Changing the Way the World Thinks about Strategy

Innovation – Leadership Strategies for the Competitive Edge

    Innovation — Leadership Strategies for the Competitive Edge by Thomas D. Kuczmarski 210 pages, 1995, NTC Business Books $37.95 As you would expect in a book entitled Innovation, the author, Thomas Kuczmarski, compellingly presents the need for innovation to be alive and well in virtually every organization—including yours! What comes as a pleasant surprise […]

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New Year’s Resolutions:  What resolutions have you chosen?

By Denise Harrison, Senior Consultant Many folks take time to make resolutions at New Year’s to better themselves: lose weight, exercise more – you know the usual suspects.  But do you make resolutions for what you will do as a business leader?  If not, you may want to take some time to reflect on last […]

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Communicating Your Strategic Plan With Employees – Part Two

  This article was originally posted in Course and Direction  this is Part Two of that article. It’s critically important that employees understand your strategy. Employees who understand your strategy will be able to make better day-to-day decisions that will support your vision. But, while most of us understand this – at least intellectually – […]

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Communicating Your Strategic Plan With Employees-Part One

  This article was originally posted in Course and Direction, and this is Part One of that article. It’s critically important that employees understand your strategy. Employees who understand your strategy will be able to make better day-to-day decisions that will support your vision. But, while most of us understand this – at least intellectually […]

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OBJECTIVITY – A Key to Good Planning

M Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant Is your team being objective about the situational analyses you are making in your strategic planning, or is it looking through rose-colored glasses?  Objectivity is key to making good decisions.  Objectivity is difficult enough when interpreting the current situation.  It is even more difficult when you are trying to generate […]

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Strategy Bits – Part 2. Innovation: Where to look for it

Strategy Bits – Part 2 By Denise A. Harrison We are posting a series of blog articles with tips for your strategic planning.  This is the second one.   These tips are taken from the article Strategy Tips first published in Compass Points in June 2004. Innovation: Where to look for it A recent Compass […]

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Book review: Good Business, Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning

Note: This review previously appeared in Compass Points April 2004 Thomas Ambler reviews: Good Business, Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Viking Penguin, 2003, 211 pages Are you a leader who intentionally seeks to practice “bad business”? Of course not, that’s ridiculous! But maybe you are and don’t know it. The title […]

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Assumptions and Uncertainty

By M. Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant As Mark Twain once famously said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”  This most certainly applies in strategic planning.  Your vision for the future is based on your team’s educated guesses (aka assumptions) about […]

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What are the best strategic opportunities?

  Over the years, I’ve seen more than 20,000 opportunities considered.  Most have been rejected for good reasons, but many have been pursued and successfully captured.  Recently, I spent some time pondering which kinds of opportunities have led to the greatest successes. There are a few key features which tend to distinguish the best opportunities.  […]

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