You’d like to know a bit more about the company behind the Caribbean Strategy Conference. After all, we all like to do business with companies and people we know and even like – it’s part of our region’s culture. Here’s a short introduction to the company that is playing the role of host.

Framework Consulting is owned and operated by Francis Wade and Dale Pilgrim-Wade. We’re a husband and wife team with Jamaican and Trinidadian backgrounds respectively, although we met in Hollywood, Florida.

Our company started doing strategic planning retreats in 2001. Up until then, our focus was on transformation programs in the Caribbean and we had some success getting employees excited and engaged. Creating an individual vision came easy to those who attended this training.

However, the team (Amie Devero and Francis Wade) noticed that the projects being created from these events had no connection with corporate strategy. After some digging, we noticed that the strategic plan was either missing, forgotten or a well-kept secret. Inspired people, but heading off in too many directions.

Fortunately, the soon-to-be-famous Kaplan/Norton Strategy Mapping Article was published in late 2000. Excited by the prospect of mapping a strategy in a way all staff could appreciate, we added strategic planning to our lineup. It fast became our most important work.

Since then, we have led strategic planning retreats in a number of the region’s companies, plus the United States…including a Fortune 50 company. Our specialty lies in strategy creation – bringing a team of executive/colleagues together to produce game changing plans that all are aligned with. This typically occurs in the context of a two day retreat.

However, most Caribbean executives haven’t attended one of our planning sessions. If they have heard of us, it’s probably due to the fact that we share a great number of inside, strategic planning secrets publicly in the pages of the Jamaica Gleaner (and also Trinidad Newsday.)

Also, the approach we used up until 2003 was documented in the book, Powered by Principle. But people ask, why share so much? For free?

We have a philosophy that giving away good ideas allows them to spread, and get used. This is good for the Caribbean, but also a way to build our brand. Plus, the feedback we receive is superb, and makes us better consultants.

Want to contact us about the work we do? Use the contact form at www.replytofrancis.info.

Francis