Strategic Management Sherpas:
Leading the Climb to New Heights
Fractional Chief Operating/Growth Officer Solutions
for Sustainable Growth and Value
Who We Are
Highland Growth Partners (HGP) is a trusted partner for small and middle-market CEOs and business owners seeking to accelerate growth. Our Strategic Management Solutions provide you with hands-on leadership and expertise to drive meaningful business outcomes.
Working alongside your team, we identify high-value opportunities and build the capabilities needed to enhance your competitive edge and unlock new revenue streams.
We deploy our seasoned executives in fractional Chief Operating/Growth Officer (COGO) roles, offering tailored solutions in strategy, go-to-market execution, and operational leadership.
Whether in an Advisory, Fractional, or Interim capacity, our executives provide the hands-on leadership you need to achieve and sustain success.
Think of us as "Strategic Management Sherpas". We don’t just identify high-value opportunities and develop the plans to achieve them, leaving you to climb on your own.
HGP is right there with you—leading from the front—to take your team to the peak. We share the responsibility to achieve your goals, for as long as you need us.
The absence of Strategic Management can lead to:
Missed opportunities
Uncompetitive operating models
Stagnating and eventually declining revenues
Eroding profit margins
Strategic Management empowers senior leaders to look beyond their immediate horizon and seize emerging opportunities that drive and sustain profitable growth.
It equips them with the processes and tools to align corporate resources with strategic priorities, avoiding waste and resolving competing demands effectively.
And by seamlessly integrating their strategies with on-going operations, leaders ensure day-to-day business needs are met, allowing them to stay focused on long-term goals and objectives.
Easier said than done!
Strategic Management:
A Success Factor for Long-term Growth
When effective, Strategic Management provides a structured approach to:
Identify emerging threats and opportunities.
Mitigate risks and Capitalize on growth opportunities
Align implementation with operational demands
Monitor and improve performance to achieve strategic goals
46%
Have a Strategic Plan with Well Defined Goals
35%
Effectively Align Resources with Strategy
48%
Regularly Measure Progress with defined Metrics & KPIs
From our experience, Small and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs) are typically more equipped for operational planning focused on short-term tactical objectives, like incrementally improving sales, quality, and productivity. We have found that less than half of SMBs have or use effective Strategic Management practices. And third party research supports this.
According to The Economist Intelligence Unit and Kaplan and Norton in their book The Balanced Scorecard, 60% to 90% of organizations struggle or fail to implement and achieve their strategic goals.
When lacking effective Strategic Management processes, Organizations are less likely to anticipate and adapt to changing market conditions or capitalize on emerging growth opportunities, leading to decreased competitiveness and eroded profitability. This can significantly impact owners' long-term competitiveness and financial value, especially when planning for a future sale or exit.
A 2023 Vistage survey of SMB CEOs and business owner perceptions about their strategic planning and execution capabilities further demonstrates the issue. Of the 1,500 SMB leaders that responded, only 28% reported using an established framework for Strategic Management.
Moreover, less than 50% of SMB CEOs and owners expressed confidence that their company had effective strategic management capabilities. And when Vistage asked small and medium-sized business advisors, confidence in SMB capabilities were lower.
Strategic Management Effectiveness in SMBs
15%
23%
8%
SMB CEOs that believe their companies...
SMB Business Advisors that believe SMBs...
Strategic Management in the SMB Sector
Have a Strategic Plan with Well Defined Goals
48%
Effectively Align Resources with Strategy
46%
Regularly Measure Progress w/ Clear Metrics & KPIs
Third-party research suggests that less than half of SMBs have effective Strategic Management capabilities.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, and Kaplan and Norton in their book The Balanced Scorecard, report 60% to 90% of organizations struggle or fail to implement and achieve strategic plans.
Without effective Strategic Management, companies are less likely to anticipate and adapt to changing market conditions or capture emerging opportunities, leading to decreased competitiveness and eroded profitability.
A 2023 Vistage survey of SMB Strategic Management practices further back this. Of the 1,500 SMB leaders that responded, only 28% reported using an established framework for Strategic Management.
And less than 50% of SMB CEOs and owners expressed confidence that their Strategic Management capabilities were effective.
Vistage SMB
Effectiveness Survey
35%
Percent of SMB CEOs & Owners that believe their firms:
Strategic Management in the SMB Sector
When SMB Business Advisors were asked to provide their views of SMB practices, their confidence was much lower, with scores of 23%, 15% and 8% respectively.
How We Drive Client Growth and Value
At Highland Growth Partners, we empower small and mid-sized business (SMB) CEOs and owners to grow and maximize business value. We provide the strategic management capability that many SMBs lack, ensuring our clients have the skills and management capacity to achieve success.
Our approach goes beyond traditional advisory services. Using a structured framework, we identify and close gaps in your internal processes and provide an experienced executive who works alongside you to ensure successful outcomes.
We don’t just offer advice and walk away. We are with you every step of the climb, sharing in the responsibility to achieve your goals. As an integral part of your team, we provide support where and when you need it, for as long as you need us.
Our executives have deep experience leading growth and business improvement initiatives across the entire Strategic Management cycle.
Grounded in strong experience in top strategy firms and then successful hands-on leadership roles in Fortune 500 and SMB companies, our COGOs understand what it takes to drive successful outcomes.
Our Approach to Strategic Management
Our approach to Strategic Management offers a comprehensive five-phase framework that ensures successful outcomes by aligning strategy with execution and operational excellence.
The framework equips you with the processes and tools to develop effective strategies and achievable goals. And as important, it translates them into actionable steps that align with your operating tempo—preventing conflicts with on-going operations that often derail strategic initiatives.
Business Assessment: Analyzes the organization, environment and potential markets to uncover existing and emerging opportunities and threats.
Strategic Planning: Roadmap that identifies and aligns high-value opportunities with long-term goals, prioritizing the key initiatives needed to close capability gaps and capture the opportunities.
Execution: Translates strategic plans into actionable steps, cross-functionally aligns the company and allocates the resources needed to drive successful implementation and meet key milestones.
Performance Management: Measures and monitors progress against strategic goals using KPIs and other metrics to track success, adjust tactics, and maintain accountability for implementation outcomes.
Performance Improvement: Continuously refines and enhances business processes and operating tactics to address deficiencies, adapt to market changes and
HGP Fractional Chief Operating / Growth Officer (COGO) Executives
The HGP Strategic Management
Framework
We customize the Fractional COGO role to provide the specific strategic, operational, and commercial leadership solution your business needs. And they bring the organizational development, change management, and coaching experience necessary to turn ambitious strategies into transformational outcomes.