cascade’s Goal Designer which requires ownership for each goal created and nudges them towards creating goals in a SMART format.

Cascade really puts transparency and accountability on each goal and KPI were trying to accomplish here.
Donnie McNutt - Vice President / COO

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