Our Capabilities

The Forbes Group offers a broad range of strategic senior management counseling services.
Among them:

Strategic Management and Counseling Services

Alternative futures assessment and future scenarios
Facilitating planning meetings
For-profit association incubation and management
Defining the association's purpose, publics and customer
Developing a preferred future and mission
Setting attainable goals, objectives, strategies and policies
Developing an optimal organizational culture
Evaluation, assessment and updating of strategies
Restructuring the association for maximum effectiveness
Governance assessment and design
CEO counseling
Executive search
Maximizing relationships between volunteers and staff
Facilitating mergers and acquisitions
Incubating new associations and organizations

Research and Evaluation

Economic analysis
Industry benchmarking
Membership value analysis
Needs assessment
Surveying and polling (including Web-based research)
Focus groups
State-of-the-industry reports
Industry segment opportunity reports
Media reporting scans and analysis
End-customer needs analysis
Acquisition searches
Association acquirer or investor searches

Association Incubation and Management

Market identification
Business planning
Concept development
Funding counseling
Marketing planning
Product and service development
Incorporation and legal set up
Association management

Marketing Services

Membership development programs
Competitive analyses
Market niche development
Market and product analyses
Marketing plans and strategies
New product development and introduction
Association identity programs

Strategic Communications Evaluation

Communications audits
Determination of public perceptions of the association and its competitors
Analysis of relationships with employees and the effectiveness of internal communications
Development of long-range communications strategy

Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution

Crisis management planning
Development and training of crisis teams
Crisis communications
Post-crisis assessment and planning

Technology and Knowledge Management Counseling

Creating a knowledge-based organization
Reconfiguring staff to manage an electronic environment
Developing knowledge management processes and systems
Identifying the impact of electronic commerce on the nature of work
Identifying the impact of electronic commerce on customers and members
Utilizing the Web to provide advocacy
Converting fixed-time periodicals into real-time electronic resources

Education and Training

Assessment of current and future educational development needs of association members
Delivery of training programs to staff and board members on topics such as distance learning, training technologies, leadership skills and team-building and personal development practices
Development of educational programs to meet member needs
Evaluation of current educational programs
Leadership assessment and development of tools and techniques for effectively managing volunteer-based organizations

Credentialing

Development of certification and accreditation programs
Rehabilitation of certification and accreditation programs

Parsing the Association
Bruce Butterfield, CAE, APR President, The Forbes Group
Associations need to rethink product and service pricing has members become more demanding of value. Why not allow them to buy short-term memberships, portions of meetings, chapters of books, paragraphs of articles instead of the whole thing?... more
Simplified Planning for Complex Times
Bruce Butterfield, CAE, APR, The Forbes Group
Strategic planning is essential for any organization, but it doesn't have to be boring and unproductive. Preferred Future Development is a way to simplify the process, precisely define outcomes and clarify board and staff roles. Best of all, it's fast and... more
Keeping Your Head
Bruce Butterfield, CAE, APR, President, The Forbes Group
Keeping a cool head in scary times isn't easy, but it's essential. Here are some tips for moving beyond survival to revival. ... more