Tiger Teams

Concept development teams for new W&M ventures, academic and organizational

Problem statement

In advance of formal strategic planning, W&M has generated a number of substantive, high-impact, ideas that could simultaneously advance our financial stability and academic excellence. In several such areas, much work has already been done by a number of constituencies – Board, Faculty Assembly, administrative leaders, deans. These areas are of sufficient potential value to be pursued without waiting for a more extended strategic planning process.

Solution

Tiger Teams would be charged to develop the concept for a new venture to readiness for a go/no go decision. Such a decision would advance the concept to a further, "final blueprint" stage. Tiger teams, composed of domain experts at W&M, would craft and deliver products that can be assessed for such a decision, by the president and board.

Entry Criteria

For a New Ventures Tiger Team to be constituted by the president, the following must be true of the core idea …

It has high potential to align academic and financial models so as to enhance excellence
It warrants dedicated research because it could have strategic impact at mission level
Substantial preliminary research has been done
It has been vetted by several governing and/or advisory bodies at W&M
It has such complexity that a fuller work plan must be developed before implementation ("what do we need to know and how would we learn it?")
It requires participation of diverse constituencies to be realized successfully

Exit Criteria

For board review and a presidential decision, the team should deliver a very brief report that validates (or invalidates) the opportunity, including the following …

Case statement: what we should do and why
Business plan: costs, revenues, other resources needed and generated
Preliminary assessment of positive/negative impacts
Institutional readiness assessment
Key constituencies and consultation mechanisms
Road map for implementation (high-level, not detailed) and timeline, given #4
As addenda: positioning and/or market analysis if relevant

Team Design

Cabinet and/or ELT sponsor as lead
Core team membership is reasonably small (~5-6)
Core team are faculty, staff, administrators with domain expertise and oversight
Appropriate number of sub-teams and professional consultants to work component issues
Sub-groups of representatives from key constituencies: those with relevant expertise and purview