Built for DMO Leaders, by DMO Leaders
The OA Method™ is the strategic planning system built for destinations, civic boards, and travel industry leaders tired of plans that get filed and forgotten.
The Tale of the Dusty Book Shelf
Every year, destination organizations commission strategic plans. Consultants come in, stakeholders are convened, vision statements are wordsmithed, and a beautiful document is produced. And then, within eighteen months, that document is replaced by daily urgency: the mayor wants something new, the hoteliers want more sales, the staff brainstormed some new ideas, the board questioning the budget. The plan becomes a book end on the book shelf all because the actual implementation of the plan wasn’t a discussion. So now, everything is important.
The OA Method™ was built to interrupt that pattern.
Strategy, systems, and culture are aligned in a single engagement, not three sequential projects. The plan is built around the daily operating rhythm of the organization from day one. The Radical Alignment Map™ translates the strategic plan into annual business plans, quarterly priorities, and the KPIs that show up in the leadership team’s standing meetings and the plan truly identifies what is important and when.
Anyone can deliver a binder.
The OA Method™ Five Phase Strategic Plan
Phase 1. Project Pre Work & Planning. Destination research and SWOT analysis. We arrive on day one with a working read of the destination, the organization, and the strategic landscape. The board and leadership team see the work taken seriously before the first conversation begins.
Phase 2. Community Engagement. One-on-one stakeholder interviews paired with broad community input through online surveys, focus groups, and town halls. The plan is built on what the community actually says, not what the leadership team thinks they would say.
Phase 3. Board Strategic Alchemy Lab. A facilitated board workshop where mission, vision, and values are developed in the room. The board is not asked to approve a document. The board is asked to build one.
Phase 4. Radical Alignment Implementation. KPI development and organizational structure review. The Radical Alignment Map™ translates the strategic plan into annual business plans, quarterly priorities, and the KPIs the leadership team will track. Implementation and communications plans are built in parallel.
Phase 5. Ongoing Consultation. KPI dashboard development plus launch, follow-up, and refinement. OA stays through the launch to make sure the plan survives contact with the daily work. The standard is simple. The plan gets used.
Actual Implementation You Can Understand
At the close of the engagement, the organization holds:
- A multi-year strategic plan grounded in Destinations International’s Futures Study and adapted to the host community.
- The Radical Alignment Map™ that turns the plan into annual business plans, quarterly priorities, and KPIs.
- A leadership team aligned on the work, the timing, and the metrics.
- A board engaged in and accountable to the plan they approved.
- An operating cadence that survives past the engagement.
This is not a binder. This is the operating system for the organization’s next three years.
Recommended Next Step - AlchemyOS™
Your strategic plan is done. Now it is time to get to work. AlchemyOS™ is OA’s retained operational excellence support program. It is the standing partnership that keeps your leadership team running on the cadence, KPIs, and culture you just installed.
The standing rhythm includes:
- One, one-hour coaching call per month for the Executive Director
- One, 30-minute coaching call per month for each department leader
- Quarterly, one-hour virtual leadership team meeting focused on Organizational and Strategic Plan process and KPIs
- Annual, in-person Board Orientation and Strategy Session
- On-demand access to the OA team and toolkit between sessions
Throughout all phases, OA works closely with the board and staff to evaluate progress and ensure resources are focused on high-impact opportunities. The approach avoids wasted time, money, and effort by targeting initiatives that deliver a measurable return on investment, balancing fiscal discipline with the mission of tourism promotion and visitor engagement.
Strong program management with a people-first approach is critical to any transformation involving diverse stakeholders. Keeping stakeholders informed and engaged avoids negative impacts and builds durable support.
Most often activated the month after a Strategic Plan engagement closes so your new plan doesn’t begin to collect dust.
Organizational Strategic Plan + Board Blueprint™
VisitColumbusGA
The Situation
After 29 years, Columbus found themselves with a new tourism leader equipped with a fresh CDME credential, the support of the staff and community and a desire to create a best practice organization.
What We Did
Using the OA Method™ strategic planning process, OA asked tough questions, got the board and staff out of their comfort zone and set the stage for future success. Additionally, OA conducted a board best practices session focused on the separation of staff and board and how the board can be supportive to the team.
The Outcome
A new multi-year strategic plan that strategically placed VisitColumbusGA as a leader in the community and a table setter for strategic community discussions and a Board of Directors updating their bylaws and committee structure.
Real Questions
How long does a typical engagement run?
Most engagements run 90 to 120 days from discovery to launch. The biggest variables are the organization’s readiness and the board’s calendar.
What is required from the client?
A committed CEO. An engaged board. Access to the data and stakeholders that make discovery real. The rest is OA’s responsibility to architect.
Can the OA Method™ work alongside an existing strategic plan?
The OA Method™ is a strategic plan. However, the OA Scorecard™ is a great resource to run alongside your existing strategic plan to ensure you aspirational strategies can become a tactical reality. The full OA Method™ is appropriate when the existing plan no longer reflects the organization’s reality or the market’s direction.
How does the OA Method™ differ from a generalist consulting firm’s planning approach?
The OA Method™ was built by award winning and accredited destination organization leaders who have actually ran DMO’s. The practitioners behind OA’s world have lead organizations to DMAP Accreditation with Distinction, culture achievement awards, international marketing and sales awards and organization of the year honors. Every framework was forged in the field, navigating real budgets, real boards, and real community pressure. Generalist firms bring methodology. OA brings methodology that already survived contact with the work.
How is the engagement scoped?
OA understands that every organization and destination is unique. We take a boutique custom approach to our proposals after learning and understanding the exact needs of the organization.
Our Partners
Real conversation. Real diagnosis. Real plan.
A 30-minute call is free. We’ll hear where your organization actually is, name the highest-leverage move, and recommend the right entry point.