In the story of Rumpelstiltskin, a young woman (newly married to the king) is taken into a basement room filled with straw and directed to spin it into gold. This task is the result of a promise made by her father, a man prone, shall we say, to exaggeration.

The dilemma of the young wife is not dissimilar to the dilemma of many leaders in organizations. They must take work with differing functions, teams and projects, consider changing markets and technology, and then weave from them a strategic plan. Ideally, a plan that will organize activities, provide direction and focus, and communicate team/organization value to key stakeholders. Spinning straw into gold indeed!

The trick for the young woman was to allow the strange little man (in the story, Rumpelstiltskin) to take over the spinning wheel. In real life, a not-so-strange organizational consultant (Andrew Black) meets with organization stakeholders, utilizes SWOT Analysis to identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and then uses that data to create a strategic plan.  

The story of Rumpelstiltskin has a happy ending. Your story can have a happy ending as well, if you partner with consultant who can deploy a collaborative process to bring out the wisdom of your team and create a strategic road map to serve as the foundation of your team and leadership activity in the weeks and months ahead.