About Us
Who We Are
StraightUp Management Solutions is a consulting firm with a strategic focus on the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. We remove obstacles from your path while energizing and advancing the capabilities of your people, processes and technologies. We provide broader perspectives, knowledge, wisdom and experience and we energize and inspire your team with our practical hands-on approach.
About Margaret
Margaret Foulds is the founder, president and principal consultant of StraightUp Management Solutions and has over 30 years’ experience in line management and consulting across a broad spectrum of public companies, private enterprises and not-for-profit (NFP) organizations.
As a former finance executive and chief administrative officer at several NFPs, Margaret has tackled from the inside, many of the issues that NFPs are grappling with today. She understands the challenges as well as the delicate balancing act of serving the mission, inspiring and leading staff and volunteers, implementing complex change, all while ensuring day-to-day operations run smoothly.
As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and Project Management Professional (PMP), Margaret brings a unique set of skills, insights and hands-on practical solutions to help organizations diagnose and fix what’s not working and to put in place a stronger, more resilient foundation of finance and operating capabilities. A key aspect of her success in implementing sustainable improvements is the way she inspires, energizes and mentors work groups and project teams throughout the process.
What Do We Mean By StraightUp?
The name says it all. We focus on providing straight up and frank communication with transparency and honesty being key elements throughout the process. Confronting reality is the first step in solving problems. There is power in truth.
What Makes StraightUp Different?
We listen. We meet you where you are and we build from there. We don’t propose some lofty ideal that is impractical and unattainable for your reality.
We unbundle and simplify the complex and we demystify the opaque. Our communication is clear, straightforward, jargon-free and understandable across the organization. No translation required.
We help you bridge strategy to execution. We develop and illuminate linkages between your strategic vision and the operational plans and tactics needed to realize that vision.
We bring order to chaos. We shape your ideas into specific projects, help you articulate specific outcomes and map out the plan to guide implementation. And, we mentor your team in project management disciplines along the way. We help you become better implementers.
Our strategic focus is the not-for-profit sector. Passion for the cause is the energy that fuels your organization. Our passion is solving problems that stand in the way of your goals.
Our Promise
We will listen to your issues.
Your needs are unique; the plan we develop for you will reflect that.
We will be objective and transparent throughout our process and in our communications with you.
We will work with your team to leverage their knowledge and to build their trust and confidence in the solutions we recommend.
We will be mindful of your resources.
We will ensure that upon completion of our work you are able to manage and sustain the new capabilities that we helped you achieve.