Red Sail Advisors
Red Sail Advisors assists not-for-profit, mission driven health care, social service, and community-based organizations to improve, thrive, adapt, and respond. Building upon forty years of industry experience, Rey Spadoni helps organizations develop actionable strategic plans, assess new partnership and merger and acquisition opportunities, develop turnaround and transformation initiatives, and evolve forward. The About page provides more information about Rey and the Red Sail Advisors team and the My Book page details his Amazon Bestseller, Saving Organizations That Matter, a book about organizational transformations. The Mission Leader’s Journal page contains brief weekly insights aimed at helping managers contend with the unique challenges they face.
Rey chose Red Sail Advisors as the name for his consulting practice for two reasons. First, the artist for his book cover chose a sail boat with red sails as part of the overall design and secondly, because of the manufacturing process whereby tanbark, a tannin rich dye and preservative, is used to slow the degradation of sails over time. The tanbark naturally turns reddish in color due to the natural aging process and from the effects of weather and time.
Having served as an executive within the health care industry for forty years, including as President & CEO, board member, and consultant, Rey brings significant experience and a broad and practical perspective to the role of strategic advisor. He has “walked in the shoes” of those whom he assists and understands the likely implications of critical decisions. Much like the reddish sails that become weatherworn with time, Rey draws from his many years of experience to facilitate lasting organizational change, support and help develop board members and executives, and positively impact the important “organizations that matter”.
Rey would be happy to talk with you about your specific situation and needs and though it is impossible to outline all of the ways he may be able to assist, here are some representative examples of the services he provides. Please feel free to follow his Mission Leader’s Journal in order to gain further information on his consulting practice and, hopefully, to obtain useful information to assist you in your work.
“Our decision to engage Rey Spadoni and RedSail during our most recent Strategic Planning initiative process has resulted in a rewarding experience. Rey brings much to bear to what can be an arduous undertaking, and his experience and expertise brought such value to our leadership team and Board throughout this process. From start to finish, Rey constructed an enriching, efficient and comprehensive experience within which he interfaced skillfully and sensitively with internal and external stakeholders, including staff at all levels, Board committees, and community partners. His ability to analyze and synthesize broad and varying data and information contributed to a measured, inspired and promising Strategic Plan for Manet Community Health. We were thankful for chance to collaborate with Rey and RedSail and would welcome the opportunity to do so again.”
— Grace Murphy-McAuliffe, Board President, Robert Griffin, Board Treasurer, Cynthia Sierra, Chief Executive Officer, Manet Community Health Center
Consulting Services
Strategy
Organizations need to periodically take a step back and assess their prospects, the environment within which they operate, their own capabilities, and the threats and opportunities they face. Rey assists clients conduct such self assessments and facilitates the gathering of objective external feedback and industry trend data to support those efforts.
Leaders are brought through a process of aspiring toward a desired future and then led through a time tested methodology designed to maximize input and engagement while also moving from aspirational to actionable tactical plans. The emphasis is on practicality and achievability, building consensus among board members, leadership, and employees.
Recent strategic planning engagements have pointed out the importance of organizational culture to employee engagement, workforce culture, recruitment and retention, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. These perspectives are reflected in Rey’s planning methodology.
Change
Organizational change, turnaround and transformation is a topic Rey has written and spoken about extensively. Additionally, he has led several organizations through such changes, including in high profile and major impact scenarios. He appreciates the leadership challenges associated with such circumstances as he has “worn those shoes”.
Rey understands that organizational change takes leadership, effective communication, team building, persuasion, and exceptional tactical execution. He is prepared to assist organizations in the earliest stages of planning such an initiative… all the way through helping to facilitate successful completion. If needed, this may include executive coaching as well, whether individual or group.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Rey is biased toward taking “the long view”, understanding from experience that short-term solutions often fail and diminish the prospects of the organization. As such, he will work to build durable success into all strategic and tactical planning work.
M&A
Rey has experienced several mergers and acquisitions as a member of the senior team, CEO, and board of directors. As such, he has developed a strong instinct when it comes to the reasons such initiates can succeed… and why so many fail. He has been responsible for acquiring other organizations, led organizations that were being acquired and served as President & CEO of an organization that merged with another.
Rey is familiar with the various models of corporate development, which range from contractual, joint venture, full asset merger, and sole member acquisitions. He is able to facilitate discussions and decision making processes among all those responsible.
Because he has focused on not-for-profit, mission driven organizations during his career, Rey can help boards and leadership groups evaluate options from a position of strength, ever mindful of the impact of such initiatives on their organization’s mission, employees, and especially the community it serves.
Retreats
Rey can help to lead or facilitate a leadership or governance retreat focused on decision making, education, culture change, improvement, organizational transformation, or joint problem solving. These can be customized to suit your needs and can include highly targeted and agenda driven goals or be more open ended and designed to improve group effectiveness and team building.
Assessments
Leaders, especially newly appointed ones or those driving change within their organizations, may desire an objective review of management and operational effectiveness and efficiency. Rey has conducted consulting reviews designed to foster such a self-assessment based on the stated current and emerging objectives. Such reviews can be detailed or conducted more quickly and at a higher level.
Readiness
As organizations evolve and transform, it is not uncommon for boards to search for a new CEO or leaders to make key hires… only to later find that the selected candidate was not a good, long-term fit for the dynamic environment and emerging organizational culture. Rey can conduct a pre-search organizational assessment designed to improve the success of the search and eventual new hire.
Please follow Rey’s Mission Leader’s Journal for more information. Thank you.
Red Sail Advisors LLC 