Industry Representation      International Representation (US Orgs)      US Representation (Int’l Orgs)

DC Representation      Issues Advocacy      Project Management      Strategic Advice

Just as every Association needs to unite interested parties sitting around the table, each participating company must ensure that their interests are communicated and represented effectively and appropriately. Too many times corporate representatives to trade associations and professional societies earn the “bull in a china shop” reputation among their peers for storming into often delicate meetings (figuratively and sometimes literally) and demanding to get their way.  We know it just takes more finesse than that.

The Hitchcock Group works with key representatives of the company, in a confidential setting, to understand their positions, drivers, must haves and can’t haves, and works with those representatives to develop strategies for success. We then carry those positions to the appropriate forum, be it an Association in which the company participates or directly to the legislators, regulators, or other influencers who need to understand the company’s issues, concerns, and solutions and advocate on their behalf.

Time is increasingly at a premium in our jobs, and with competition ever-increasing many companies rely on their internal resources to be focused on the key strategies of growing or maintaining their business. Let us help by being your boots on the ground wherever we need to be to ensure your interests are represented adequately and effectively, leveraging our knowledge of processes and our ability to build relationships and consensus.  Following are our core Corporate services, but we would welcome the chance to talk about other ways in which we can contribute to your success.

Industry Representation Services

With so many pulls on management time in the modern company, THG recognizes the need to be in many places at once. We have experience at all levels and sizes of corporations, working closely with managers and executives from junior-mid level right up to and including C-suite and owners/CEOs. We collect information about where companies need to be – places like trade associations, regulator’s offices, standards development bodies, and even in meetings with partners and allies on important corporate priorities. From there we work with the appropriate company representatives to develop corporate messaging and strategies to move the ball forward. We can work with you on strategy, venue, position, and messaging, and can deliver those to the right people or groups on your behalf. We become your eyes, ears, and voice, and your business becomes our business.

International Representation/Relationship Development for U.S. Companies

One of the foundations of The Hitchcock Group’s business is our experience in a number of countries around the world. We take immense pride in our understanding of cross-cultural communications and business interactions in such complex nations as China, Turkey, even Mexico, not to mention the diverse landscape that makes up Europe. We have business contacts and long-time partners on the ground in many of these countries, and know how to find them in others. We are familiar with many of the government challenges that face companies trying to do business internationally, and we know how to leverage relationships to navigate them. We can help define your international objectives, work with you to establish appropriate partnerships and other important business relationships to achieve those objectives.

U.S. Representation/Relationship Development for Foreign Companies

Our representation and relationship development services also work in reverse. We are equally at home working with Corporations from other countries interested in engaging in the American business environment. We help identify obstacles to entry as well as opportunities. We identify potential industry partners, and also the appropriate venues like trade shows or trade associations relevant to your industry – where you need to be and who you need to know.

Washington, D.C. Representation

As we all know, Washington, D.C. is filled to the brim with lobbyists, trade groups, special interests, union leaders, regulators, and lawmakers influencing all aspects of our daily lives. They influence what we eat, what we read, what we hear, what we breathe, even how we build and decorate our homes! That said, many of those regulators and lawmakers stand ready to listen to Corporations who represent jobs and voters in their home states and districts, and to help them grow those businesses so they can provide more jobs and deliver more votes. We are here in the D.C. area and ready to help you develop your messages and get you in those doors.

Issues Advocacy

Corporations are forever encountering challenges to doing business – it is part of what keeps us all busy and sometimes keeps us up at night. The number and extent of these issues depends on the business you’re in, the size of the industry, who your customers are, and who you have the potential to both influence and impact. All of that supports the need for effective issues management, especially where these issues are often very specific in nature yet do not require full-time resources to navigate them. Similar to our Association work, our expertise in establishing positions and conveying those to the appropriate audiences in a convincing manner ensures that your company’s voice is heard by the right people – the ones with the authority or power to favorably decide ultimate outcomes. THG has experience at the local, state, national, and international levels, having worked with agencies including the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Energy, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and many, many more. We know how to find the right people in the agencies and how to get in front of them.

Project Management

Corporate growth means thinking outside the box and coming up with new ideas, innovations, and initiatives. However, in many cases getting started means making the most of the resources available to get things moving, and often staff time can be very hard to justify without a guaranteed ROI out of the gate – but we all know that these things can take time. We work with Corporations to understand goals, objectives, timelines, and budgets, and to manage the resources to deliver. Talk to us confidentially about your project needs, and let’s come up with a plan to make the vision a reality!

Strategic Advice

How does your company respond to threats from overseas companies taking away market share or underselling your products? How do you respond to outside factors that stand to regulate your products out of the marketplace? How do you take a hard look at your corporate structure and resources and look for those sometimes unpopular or controversial areas where you can streamline your operations in order to increase productivity and profitability? How do you attract and hold on to the best talent in your industry? How do you strategically expand into new markets? We bring an outside perspective to your existing business, work with you to understand or establish your end goal, evaluate your current structure and/or resources, and consult with you on opportunities and paths to success in a highly confidential environment. Your success is our success – let us help!!

This is just a sampling of what we can do to help your company – and we would be delighted to explore opportunities that may not be covered here. Contact us today with your specific needs, and let’s discuss how we can help you and deliver results! Call +1 703 862 1147 or email Info@TheHitchcockGroup.com and let’s get down to (your) business!

The following list is a sampling of the industries and professions we have served directly, partnered with strategically, and established relationships with:

• Accounting
• Aircraft Recycling
• Air Forwarding
• Air Cargo
• Asphalt Paving
• Asphalt Refining
• Asphalt Roofing
• Association Legal Counsel
• Association Management
• Building Design
• Building Products Manufacturing
• Chemistry
• Composite Lumber
• Composite Panels
• Construction Demolition and Recycling
• Cool Roofing
• Customized Logistics
• Environmental/Energy
• Environmental Markets
• EPDM Roofing
• Extruded Polystyrene Foam
• Foam Sheathing
• Green Building
• Helicopters/Vertical Lift Aviation
• Hospitality
• Hotel Distribution
• Industrial Hygiene
• Insulation
• Insurance
• Law/Legal (Bar)
• Masonry Veneer
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Petroleum
• Polyisocyanurate Insulation
• Polyurethane
• Property Management
• Risk Management
• Reflective Roofing
• Roof Coatings
• Roof Contracting
• Roof Recycling
• Roofing and Waterproofing
• Single-ply Roofing
• Solar Roofing
• Spray Foam
• Tax Accounting
• Travel
• Vinyl Siding
• Vinyl Windows

And there are many more! We make it our business to understand your business, and are proud of our strong track record of doing just that. Contact us today to talk about your industry or profession and the complex challenges you are facing, and how we can help you.

Executive Director     Strategic Planning      Structural/Operational Review      Issues Advocacy

Project Management      D.C. Representation     Strategic Advice     Association Start-up

Associations are unique entities unto themselves. They bring together competitors, personalities, egos, agendas, and characters with the ultimate goal of leveraging the collective to achieve what is in everyone’s best interests, even where that means compromise, collaboration, negotiation, and consensus. This is not easy.

The Hitchcock Group brings experience working with both the human factors as well as the external influencers and drivers. Sometimes even when we know what we would prefer, we have to find common ground. Other times we know the direction that we, and those around us, need to go, and it is up to us to make that happen.

At the end of the day, we must find those common areas, we must work together to establish common positions, to understand the driving forces attempting to influence our business, to develop and implement our strategies for success, and to effectively communicate with our members, external stakeholders, legislators, regulators, and even the general public.

We also know all too well that some Associations simply do not have the resources to hire all of the expert resources they need in order to effectively deliver the return on investment their members deserve. Not every Association needs a full-time staff or even a full-time Executive Director, but they still require the same expertise and strategic leadership that the “big” Associations have.

The Hitchcock Group is poised to work with you to do all of these things and more.  Following are our core services, but we are also open to discussing other ways in which we may be able to help.

Executive Director Services

For those Associations lacking in the resources to engage full-time executive leadership or a full-scale management company, THG is here to help. There is no association too small for us to provide with the same strategic leadership we have a reputation for providing to $10+ billion industries. There is an Association out there for just about everything, and we make it our business to be passionate about your business and to work with you to advance that business. Executive Director services include Board management, ensuring adherence to appropriate organizational and legal requirements (including antitrust compliance), budgeting and oversight of financial management, strategic leadership and guidance, coordination of resources and activities, adherence to Association best practices, implementation of Association initiatives and activities, oversight of membership, meetings, and other operational aspects of the organization.

Strategic Planning Services

Association best practices recommend that responsible Association Boards establish a vision, mission, and strategic objectives, and update those on a three- to five-year cycle, and further it is recommended to use objective third-parties who don’t come to the table with preconceptions or their own agenda. THG is experienced in the entire process, from the front-end research that goes into a meaningful strategic planning exercise, including reaching-out to mapping-out the plan and expected outcomes with Association leaders to session facilitation over a 1, 2, or 3 day window and to a final report including the agreed vision, mission, strategic objectives, and high-level actions to be taken in order to achieve them. We further work with the appropriate staff or members on specific tactics and resource allocation as an additional service.

Structural and Operational Review

Has your Association Board of Directors adapted with changes in the industry or profession they represent, or with the size and scope of membership? Does the committee structure enable collaboration and consensus building, or is it a hindrance? When is the last time your Association took a long, hard look at its governance structure, and made the changes necessary to keep pace with other Associations both in and external to the industry you represent? THG is experienced in examining Associations and they way they are organized both on paper and in practice by reviewing documentation, evaluating organizational performance, observing activities firsthand, and talking one-on-one with the members. From there, we deliver recommendations for improvements.

Issues Advocacy

Associations have issues. That is one of the key reasons for competitors to come together. Some obviously have more issues than others, but that doesn’t negate the importance of effective issues management, especially where these issues are often very specific in nature yet do not require full-time resources to navigate them. Our expertise in establishing common positions and conveying those to the appropriate audiences in a convincing manner ensures that your collective voice is heard by the right people – the ones with the authority or power to favorably decide ultimate outcomes. THG has experience at the local, state, national, and international levels, having worked with agencies including the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Energy, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and many, many more. We know how to find the right people in the agencies and how to get in front of them.

Project Management

Just like Associations may not have the wherewithal to hire full-time executive directors or issues managers, sometimes there are projects that require skilled management knowledgeable in the way Associations work, but without hiring-in new people to manage them.  Often they have a finite life, other times they just don’t constitute a full-time job. Either way, we are poised to help. We know how to work with your staff, your leadership, and/or your key volunteers to deliver results.

Washington, D.C. Representation

While many Associations are affected by what happens in our nation’s Capital, if they don’t have a physical presence here it is very easy to be “out of sight, out of mind.” Located in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, THG is ready and able to be your eyes and ears in any number of government agencies, on Capitol Hill, or anyplace else you need us to be. We are also able to facilitate “fly-in” meetings with key representatives influencing legislation affecting your business and those from the home districts where your organizations provide jobs and bolster the economy. Additionally, we have a number of strategic relationships with K Street-type lobbying shops with whom we can help connect the dots should your specific issues need that level of attention.

Strategic Advice

Not to be confused with strategic planning, sometimes Associations need outside perspectives to help steer them through tricky or threatening situations. More and more industries and professions are being impacted by consolidations through mergers and acquisitions, meaning that where an Association may have once represented 50 companies, it now represents 20. That generally means there is less money coming in to support the same level of activity, and something has to give. That is just one example. Associations have challenges with membership recruitment and retention, non-dues revenue generation, borrowing from next year to pay for this one, rogue members or staff, and the list goes on. We work with you to examine your problems and to develop steps to be taken – sometimes in very much a “crisis management” mode.

Association Start-ups

Above we stated that there is an Association for everything.  That is mostly true. Every day there is a new product or technology, a new way of doing things, or an innovative new business that does not yet have that collective established to take on threats and challenges or to leverage opportunities together. Sometimes it is not anything new, but there hasn’t been a reason to get together heretofore, but there suddenly is now. While we would not recommend waiting until there is a burning issue, we are happy to work with any of these situations to bring together companies or individuals who need to leverage their collective rather than trying to tackle issues alone. We coordinate the meetings, set agendas, state objectives, and carry the ball forward. We also help navigate the murky waters of non-profit governance and legal organization.

And that’s just the big stuff. Contact us today with your specific need, and let us show you how we can help you and deliver results! Call +1 703 862 1147 or email Info@TheHitchcockGroup.com and let’s talk about how to do what you need to do.