March 2, 2010
Greetings!
Robert BradfordSimplified Strategic Planning process - value, probability, management effort and financial risk. Recently, I have taken to including a secondary analysis of opportunities by rating resource requirements and strategic impact on the organization. I look forward to your comments on our blog.

Sincerely,

Robert W. Bradford
President, Center for Simplified Strategic Planning

Drowning in Strategic Initiatives? Here is a powerful tool for screening them out.

By Robert W. Bradford

Robert BradfordWhen assessing strategic opportunities, we have for years examined four variables in the Simplified Strategic Planning Process - value, probability, management effort and financial risk. Recently, I have taken to including a secondary analysis of opportunities, undertaken when reviewing opportunity screening worksheets in meeting number two.

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This column is intended to answer common questions related to strategic planning and strategy in general. In each issue we will answer questions posed by seminar attendees, our clients and our readers. Please send your questions to - simplifiedstrategicplanning@cssp.com Mail: CSSP, Inc. 2219 Packard Road, Suite 13, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Article Archives

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Help! My Market Doesn't Need My Product Any More!

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Is Your Pricing Strategy Right?

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Pricing can be very tricky in times like the ones we are going through currently. The key is to strategically determine the pricing band, which is best for your product/service in light of current conditions.

Ways to Estimate the Value When You Just Don't Know How to Price

by Robert W. Bradford

One of the hardest things to get right, strategically, is the true value of your product or service. This is understandable, since the only true measure of value is what an individual customer will pay at a specific point in time.

Is Your New Product Development Process Complete?

by M. Dana Baldwin

How is your total new product development process performing for your company? There are a number of elements to consider before answering this question including market intelligence, sufficient development capabilities, appropriate production capabilities, marketing and sales as well as distribution/logistics.

Lessons Learned from Boeing's Big Stumble: Risk Assessment is Key to a Successful Strategy

by Denise A. Harrison

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has not hit its development milestones, causing Boeing to take a $2.5 billion charge against earnings. What happened? Key to Boeing's past success has been its ability to achieve its "big hairy audacious goals or BHAGs" (from Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras). In the 1950s Boeing bet 25% of its net worth on developing the 707 jetliner competing directly with McDonald Douglas the premier manufacturer of commercial aircraft at the time. The Dreamliner, the world's most high tech passenger jet, is another big bet - but what went wrong with its strategy?

Strategic Planning: When Good Goals go Bad

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What is the Difference Between A Strategic Plan and A Business Plan

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"As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody's Investor Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and executives who warned of trouble and promoting those who helped Wall Street plunge the country into its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."

Banks failing, real estate loans made to people who did not have the means to repay them, institutions using derivatives without fully understanding the risk - what happened? Were executives just trying to meet their short-term goals?  Did these goals enable them to qualify for significant bonuses? Did this achievement of short-term goals lead to long-term instability?

Acquisitions: Developing A Successful Integration Process

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At the conclusion of the due diligence process you should have at your finger tips a great deal of knowledge concerning the acquisition target. At this point you will be making a go/no go decision. If the decision is a "go," you have the information that you need to start your integration process if you decide to move ahead with the acquisition. You now know where the strengths and weaknesses are and where the differences are in policies and procedures. You also have an idea of what the organizational structure will look like once the acquisition is completed. But you can not develop the integration plan in a vacuum; you need the buy-in of the key players of the acquisition target. How do you get their buy-in?

Gaining Strategic Alignment Between Business Units

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The other day I was talking with a CEO about building strategic alignment between business units in his organization. I was intrigued, because my questions about the company's strategic competency yielded a history of the company - but no clear sense of strategic competency. In other words, the CEO knew WHY the company had the dozens of different products and markets they had - but not why it made sense to have all of those business units in one company.

How Can Smaller Companies Compete and Win?

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Smaller companies often feel dwarfed by the giants in their industry, especially during tough times. Often industry giants are better at weathering economic downturns with their wide array of resources. But Arena Resources' strategy not only allowed the company to survive this economic downturn, but turn in exceptional performance - better than the industry leaders.  Arena Resources, a small oil exploration and production company, has less than 2% of the revenue of the industry leaders (Shell, Exxon Mobil). In addition, very few industries have had to endure greater fluctuations than the oil industry with oil price highs of $147 per barrel in July 2008 and lows of $30 per barrel in December, 2008. How did Arena Resources make it onto the Fortune list of fastest growing companies (#8) in spite of this industry turbulence?

Are You Promoting People Wisely?

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How many tales are told about people who are very good at a particular job within a company, who are promoted beyond that position and then fail? There must be many examples of this phenomenon that are told time and time again. There is even a descriptor: The Peter Principle, for people who are good at one job and fail miserably at the next higher level.

Co-Branding Tips are Helpful for Acquisition Strategies

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At the conclusion of a recent Q&A article in BusinessWeek, David Clanachan (chief operations officer of Tim Hortons) and Dan Beem (president of Cold Stone Creamery) provided some advice concerning their ongoing co-branding effort. The two convenience food companies have co-branded nearly 50 restaurant locations in the U.S. and Canada and are optimistic about the future success of the cooperative effort. Highlights from their advice on co-branding prove to be equally useful for any business considering an acquisition.

Evaluating Acquisitions - Part 2

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In my earlier article about evaluating acquisition targets, I discussed four common approaches to evaluation a company: market value, asset value, operating value and strategic value. Today we will look at the exact approaches to market value and asset value, with objective formulae.

How Does Strategic Planning Deal With Seismic Changes in an Industry?

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It is often argued that strategic planning processes miss industry shifts due to a myopic focus on existing customers and market segments, as well as existing products and product lines - but is this correct? NO! While market analysis and customer segmentation are important to any strategic plan, it is paramount for the process to look outside the existing business for opportunities and changes that will have significant impact on your business.

Evaluating Acquisition Targets - Part 1

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Even with a strategically appropriate acquisition, price is an issue. In the end, one could argue there are only two prices that matter in an acquisition offer: the price offered by the buyer, and the price that the seller is willing to accept. Reality is a bit more complicated than this, but we should always have an idea of several different approaches to pricing an acquisition.

The two simplest approaches to valuation are market value and asset value.

Getting Ready for the Recovery

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The recovery will come. Regardless of whatever pain and turmoil you may have been through during the last year, you have managed to survive. It's time to begin thinking about what you need to do in order to be ready for better times ahead.  While you cannot be sure of the timing, you can prudently prepare yourself for the upswing.  Here are three important actions that you should be taking right now:

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  1. Make your company valuable to your key customers
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  3. Look to the future

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Rejuvenation linked with recession?  During the 17th century Dutch economy collapsed - the tulip bubble burst - this was when a tulip bulb could cost as much as a house.  But rather than resulting in Holland's demise, the crash ushered in the Golden Age where this tiny country became the wealthiest nation in Europe.  Why do turbulent times generate growth and rebirth?

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Board Involvement in Strategic Planning

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by CSSP, Inc.

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Dana Baldwin describes how important follow-through is to the success of your strategic planning efforts.

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Strategic Thinking

Success in today's business environment requires that a company's leaders have the ability to create a vision of the organization's future direction as well as the course it needs to get there.

While various business improvement techniques such as Total Quality Management and Re-engineering are often extremely beneficial to the ongoing progress of a business, correct Strategic Focus remains the single most important element in a company's success.

Since 1981, Center for Simplified Strategic Planning has provided client companies with the strategic planning tools and leadership required to obtain superior strategy results.

We understand the challenges typically faced by our clients in installing systems and practices necessary to support growth, while maintaining day to day operations.

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Robert Bradford, CEO
Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc.
2219 Packard Road, #13
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-665-2971

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