Advisory Services
Mr. Kepner has had first-hand board, management, consulting and legal experience in each of the following, often inter-related, subject matter areas. See Network Colleagues for other FMA team members and their areas of expertise and subject matter interest.
Strategy Development & Execution: Creating new or revised mission-driven strategic plans and programs.
Preferred Engagement Examples:
Organization-wide strategic planning for community-based social service organizations and design of processes for, and oversight implementation of, new or refreshed strategic plans;
Evaluation of the effectiveness of community-based social service programs based upon agreed upon criteria;
Development of new and refreshed community-based social service programs, including in particular new programs engaged in with other partner organizations;
Development and implementation of philanthropic strategies and programs to fund community-based social service organizations;
Strategies and programs of specific interest in this category are those designed to address the core issues of poverty relating to children, hunger and housing, particularly those which focus on trauma, food & nutrition, childhood education, job security, sports and/or health services.
Alliances & Mergers: Structuring and consummating transactional models (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, corporate affiliations, partnerships, management agreements, governing and sponsorship arrangements) under which organizations will be able to create value for the people they serve.
Preferred Engagement Examples:
Designing efficient processes for executive and board leadership to assess the need for alliances with other organizations;
Counseling executive and board leadership regarding potential types of corporate and other transactions with other organizations to achieve mutually beneficial mission-driven objectives;
Assisting leadership to develop mission, leadership, program, legal and other evaluative criteria and engage in related due diligence to assess the value creation potential of new alliances with other organizations;
Creating and implementing traditional and innovative structures to achieve new alliances with other organizations that meet appropriate value creation criteria.
Governance: Advising on governance dynamics, including but not limited to, governing board representation, corporate by-laws and corporate policies.
Preferred Engagement Examples:
Advice regarding optimal governance structures to ensure up-to-date achievement of mission, leadership, governance, branding, philanthropic, compliance and other critical objectives that will better position the organization in light of past experience, current realities and emerging trends;
Organization and creation of comprehensive on-line corporate governance policies addressing trustee duties and responsibilities, trustee and executive performance assessments, executive compensation, conflicts of interest and similar matters.
Management Coaching: One-to-one leadership, management effectiveness and career development coaching for top executives and middle management.
Preferred Engagement Examples:
Career counseling for executive and middle management professionals in social service and health care fields.
Life Coaching Model: FMA’s life coaching model features efficient four 2-hour, mutually-scheduled, in-person sessions over a 2-3 month period with disciplined homework assignments between each. The result is a comprehensive life plan, with a clear purpose, guiding principles and focused actions to take. Participants become conversant with a set of tools used to develop their life plan, some of which can be applied professionally in business settings. This service is priced to fit the participant’s ability to pay and can be tailored for organizational use in presentation and facilitated group session formats.
The model has these other key features:
Flexible (model is adapted to the individual)
Self-Executing (participant can use the plan and tools for a life time)
Sustainable (the plan adapts to life’s changes as they occur and priorities change)
Well-being Focus (while not a substitute for psychological counseling, the plan takes into account physical and emotional well-being)
Participant Ownership (participants create their own purpose, plan and guiding principles in a step-by-step building process)
FMA’s life coaching model was piloted successfully during 2016, and has been used since, with women and men of varying professional backgrounds and ages, including the following:
National Healthcare Provider Chief Executive:
“My engagement with John was life changing. The process was very well organized – it also demanded and deserved a full commitment from me. John inspired me to do my ‘homework’ and asked all the right probing and challenging questions. The result – the value – was a clear focus on the direction I needed for my career, and the ‘bonus’ was the focus it provided for all the facets of my life.”
Social Service Professional:
“My engagement with John came at a critical time in my life and career. It was transformative, advancing both my personal and professional pathways. I had often defined myself in relation to my mission-based work, but had neglected to invest in myself along the way. John skillfully guided me through a process to concretely identify the skills, experiences, and strengths that anchor my professional portfolio and identify what is most important to me. My work with him would not have been successful without his ability to earn my trust and help me learn to trust myself.”