Tillamook County Creamery Association

Developing a Culture of Planning

Founded in 1909, Tillamook County Creamery Association is a dairy co-op owned by 99 farmers in Tillamook County, Oregon. Tillamook offers a variety of products: cheese, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt and butter.

Mixing up a new strategic mindset

At Tillamook, a very strong and distinct organizational culture has propelled the company’s 100-year existence. Their new CEO realized that significant and sustainable growth required a strategic shift in thinking to realize the full potential of the brand. Recognizing the need to strengthen the leadership team while transitioning to a new strategic mindset, the CEO asked Coraggio to assist in navigating the space between their annual initiative planning and their long- term strategic planning.

At the time, over half of the leadership team members were new to their role, which introduced additional complexity to implementing a new planning process. Ultimately, Tillamook is working to reposition as a modern dairy company, not just a “cheese company,” leveraging its strong culture and heritage.

Releasing a new framework

Coraggio assisted Tillamook leadership with the development of an overall planning framework for the company. The new framework integrates both short-term and long-term planning, with a stronger link to the company’s budget cycle. This included facilitation of leadership work sessions that defined initiative planning at Tillamook and took leaders through a prioritization process at the tactical level. The Coraggio engagement expanded to include leadership development and counsel to the CEO and executive team.

Following the initiative planning process, Coraggio developed an initiative management “playbook.” This book is a detailed guide to help facilitate the implementation of Tillamook’s short-term plan, with detailed instructions and leadership meeting timelines and agendas.

“ Coraggio helped my leadership team work through a number of very critical strategic priorities at a very important time. Their combination of facilitation skills and easy to understand tools really allowed us to focus our thinking and build a solid foundation for implementation and future planning. ”

— Patrick Criteser, President & CEO, Tillamook Creamery