ApproveThis manages your Cascade Strategy Classic Integration approvals.

Why Combine ApproveThis with Cascade Strategy Classic?

Businesses thrive when strategy meets execution. Cascade Strategy Classic provides the framework to plan and track organizational goals, while ApproveThis ensures decisions happen efficiently. Together, they bridge the gap between high-level planning and ground-level approvals. This integration isn’t just about automation—it’s about aligning every approval with your strategic vision.

For example, a marketing team launching a campaign tied to a Q4 revenue goal can use Cascade to define milestones and ApproveThis to fast-track budget approvals. Leaders gain visibility into how daily decisions support broader objectives, while operational teams eliminate bottlenecks that slow progress.

Key Business Benefits

Connecting these platforms through Zapier unlocks three core advantages:

Accelerated Decision-Making: Automatically route approvals when goals, tasks, or risks are created in Cascade. Approvers receive context-rich requests via email, reducing back-and-forth.

Cross-Team Accountability: Finance, operations, and leadership see how approved requests impact strategic KPIs. A procurement request isn’t just a form—it’s linked to a Cascade goal like "Reduce Supply Chain Costs by 15%."

Risk Mitigation: Issues flagged in Cascade trigger approval workflows in ApproveThis, ensuring risks are reviewed by the right stakeholders before escalating.

Use Cases That Drive Impact

1. Strategic Goal Validation

When a new goal is created in Cascade (e.g., "Expand to 3 New Markets"), ApproveThis automatically generates an approval request to validate alignment with financial and operational capacities. A manufacturing company might use this to ensure expansion goals don’t exceed production capabilities. Approvers receive calculated fields showing projected costs, letting them approve, deny, or request adjustments within minutes.

2. Risk Assessment Automation

New issues in Cascade—like a supplier delay—trigger approval workflows for mitigation plans. A retail chain could automate risk reviews, requiring regional managers to approve contingency budgets. Since ApproveThis supports conditional thresholds, smaller risks auto-approve based on predefined rules, while larger ones escalate to executives.

3. Task-Level Accountability

Tasks created in Cascade (e.g., "Develop Vendor Onboarding Portal") initiate approval requests to confirm deadlines and resources. IT teams benefit here: ApproveThis’s sequential approvals ensure network upgrade tasks get sign-off from security, infrastructure, and finance leads in order.

4. Bidirectional Alignment

Approved requests in ApproveThis can auto-create Cascade goals. Imagine a healthcare provider’s compliance team approving a new data security protocol—this instantly becomes a tracked goal in Cascade with assigned owners and KPIs.

Features That Enhance Cascade Workflows

ApproveThis adds precision to Cascade’s strategic oversight with features like:

Email-Based Approvals: External partners or clients can review requests without needing a Cascade license. A construction firm might let subcontractors approve change orders directly via email.

Vacation Delegation: Automatically reroute approvals if a Cascade goal owner is out. Critical deadlines won’t stall because someone’s OOO.

Real-Time Dashboards: Track how many approvals are pending for each Cascade goal. Leadership can spot bottlenecks in quarterly objectives at a glance.

Setup Made Simple

Configuring the integration takes three steps:

1. Connect Accounts: Log into Zapier, then link ApproveThis and Cascade Strategy Classic. No coding needed—just authenticate both platforms.
2. Choose Triggers: Select a Cascade event (e.g., "New Goal Created") or an ApproveThis trigger ("Request Approved").
3. Map Data Fields: Pull relevant details from Cascade into ApproveThis requests, like goal budgets or task deadlines. Test once, then activate.

Most teams set up their first workflow in under 15 minutes. For complex scenarios, like multi-step approvals with calculated fields, ApproveThis’s template library offers pre-built Zapier configurations.

Benefits Across Teams

Leadership

CEOs and executives gain a unified view of how approvals impact strategic outcomes. Instead of static Cascade reports, they see real-time approval rates for high-priority goals, with insights to reallocate resources if delays arise.

Project Managers

PMs using Cascade to track deliverables can enforce governance without micromanaging. ApproveThis automates checkpoints—like phase-gate approvals—so projects move forward only after key stakeholders sign off.

Finance Teams

Budget holders configure approval thresholds in ApproveThis. A Cascade goal like "Reduce Overhead by 20%" might auto-approve expenses under $1K but require CFO review for larger spends. All decisions feed back into Cascade’s financial tracking.

Real-World Scenarios

Tech Startups

A SaaS company links Cascade’s product launch goals to feature approval workflows. Engineering leads approve technical specs in ApproveThis, which updates Cascade timelines automatically. Investors get visibility without needing direct access to internal tools.

Nonprofits

When creating donor outreach goals in Cascade, development teams use ApproveThis to route campaign budgets for board review. Email approvals let external board members vote without training on Cascade.

Manufacturers

Plant managers submit Cascade tasks for equipment upgrades. ApproveThis routes these to safety, procurement, and finance teams sequentially. Delays drop by 40% since approvers can’t skip steps or bypass compliance checks.

Getting Started

To begin, ensure your Cascade Strategy Classic plan supports Zapier integration. Then, sign up for ApproveThis and explore the Cascade templates in the Zapier library. Start with a single workflow—like approving new goals—then expand to risk or task approvals as your team adapts.

For teams new to automation, ApproveThis offers personalized demos to map Cascade objectives to approval workflows. You’ll leave with a configured integration and best practices tailored to your industry.

Final Thoughts

Approval bottlenecks aren’t just annoying—they derail strategic momentum. By integrating ApproveThis with Cascade Strategy Classic, you turn every "yes" or "no" into a data point that informs your next big move. Whether you’re scaling operations or managing risks, this pairing keeps teams aligned and leaders confident.

Ready to transform how your organization executes strategy? Register for ApproveThis today, or schedule a demo to see the integration in action.