Case Study: Orion's Amazing Business Via A One Page Strategic Plan!

INTRODUCTION:

As both small business advisors and small business accountants, we like nothing better than looking at case studies that show how various firms achieved their success using some of the great tools available with the concept of a one page strategic plan. Quite simply, we know they work because we have used it but getting others to see that they can do it also with a bit of hard work and pointing in the right direction can be a bit of a challenge.

Orion International is a niche executive talent agency specialising in the of placing military personnel. The company started in 1991 and has grown into a behemoth over the years which basically all started when they decided to use the Gazelles' system. Military people who have come back from national service when employed by civilian companies tend to bring expertise, experience, maturity, commitment and dedication.

Whilst going through the business planning process, here are some of the key areas that got them onto the road to success.

Figure 1: Orion International recognised the key benefits military personnel could bring to every day businesses & prospered.

1. Niche

CEO John Tully started the agency and with military experience himself he realised that the benefits military personnel could bring to most companies would be enormous and attractive so he decided to create a niche market in the talent agency space. By specialising in this area he was well on the way to having a point of difference and huge competitive advantage.

Figure 2: What niche does your business service and does it stand out from the crowd? Photo courtesy Lara Scolari Gallery Balmain

2. Brand Promise

Very early the company realised that cash was king. The problem with the executive placement service industry was that on average it took 60 days to find a suitable candidate and get them into their new employment. This chewed up an enormous amount of cash flow. When sitting down an analysing the critical numbers such work in progress days, cash flow forecasts and debtor days, it was clear that something had to change.

The very smart thing they did was to build their brand promise into a cash generating machine together. When they worked out a strategy to fix cash flow and set themselves even further apart from competition, they introduced a premier service (and charged extra) by having a brand promise "14 Days Done!". In other words, the promise was to get the prospective employees into their new job within 14 days of the employer indicating they needed somebody.

This service brought their overall placement service days down from 40 to 26 and their cash inflows skyrocketed not to mention revenue and profitability went through the roof!. They had solved so many problems for themselves, their employer clients and the prospective employees all at the same time!

How did they do it? Well when they worked out what they would have to do to achieve this brand promise, they arranged candidates to all be interviewed on site at the employer's premises all on the same day. This was something that wasn't done back then. They then worked out a flowchart and system on what would need to be ready, when by and who by etc. It worked!

Today their brand promise concept is still the same although it is now "On Time, On Target!"

Figure 3: David Bowie was a classic example of identifying a niche and then planning his way through his career to become one of the most successful artists in history. Image by Helen Green

3. Mission & Values

Tying in brand promise with critical numbers with their one page strategic plan meant they had to clearly articulate the mission which was to strengthen American business with best-in-class military talent through the relentless pursuit of excellence, unwavering commitment to the nation's military professionals.

Their values were excellence, innovation,teamwork, commitment and warrior ethos.

CONCLUSION:

This company is a great example of how, with a bit of structured business planning they could solve many problems for many people and their business on all levels.

They went through the process and stayed disciplined along the way and today over 25 years' later they are going stronger than ever!