SUMMARY: As new regulations set off seismic shifts in the for-profit higher education industry, Kaplan needed to re-align five very independent operating units around a common brand and way of doing business.  We helped the CEO articulate a new brand-focused direction for the business, build support among operating leadership around that vision, and took the first steps to motivate 36,000 employees to make it happen.

HIGHLIGHTS: Once the CEO’s direction was set, we used the organization’s planning and budgeting processes to create greater alignment up, down and across the organization.  This included developing new long-term metrics, working with operations staff to identify ways to shape near-term planning around those metrics, creating new measures, and integrating all of it into the annual planning process.  This affected allocation of resources, performance management and compensation, and by its nature drove considerable conversation, deliberation and focus on the CEO’s new direction among corporate and line managers alike.