TESTIMONIALS


“Donna is a change-maker.  A true visionary, effective leader and champion for strategic planning, it was a real honour to work with her during the transformation of CFIS at the start of my non-profit career.  Donna creates a movement when she leads a team – bringing forward the right people at the right time and she ensures the necessary resources are in place. Donna’s thoughtful leadership, business expertise and collaborative style ensured the project moved forward successfully despite many bumps along the way.   Donna is relentless and not afraid to tackle complex challenges and is willing to impart her knowledge and skills to build capacity in those involved.”

– Katrina Bradley, Chief Development Officer at Calgary Counselling Centre


“Shortly after starting in my role as Assoc V P Alumni Engagement at University of Calgary, the task of designing a new engagement strategy became priority number one. Donna and her team at Finley & Associates were recommended by a few colleagues. Minutes into our consultation it was clear, Donna was the right choice. She carefully listened to our present state and helped elucidate where we wanted to go. Her proposal was highly personalized and scalable.

Her approach is a mix of theory and practice. Informed by the philosophies and frameworks of great thinkers in the field of management she conducted an industry-wide scan of standard and emerging practices. Challenging us to place our constituents at the centre of all we do she empowered us to articulate our value proposition. A year after the successful launch of our strategy, we brought Donna back to more closely align the work of our board with the desired outcomes of our strategy. She has become a trusted advisor and sounding board to me, my team, and our volunteer leaders.”

– Michael Sclafani, AVP Alumni at University of Calgary

Action Plans and Entrepreneurship

Business planning creates agreement about how the business will expand and respond to changes in markets, skills requirements and economic uncertainty. It’s an important process for all businesses; however, organizations must also think through ongoing development of skills within it’s emerging leaders. Finley & Associates has unique experience in planning for both business results and leadership development.


Strategic Business Plans

Facilitate family and business managers through a structured approach to building a business plan that bridges strategic goals and financial targets through action plans with measurable objectives, accountabilities and Family Office reporting expectations.

New Ventures

Support development of entrepreneurial skills in the family’s emerging leaders through assessment frameworks, business plan development, partnership fundamentals. Development of advisory councils or investment panels to engage the wisdom other family members and business expertise is a common occurrence.

Implementation Planning

Facilitate or support teams tasked with developing implementation plans and delivering on the strategic priorities of the family and its businesses. Implementation task teams provide a unique opportunity for the emerging family leaders to work with experienced managers in the family business, and develop insight and leadership skills with hands-on support and coaching from the Finley team.