StratOp® · Strategic Planning
A facilitated process that blends strategy, operations, and finance into one clear, actionable plan — built by your team, for your team.
StratOp was created by Tom Paterson — the man Peter Drucker called the greatest business consultant in the world. Tom was Walt and Roy Disney's personal consultant, helping them turn ideas into realities (and throwing in a few of his own, like Space Mountain). He was sent by the U.S. government to open trade negotiations with China. He patented the PIN technology behind the ATM.
The process he built has been deployed everywhere — from billion-dollar corporations to scrappy nonprofits, from entire sports franchises to the government of the British Isles. It works because it's not theory. It's a system designed by someone who spent a lifetime turning complexity into clarity.
I carry that legacy forward as a certified Paterson StratOp facilitator. Every engagement is built on Tom's proven framework, refined by decades of real-world application.
Most strategic plans fail for the same three reasons: they're built by too few people, they ignore operational reality, and they have no system for follow-through.
The leadership team flies in for a two-day retreat, fills a whiteboard with ambitions, and goes home with a document nobody fully owns. Within a quarter, the plan is a memory and the whirlwind is back in control.
StratOp is designed to solve exactly that.
"People help build what they help create. That's not a theory — it's a framework for action."
StratOp brings the right people into the room and guides them through up to 27 conversations and tools across three phases. Depending on your organization's size, that might include founders, senior leadership, board members, or team leaders.
Before we ever gather your team, I'll work closely with your appointed leader to shape the agenda. Then I'll conduct one-on-one interviews with every participant. This isn't a formality — it's how I learn where the real tensions are, what's not being said in meetings, and what your team actually needs from this process.
Two or three full days together, in person, at your location. We'll work through the strategic, operational, and financial dimensions of your business in a way that doesn't just produce a plan — it produces buy-in. People help build what they help create. That's by design.
This is where most consultants disappear. We don't. After the experience, I'll train your team on a digital platform to track progress, hold a private session with senior leadership, and check in at 2 months and 10 months to make sure the plan is alive — not archived.
This isn't a binder. It's a living system — the strategic clarity, management tools, and accountability structures your team will actually use long after our work together is done.
"I'm making a major presentation today to two of our boards on the strategic planning process. Your work really added the fire and cohesion we needed."
Matthew Haag, Chief Development Officer, Dartmouth Health
Yes. The collaborative nature of the process requires it. We come to you.
It's not inexpensive. But the feedback is 100% consistent: it's worth the investment. Clients routinely tell me the process paid for itself multiple times over in the first year — through clarity on wasted resources alone. Schedule a discovery call and I'll give you a straight answer based on your situation.
It's been proven in organizations of every size — from startups finding their footing to billion-dollar enterprises realigning after growth. Larger organizations often start with senior leadership and then run additional sessions to cascade the plan across the company.
Let's talk about your team
A 45-minute discovery call to understand where you are, what's working, what's not, and whether StratOp is the right fit.
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Questions about StratOp, executive coaching, or whether this is the right fit — let's talk.