Better Decisions.
Stronger Leaders. Faster.

How Kay Will Enrich Your Business Model Strategy and Meeting
Markets are moving more rapidly and with greater uncertainty than ever before. The same level of thinking that created our success to date, won’t get us to where we want to be tomorrow. Kay becomes your catalyst to thinking differently about your business and your role.

For Consulting
If you want to make better and more proactive competitive and growth strategy decisions and execute them more effectively, invite Kay into your company as your catalyst. An MIT-trained economist, Kay is a recognized expert in business model innovation, strategic leadership, and change management. Her collaborative and efficient consulting approaches will take your business to a higher level of performance by unearthing promising growth opportunities whether a marketplace disruption has occurred, is on the horizon, or you wish to create one.

For Speaking 
If you want your audience to be intellectually challenged and inspired, and to end the day with actionable ideas and new frameworks for transforming their business, Kay will be a memorable and valued addition to your programming.

For workshops
Kay works with multiple companies at a time, with great success, through her workshop format. Whether you want to bring your distributors together, suppliers, or join other companies working with Kay, you’ll end your day or two-day workshop with an action plan and confidence in your ability to execute.

Below are some issues that Kay’s clients have faced with her help. Click on a question below to learn more.

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How should new CEO from outside the industry change the culture and redefine the strategy?

Client: Large consumer-goods company serving home products market

Assignment: Serve as strategy advisor to CEO and leadership team. The work also involved changing the company culture from hierarchical to highly collaborative and from sales driven to market driven. Working as a member of the leadership team (intensely over 9 months then less intensely for the next 2 years), we designed a strategy to eliminate complexity and frustrations retailers and consumers had in dealing with the industry.

Result: Revenue grew significantly and the leadership team emerged as a key company asset as leaders moved from internally competitive to aligned, independent to collaborative.

How can we win against a skillful, entrenched, and dominant competitor? Or, do we just give up the game and sell the company?

Client: Mid-size family business (medical products) serving physician office/clinic market

Assignment: Work with the leadership team to design an innovative growth strategy and execution plan; help convince board of the merits of futher investment.

Result: A series of six meetings led to a new business model and execution plan that built from client's core competency and took advantage of limitations that the dominant competitor faced because of its channel strategy. The leadership team is now fully engaged in execution, is far more effective as a team, and results are promising for the long term.

How can we thrive as a regionally focused firm competing against industry leaders serving national and global markets?

Client: Privately held company in staffing industry serving companies and job seekers

Assignment: Work with CEO and leadership team to create a new business model that better captures synergies across 5 separate businesses.

Result: New business model enabled company to gain market share despite growing presence of national competitors in the regional market. The business model was built on customer intimacy, strong alignment across multiple service areas of the company and the addition of very high-value consulting services to the C-Suite.

Should our non-profit association continue in the face of declining influence? If so, what cause is truly worth our business leader members' efforts?

Client: Statewide association Board of Directors, composed of CEOs

Assignment: Facilitated retreat in which board members decided if association should remain in operation and, if so, what its focus would become and whether to change the staffing arrangement (a tough political issue).

Result: The group regained its strong voice in state policy and elected to hire a new organization for its staff support. A revised issues-focus and recommendations built strategically from key trends facing the state and its politics.

How do we change the conversation with our public stakeholders? How do we create a better story, not just better communications?

Client: State university system

Assignment: Served as chief consultant for system-wide strategic framework addressing how the system's campuses could more strongly advantage the state's economy and further enhance its quality of life. Project involved working closely with System President's cabinet and campus chancellors.

Result: A framework for planning and action that has received very positive response from both external and internal audiences. It has served as a catalyst for creating and encouraging more collaboration across campuses and further advancing Faculty service.

Can we heal the fractures between our business units and create a better future for all? Or, should we just become two firms in fact, not just in our practices?

Client: Professional services firm

Assignment: Met with each part of the practice and then led strategy retreats in which the firm identified that its core competency relied on both groups and that together they had stronger competitive advantage and growth opportunities.

Result: A new value proposition, coupled with a focus on additional markets and more complex work, was identified that has pulled the practice into a far more cohesive team.

Why work with Kay — Some past clients share their experiences working with Kay.

"I wrapped up my Board meeting today with a VERY positive discussion about our business plan. They were very appreciative of the hard work that had gone into the plan and are especially interested in the new options we presented. It was clear to them that we need to change the game. These new avenues would not have presented themselves without your guidance."

CEO, manufacturing business

Read more endorsements »

"Kay's self-described value proposition is that she helps organizations make good decisions faster. I would wholeheartedly agree. Kay asks great questions, probes and pushes our management team and Board to stretch their thinking and serves as a summarizer, synthesizer and sounding board against which to test our thinking and assumptions. Kay does not profess to have all the answers, but in her work with us, puts out positions for us to react to and in doing so, helps us move forward. Kay's passion for her work translates into a high energy session that is both productive and fast paced."

CEO, business services firm

"(The summary) provides an impressive indication of how much we accomplished over those few days. Of course, we've raised more questions than we've answered; but it's helpful to know where we need to go from here. I know I speak for everyone who attended the retreat when I say how grateful we are for your outstanding skills. The proof of your leadership talents is in the rich document we now have. Thanks for being such an excellent facilitator."

University Chancellor

"I really enjoyed working with you on this project. I found it very stimulating. We accomplished things I never thought possible. I spoke with (one of our cynics) this afternoon and he said he never thought we'd end up with the group in agreement. He's very positive about what has been accomplished."

Executive of Architectural Firm

"You were a big hit with us last week in San Diego. The managers that I talked to were impressed and they all took away something."

Conference/Workshop organizer

"As expected, Kay did an outstanding job in leading the session. The comments and enthusiasm by members and the closing remarks were extremely gratifying. Our industry has a bright future if we can build on the spirit and maintain the drive we began in Toronto."

Conference organizer for industry meeting

"The only problem with Kay's keynote speech is that we'll never match that quality and motivational content next year."

Industry Association CEO commenting on his annual meeting

"The use of the word Herculean applies equally to your efforts and contributions last Wednesday at the retreat. You kept us moving and on target with great finesse, enabling us to reach consensus on focus. It would have been impossible to do without you. We are grateful."

Director, University medical school

"Kay quickly grasped our complex, multi-channel business and helped us to identify and develop plans to realize the most promising opportunities. She worked amazingly well with a diverse group of managers, helping to establish a teamwork sensibility and shared vision that still driving our company months after our planning retreat. In addition, she made it fun, incorporating techniques from improvisational comedy to help us collaborate, stay positive and imagine new possibilities."

CEO, manufacturing company

Read Kay's Blog:
Business Model Innovation »

Learn more about Kay Plantes, economist, strategic planning consultant, business model innovation expert »

20-year track record of outstanding consulting results in established and young, large and small, privately held and public companies; multiple industries; all economic sectors; and a very wide-array of market situations
Strong track record as keynote speaker and executive educator
Author, Beyond Price: Differentiate Your Company in Ways That Really Matter (Greenleaf Book Group, 2009)
Monthly strategy column for The Capital Region Business Journal
Executive experience as marketing and business development professional with a global medical products company
Chief Economist and Director of Policy Development for the State of Wisconsin's Department of Commerce
Former Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
B.S. from The Smeal College of Business of The Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. in Economics from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Beyond Price
Differentiate Your Company In Ways That Really Matter provides a pragmatic step-by-step leadership team roadmap to business model innovation and the creation of sustainable advantage.

Buy the book now and escape commoditization »

Better Decisions.Stronger Leaders. Faster.

Better Decisions.
Stronger Leaders. Faster.