Our Approach

Our Approach | Tools for Analysis | Enterprise Prism

The KrasnePlows Enterprise Prism

You may not achieve the goal you intend if you don't recognize the implications of your choices. At KrasnePlows, we help you solve problems by looking at how your choices affect different parts of your organization. We help you capitalize on all your strengths to serve your clients better and increase your impact.

To accomplish this we use the KrasnePlows Enterprise Prism to analyze an organization holistically. We view your organization through three discrete lenses - program, people and money. Although each element is distinct, all three are inter-related; changing one component affects the other two.

Using the Enterprise Prism allows you to make better-informed decisions with fewer unintended consequences. You:

• Consider a potential action's implications across your entire organization - program, people and money - beforehand;


• Understand how to optimize your available combination of resources - program, people and money - any constraints that exist, and what additional resources you can acquire; and


• Focus on what you can control, like your program mix or your staffing structure, rather than be distracted by factors that you can’t, like the economy or regulatory environment.

So what does it mean when we apply the KrasnePlows Enterprise Prism approach? We start our analysis, using one lens—people, program, or money—and then move on to the other two. The sequence doesn't matter, only that we look through all three.

Using the Program Lens
Your programs and services are part of your agency's resource portfolio - whether a product, a technical skill or a service. We look through the program lens to help you decide how to get the most out of this resource category. We consider various factors like:

• Your program model's strengths and weaknesses;


• How well it fits your mission;


• Whether it's a core competency that you can get more out of or, if not, how you can strengthen it;


• How it compares with programs others offer and how distinctive it is; and


• Your program's key drivers, breaking it into component parts to see how to improve the model by using staff more effectively, attracting additional funding, and/or reducing costs.

Looking through the People Lens
The people in your organization are your human capital: its leadership, management, staff and volunteers. Your organizational culture—belief systems, behaviors and values—are also part of this resource group. Using the people lens can sharpen your focus on issues like:

• Board oversight and engagement;


• Your decision-making process, including who has the authority to make what decisions;


• Staffing structure, development, satisfaction and retention;


• Your ability to motivate stakeholders' support;


• Your communications’ consistency and clarity, both internally and externally; and


• How you can leverage or change your human capital to improve your program effectiveness and financial condition.

Focusing on Money Lens
By money, we refer to the financial resources you have - cash and hard assets like technology, facilities, etc. We look through the money lens to help you figure out how you can get, manage, and use this resource to maximum effect. We assess such factors as:

• Cash: how much you have to pay for operations -- what is coming in, going out and waiting to be received to support your activities;


• Revenue: its sources, mix, and predictability;


• Profitability: how well your revenue covers your costs - for each program, administration, and the enterprise as a whole;


• How realistically you can plan and budget for the coming year(s) and make the necessary adjustments over time;


• How cost-effectively your facilities meet your organization’s needs; and


• Whether your data management systems capture the facts you need to make informed decisions about your programs and clients, fund-raising and expenses, and staffing requirements and capabilities.

By analyzing the effect your choices have on your whole organization—program, people and money—you have greater certainty about your decision's outcome. You are more productive and put your resources to best use for a greater impact -- all of which increase your overall probability of success.

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