Eagle Vision Strategists (Omolewa Ahmed, Ingrid Sierra and Andrea Marquis) for the past weeks, as a team, had the opportunity to assist with filling the gaps in “L” Foundation.  We successfully completed a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the organization.  The analysis provides further guidance to some necessary steps required to place the organization in a highly sustained competitive position.  “Vision without execution is hallucination” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 1) quoting Thomas Edison.  In other words, there is no vision without execution.

In this assignment we outline the approach to achieving future success for the foundation through strategic vision, design and implementation. Our approach includes personal strategic skills developed throughout our studies in the past ten weeks. Lepsinger (2010) speaks of filling the gaps through accountability, involving the right people, facilitate change readiness and increase coordination and corporation.  Eagle Vision Strategists outlines “L” Foundation’s past influences and future strategic plans. We also demonstrate the ability of the foundation to achieve future successes utilizing its present resources and by fostering additional collaborations.

 Evaluation of Strategic Influence

According to Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie (2014), strategic influence is how leaders engender commitment to the organization’s strategic direction and learning; it is essential to sustaining competitive advantage in contemporary organizations.  Their model to assess strategic influence includes six competencies: Building trust, managing political landscape, boundary spanning, involving others, connecting at an emotional level and building a sustaining momentum.  They also consider four fundamental mindsets which include – it requires more than persuasion, far-reaching, open to influence and start with hard look at yourself.

Regarding competencies, “L” Foundation considered building trust and connection at an emotional level as strengths in its SWOT analysis.  The SWOT analysis indicated an environment fostering a commitment to achieving results through passion and empathy towards women and children in the community it operates. “L” Foundation is committed to the well-being of employees and community members it serves. Emotional connection, empathy and service are at the core of the foundation’s beliefs. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss the competencies of managing political, landscape, boundary spanning, involving others and building a sustained momentum.

Developing Strategic Influence for the Future

Considering the SWOT results, we recommend five strategies to increase the strategic influence for the future, they include: (a) Lepsinger (2010) Bridge builder 2: Translate strategy into action, (b) Bridge builder 6: increase coordination and cooperation (Lepsinger, 2010), (c) Galbraith’s (2014) Adding value Strategy, (d) Ungerer, Ungerer & Herholdt (2016) Strategy on Innovation and (e) Sustainability of Funding (Ungerer et al., 2016).

Complex initiatives and strategies require plans to monitor progress and ensure deliverables are on time and budget;  a thoughtful action plan is one of the best tools for effective execution (Lepsinger, 2010). The strategic assessment is only the first step to identify critical areas in the foundation; further actions must include a detailed action plan. For instance, areas such as partnerships, technologies and funding should include an action plan for improvement. According to Lepsinger (2010), the foundation is on the category of Fort State, where companies strengthen an existing organization and continue to elevate their services over their competitors. Judging from the SWOT results, investing in technology and user-friendly-apps can increase the competitive advantage of the organization. Lepsinger (2010) also suggests setting exceptional performance standards for all functions and employees for effective execution. Although the organization already has action plans, renewal and adjustment might enhance outcomes. Non-profits should cope with the fast pace environment and its demanding needs, for instance, adapt funding strategies to increase donations.

Encouraging and sustaining cooperation can be daunting, however, when communication and expectations are bright individuals, and group interests are aligned (Lepsinger, 2010). At least two cooperation builders can increase strategic influence for “L” Foundation; these are agreeing on when cooperation is needed and how it looks and aligning interests to establish common ground.  SWOT results identified two challenging areas: Funding and Publicity. Cooperation can be particularly useful to address these challenges. Although internal cooperation and coordination are the foundation, managing external relationships can benefit the foundation enormously. For instance, in the publicity area partnering with successful companies can increase the visibility of “L” Foundation programs, thus increasing the possibility of funding from new donors.  Coordination can increase with existing relationships with government agencies, private institutions, school, universities, health organizations and other social non-profits.

There are several ways companies can create value. Potential sources of value added are not automatic, so the leadership of the company needs to make these resources real (Galbraith, 2014). Considering the context of “L” Foundation, technology, leverage and brand are some areas to increase value. Technologies can be managed, not only from the funding perspective but also within the organization. Technology may improve data recollection leading to effective decision making.  For instance, monitoring the projects in real time through technology can provide context for effectiveness. The principle of leverage is to act big when it is good to be big and act small when it is good to be small (Galbraith, 2014). Leadership must be flexible to adapt to environmental trends to best utilize the foundation’s resources. Adding value to the brand will increase the credibility of the foundation, thus increasing the possibility of strategic alliances and funding. Combining these different sources of value can increase the effectiveness and sustainability of the foundation strategy.

Though we discussed increasing coordination and cooperation, Ungerer, Ungerer and Herholdt (2016) perspective of strategic alliances and innovation offers a new approach. A strategic alliance is a formal inter-enterprise cooperative agreement where two or more separate companies acknowledge their shared dependency by collaborating for mutual benefits, shared risks, shared control and jointly contributing resources and capabilities to gain access to new markets and new technology and to reduce cost (Ungerer, Ungerer, & Herholdt, 2016). For instance, service development and marketing can be an appropriate model for the foundation. Ungerer et al., (2016) also describe the importance of sharing risks in the alliances. If leaders want to compete globally, they need to collaborate with other institutions. Strategy innovation offers a systematic approach for leaders and management regarding strategic alliances. Some of the areas to increase strategic capabilities regarding partnerships are funding, publicity and health services. Through voluntary partnerships, they can increase accountability among partners and have clarity on the expected outcomes in a period. “L” Foundation is already working in partnership but considering the challenges it is recommended to maintain and increase strategic alliances to achieve its vision.

A strategy to increase sustainable funding is crowdfunding; it represents one of the alternative ways of funding new projects compared to traditional borrowing using banks as financial intermediation. It offers the possibility to invest or gain funds quickly, with relatively low transaction costs and without bank or traditional financial institution intermediation using the website interface Janku and Kucerova (2018). Although there are different types of crowdfunding the donation-based model is more appropriate for “L” Foundation. Studies have shown the duration of the campaign and the previous experience of the founder, are significant factors of a successful campaign (Janku & Kucerova 2018). Specifically, in the event “L” Foundation does not have personnel with skillsets in crowdfunding, hiring or outsourcing to firms with expertise in the area of crowdfunding will be beneficial. Additionally, “L” Foundation will consider the possibility of providing free (limited) healthcare services or other incentives to encourage prospective donors, as leverage for promoting the crowdfunding initiative. From experience, most people believe the little they have can’t make a difference. Leveraging on “L” Foundation’s goodwill, crowdfunding approach will afford this category of people the opportunity to donate.  Lastly, using the electronic, prints and social media, the foundation will undertake the massive drive of reaching a higher percentage of the populace.

“L” Foundation Present Strategic Influence and the Development of Future Strategic Influence

Vision and Aspirations of the Organization

 It is common knowledge; the stupendously rich do afford the luxuries of life such as buying private jets or going on vacation in 7-star hotels; it is also common knowledge, the unbelievably poor, lack the means to feed and sometimes make do with remnants from waste bins. One requires no specialized knowledge to realize the cost to purchase and maintain a private jet could feed and provide healthcare for millions of hungry people! Depending on how we choose to define basic needs, those who can meet them, are sometimes able to afford minor luxuries such as buying additional phones, shoes or clothing, while the struggling poor, continue to struggle in the hope of someday finding enough to meet their basic needs and to afford minor luxuries.

Is it a crime to be rich or afford higher and lesser luxuries? Must those with the physical means live in guilt because they can afford what others can only dream about? To both questions, we respond in the negative. However, borrowing words from Michael Jackson et al., (1985) song “We are the World” – There comes a time when we heed a call to help others; indeed, there are people dying and the time to lend a hand to life is the greatest gift of all and is now.

For “L” Foundation, the time to help others and lend a hand to life, by giving succour to the poor, began over ten years ago and had become a daily experience. “L” Foundation makes use of its own earned resources and also partners with the stupendously rich, the wealthy, middle-class and even the poor to raise funds and other resources to address the social welfare, health and education needs of the unbelievably poor in society, mostly women and children.

At “L” Foundation, we encourage people and organizations to consider contributing a fraction or more, of the cost of that additional luxury item, towards funding initiatives such as “Clinic on wheels.” This program brings health care to those who cannot otherwise afford it, “Adopt a child,” which empowers the poor with quality education, as well as other social welfare initiatives which bring unbelievable succour to all her benefactors. What makes us proud about “L” Foundation is it does not aspire to succeed, it aspires to be great. The leadership of “L” Foundation believes anyone can succeed, but not everyone becomes great; greatness transcends success because it involves serving humanity unconditionally and selflessly – this is the hallmark of “L” Foundation!

While some argue poverty will always persist regardless of what we do, or not, we can also argue it is not mandatory for anyone to live in poverty, at least not if options are provided. Who will provide these options? How can a person be taken out of poverty without first addressing their immediate needs? Is it possible for a person with an empty stomach to have dreams beyond satisfying immediate hunger? This is why “L” Foundation is considered a transcending organization providing succour and sustainable empowerment for the poor! The unbelievably poor, the struggling poor and those barely able to meet their basic needs require assistance, hope and empowerment for the future.  The leaders of “L” Foundation will continually be inspired to grow the organization to become greater in supporting the needs of humanity. Where there is a will to accomplish, the means eventually becomes available! Let’s keep on doing it “L” Foundation; the world is counting on us.

“L” Foundation over the last seven years has provided a viable means of livelihood to well over 100 families through the auspices of its social welfare program. Within the next three years, the Foundation will complete its permanent Reception Home complex to accommodate more children and make it more conducive.

Strategic Influence Development Plan of “L” Foundation

Boundary spanning, involving others and building a sustaining momentum falls in the category of opportunities. Through the creation of new apps and funding, the foundation is planning to eliminate boundaries which are currently limiting the foundation’s growth. Involving others relates to partnering with key stakeholders, especially government agencies. This is an important strategy identified for the future of the organization.  Strategic influence is not a one-time event; instead, it is a process beginning with the foundation of understanding the organization and its leaders and building relationships for a sustained momentum (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014). SWOT is one of the steps “L” foundation made toward its improvement and strategic effectiveness.

The most significant threat identified was the potential lack of funding which directly relates to the unfavourable economic climate. The foundation is already working on these concern. Some of the prompt actions include:

• Leverage the use of the ultramodern healthcare facility by offering services to staff of pharmaceutical companies, Government agencies and others in return for the services they provide.
• Create software applications to assist with crowdfunding, improve communication, and data gathering.
• Partner with media organizations to help promote the businesses of interested donors in exchange for access to L’s healthcare facilities.

Regarding key mindsets, the foundation recognizes strategic influence requires more than persuasion; it is more about direct influence tactics (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014). Leaders at “L” Foundation had a situation where its team had compelling reasons why the next community outreach should occur in a community other than the one agreed on in the past. Instead of persuading the team regarding the final decision, leadership sought to influence the team towards appreciating why it remained in the strategic interests of the foundation to remain with the former community. By leveraging trust, emotional connections and relationships built over the years, leadership positively influenced the team. The outreach program eventually benefited both communities immensely. This experience appears in alignment with Hughes et al., (2014) suggestion indicating influences are the result of continuous interactions which occur over time (p. 150). Through these interactions, leaders elicit trust and build relationships which influence others strategically. Influence is preferable to persuasion which happens in a single interaction, due to its long-term strategic advantage (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 150).  The foundation’s vision to ease the welfare and wellbeing of the less privileged people in the society and the country at large reflects its commitment to far-reaching mindset.  Working on the development of cultural, socio-economic, health & wellbeing of children, youth and women require sustained strategies in the long term. The foundations provide a broad range of services which relate to these objectives.

Considering the SWOT results, the foundation is interested in creating new strategic alliances in the area of publicity since it was a stated area of improvement. The foundation’s openness to new partnership reflects a mindset of influence. For the past years, strategic alliances played an essential role in achieving desired outcomes for the beneficiaries. As a strategic influence, being influenced is a learning process which requires specific actions on a regular basis to increase effectiveness, sustainability and scope.  Knowing one’s needs, styles and expectations of good leadership are essential aspects of having a “hard look at self” mindset (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 155). The “L” foundation recognizes the importance of this mindset and being open to external assessments reflects its acceptance of this trait.  Hence, “L” Foundation continues to invest in human capacity development, and target training aimed at continually improving the technical (job-related) and relationship capabilities of all its personnel – leaders and followers alike.

Additionally, the foundation identifies three essential areas to develop strategic influence.  These include clarity of goals and recognition, capacity development and integrity. One dominant culture in the organization is leaders stating in clear terms, the goals of the organization, recognition of staff input and applause for every milestone attained towards the achievement of the strategic goals of the organization. Increasing the capacities of staff by encouraging and making provisions for staff to attend relevant training/courses and conferences within and outside the country is a priority. The Foundation’s management comprises of persons with visible integrity.

Assessment of “L” Organization Structure and Its Capability to Achieve Set Goals

“L” Foundation founded in 2011 as a Non-Governmental organization to raise awareness and spur affirmative action on affecting the survival and development of women and children and has expanded to assist humanity in general. The main objectives of the foundation are;

• To initiate and implement strategies to deal with cultural, socio-economic and health and wellbeing issues mitigating against the development of children, youth and women
• Support and encourage entrepreneurial and creative skills for women and youth to alleviate poverty.

The foundation’s programs anchor on three critical areas of life – Social and economic welfare, Health and general wellbeing and Education (SHE), it is on this premise the “L” group builts. Each entity within the group significantly achieves the organization’s objectives.

Structure

Figure 1. “L” Group Organizational Structure.

This figure illustrates the foundation hierarchical arrangement and organizational functions.

The group consist of seven entities headed by the Founder/CEO. These entities are directly managed on a day to day basis by their respective managers.  Within each entity, some professionals focus on their specialized area with the supervision of the Group Executive Director to achieve organizational objectives.  We include an outline of each entity below:

A) “L” Heights Enterprises

“L” Heights Enterprises is a water bottling company. It produces table water in sachets and also pet bottles (50 & 75Cl). The company established to 1 create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth, and 2. Generate reasonable income to cover its operational cost and administrative costs for operating “L” Foundation.

B) “L” Medical Centre

The Medical Centre is driven by the vision to provide quality medical care at a reasonable rate to the populace particularly women and children and persons diagnosed with breast or cervical cancers.    The medical centre is funded through a bank facility. It is sustained by income generated through patronage. Direct funding is available to “L” Foundation to offset the fees of referral patients from the foundation.

C) “L” Children Reception Home

“L” Children Reception Home was established to help provide a home for orphans, abused, vulnerable and abandoned children. These children are being rehabilitated and raised with love, care and fear of God in a homely environment. They are enrolled in schools or vocational institutions to provide better life opportunities and for them to contribute positively to society.  “L” Children Reception Home funds by the income from “L” Thrills.

D) “L” Thrills

“L” Thrills is a restaurant providing jobs for women and young men.  Proceeds from this restaurant are mainly used to sustain the reception home. The proceeds cover expenses such as feeding, schooling and clothing.

E) “L” Multipurpose Co-Operative Society and “L” Farms

These two entities are key in the Social and Economic welfare programs of “L” foundation more than any other. The youths, women and widows constitute a majority of the poor population in Nigeria. Helping to alleviate poverty in rural and semi-urban communities is a defining issue for the “L” Foundation. The Foundation strives to achieve sustainable development and economic growth to enhance the standard of living and quality of life for the beneficiaries. They use different strategies ranging from financial support, provision of vocational tools, equipment and machines to start small-scale businesses.  This support is provided by “L” Multipurpose Cooperative Society.  “L” Farms empower young men and women to lease farmland, provide them with seeding and all necessary logistics to operate a farm.   Funds come through partnerships with banking facilities. Beneficiaries are provided with Interest-free loans and charge an administrative fee. The administrative fees cover the co-operational costs of the co-operative society.  Support for the farms is also provided through a partnership with the state government and the bank of agriculture.

Fundamental principles guiding the operations of these entities are;

• Clear reporting structure/job description – “L” Group, has a hierarchy of people with outlined job functions for efficient operations. There is a clear reporting structure for all staff. Responsibilities and line of communication are clearly defined. This provides the relational connection between managers, supervisors and support staff for useful results.
• Performance Evaluation – Management often reviews the performances of the entities and staff. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used as quantifiable indicators to ascertain the achievements of desired objectives.
• Clarity of goals and recognition: an outstanding culture of the organization is leaders stating clearly the goals of the organization. Another is the recognition of staff input for milestone attained towards the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals.
• Capacity development: Increased capacities of staff through encouragement and provision of opportunities to attend relevant training/courses and conferences within and outside the country. Such opportunities expose staff to best practices to improve self and organizational goals.
• Integrity: “L” Group Management comprises persons with visible integrity. This motivates staff to adapt to the culture. Besides, the integrity of the leaders provides leverage to exert strong and positive influences within the organization.  Executive presence is a powerful tool and can be constructively used to make staff feel valued and appreciated.

Organizations require flexible structures to respond quickly to constant environmental changes. Constant change in strategies is best suited with an organizations structure with similar flexibility according to (Galbraith, 2014, p.131).  Organizations with these capabilities are more sustainable and can outperform competitors.

The reconfigurable organization occurs when;

• Formation of cross-functional teams and networks across organizational departments (lateral structure)
• Flexible accounting, IT systems and planning and resource allocation processes useful for the complexity of multiple teams
• Partnerships to secure capabilities which are lacking – as in the case of “L” foundation the lack of resources resolve through the use of the cross-functional use of media/communication

The current organizational structure of “L” Foundation has the competencies, skills and level of coordination to undertake the proposed strategies. The foundation would consider outsourcing competencies such as app development or crowdfunding to other organizations using a Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) model. With this model, the third-party organizations develop complete solutions which they would deploy and support; these solutions will support “L” foundations strategic goals.  This approach will allow “L” foundation to remain focus on its core competencies of caring for others. Some elements of the reconfigured structure are relevant to “L” Foundation given its planned strategic approach to achieve short-term goals geared towards long-term sustainability.

The diversified nature of the various entities within “L” foundation, makes it more practical for each entity to operate a stand-alone model (Galbraith, 2014, p. 256). Although each entity operates on a stand-alone basis, there exists a natural synergy amongst all entities. This often occurs when additional human resources and logistics are needed for selected outreach programs of “L” foundation.

Organizations can be reconfigured to maximize short-term advantages according to Galbraith (2014). The reconfigurable structure consists of a stable part and a changing part. This requires a flexible structure to meet the change in the demands of the environment.  The reconfigured structure needs all managers and other team members’ involvement in the based on the proposed strategic plans for “L” foundation. Due to the stand-alone synergy model (Galbraith, 2014, p. 256) which “L” foundation operates, the changing part of its reconfigurable structure is managed informally on an ad-hoc, on-demand basis. Accordingly, the additional teams exist to accomplish the task at hand. Accounting, planning and other processes manage the stable part of the reconfigurable structure. “L” foundation does leverage on the commitment of its personnel, which is one of its strengths in the effective use of the reconfigurable structure.

The reconfigurable organization or any organization needs coordination. According to Galbraith (2014) “In complex organizations, transparency is your friend” (p.142).  A healthy organization requires transparency.  Also, people are willing to support organizations which are results-oriented and accountable to its donors and shareholders.  Linking cost and revenues to product and services is also important in the reconfigurable design of an organization. “L” foundation operates a visibly transparent system in line with existing laws such as the freedom of information act.  Under the act, the audited accounts of non-profits are made public through relevant government agencies. Also, yearly budgets and audited financial statements are on “L” foundation’s website.

According to Galbraith (2014) with constant change conflicts are likely to occur within the organization. Organizations need to be equipped to deal with such conflicts. These scenarios require Active Management. As evident from the results of the SWOT analysis, the management of “L” foundation operates a very inclusive work environment in which leadership, management and staff communicate openly; demonstrating mutual respect for individual differences in thoughts and opinion. Lepsinger (2010) also agrees this provides a healthy foundation for effectively addressing conflicts and strengthens the organization. Specifically, “L” foundation mostly apply strategies such as rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, or collaboration in addressing conflicts resulting from strategic changes (pp. 180-181).

Two of the areas of focus for strengthening in “L” Foundation organization are capacity building and added incentives. Galbraith (2014) suggests the application of a flexible incentive system paying persons for their skill rather than for job title and also applying a team based appraisal process instead of a boss appraisal. Galbraith (2014) also suggest recruiting persons based on organizational fit rather than job fit. This principle is based on the chances of changes in jobs and the development of new skills while individual personalities and company values are less likely to change. The reconfigurable structure requires time and resources and is communication intensive. There is also the likelihood of persistent conflict because of the constant change.  In line with “L” foundation’s stand-alone synergy model, interactions among the different entities occur as needs arise to accomplish specific tasks. Specifically, communication occurs through voluntary groups and informal and formal groups (Galbraith, 2014, pp. 76-77).

Network Design – This design is suitable for single-business functional organization and transformation from a vertical design to horizontal industry model.  It is also suitable in downsizing, outsourcing and supply-chain system. It is also suitable for collaborative strategies when an organization requires the partnership to accomplish strategies which it does not possess the skills to undertake. Some known challenges with this design are;

• The possibility of leaked sensitive information or intellectual property
• Added challenges to control factors outside the permit of the organization

Galbraith (2014) indicates the importance of employees understanding the nature of internal and external operations of organizations through partnership. It requires different modes of thinking and operating because sensitive information and intellectual property rights require a higher level of confidentiality for all parties. According to Galbraith (2014), different strategies lead to different structures.

The organization has to assess the value-chain to determine what value is most important to the success and sustainability of its operations.  According to Galbraith (2014), the constant environmental changes requires strategists to use the wide-angle lens when deciding where to play and how to win.  Secondly, competitive advantages are not only temporary, but the lifespans of these advantages are also getting shorter. “L” Foundation is a multi-business organization. Nonetheless, the strategic plans such as crowdfunding and communication require networking.  Therefore, the value-chain approach can be adopted in the strategic plan of the foundation. The network design system provides varying options for the organization depending on its needs.  Networking is dependent on building the right relationships, determining the partnership structure, policies and choosing the right partners (Galbraith, 2014, p. 160).  Alliances and joint ventures need appropriate structure. Three joint venture structures quoted by Galbraith (2014) are;

• The operator model – one partner manages the responsibilities for the joint venture
• The shared model – responsibilities are divided between partners
• Autonomous joint ventures

Ungerer et al., (2016) quoting Joan Magretta states “A good business model remains essential to every successful organization, whether it’s a new venture or an established player … the business model’s great strength as a planning tool focuses attention on how all the elements of the system fit into a working whole” (p. 108).

Summary

Strategic influence as evaluated by the Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie (2014) model which includes six competencies (Building trust, managing political landscape, boundary spanning, involving others, connecting at an emotional level and building a sustaining momentum) and four fundamental mindsets (More than persuasion, far-reaching, open to influence and start with a hard look at self).  Considering the SWOT results, we recommend five strategies to increase the foundation’s strategic influence for the future, they include: (a) Lepsinger (2010) Bridge builder 2: Translate strategy into action, (b) Bridge builder 6: increase coordination and cooperation (Lepsinger, 2010), (c) Galbraith’s (2014) Adding value Strategy, (d) Ungerer, Ungerer & Herholdt (2016) Strategy on Innovation and (e) Sustainability of Funding (Ungerer et al., 2016).

Regarding vision, for the last seven years, it provided a viable means of livelihood to well over 100 families through its social welfare program, and within the next three years, the Foundation will expand its programming. Further actions regarding strategy were planned to increase the effectiveness of the programs. Suggestions are provided to increase the sustainability of funds. Considering SWOT results, the foundation is interested in creating new strategic alliances, especially in areas such as Publicity.

We conclude, the current organizational structure of “L” Foundation structure has the competencies, skills and level of coordination to undertake the proposed strategies. The group consist of seven entities headed by the Founder/CEO; these entities are directly managed on a day to day basis by their respective managers.   Additionally, we highlighted key elements of the Reconfigurable structure since they are adequate to undertake the foundations’ Program. Formation of cross-functional teams and networks across organizational departments, flexibility in administrative functions and partnerships are the essential aspects considering the Foundation structure. Some elements of the Network design are also recommended to increase “L” Foundation strategic capabilities.

References

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Janků, J., & Kučerová, Z. (2018). Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns: The Role of Project Specifics, Competition and Founders’ Experience. Finance a Uver: Czech Journal of Economics & Finance, 68(4), 351–373. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=131800043&site=eds-live

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution Gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G., & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating strategic possibilities: Strategy formulation and execution practices to flourish. Randburg: KR Publishing.