The Port of Seattle needed a single strategic roadmap to integrate various plans and policies. These include Port Commission policies, the recommendations from a community advisory committee, their mission statement, the Seaport's 20-year vision, the 5-year business plan, and the budgets. They needed to unify these separate plans.
We guided an internal task force in developing a strategic map which visually connected goals into causal hierarchies, identified critical initiatives, and set stretch measures. This project incorporated the popular Balanced Score Card methodology, modified to reflect the Seaport’s triple bottom-line objectives of financial success, economic benefits, and community impact.
The strategic map was strongly endorsed by senior executives and the Port Commission. Internal staff cascaded the process through the operating divisions, making the strategy map the foundation of their planning and budgeting process. The strategy map has been a key tool in helping the Seaport become a national leader in efficiently handling cargo and facilitating international trade.