What we need when there is great future uncertainty Over the years, I’ve taught many concepts that are vital to good strategy. One of the key struggles many have with strategy is that our assumptions can turn out to be incorrect, rendering some of our strategies less useful. Right now, many of us are struggling […]
Continue readingContingency planning for the next few months. In my article on contingency plans for the Covid-19 Pandemic, I outlined a threat-based approach to the pandemic impact. This week, I’d like to extend that thinking into the next few months. While this may not seem strategic to some people, huge chunks of market share will be […]
Continue readingIn this third article of a series, we are going to look at Succession Planning – It’s urgency and pitfalls. Our first two articles covered the key features of Succession Planning – how to do it, etc. In Article 1, we covered the following questions. What is succession planning? What positions in your organization should […]
Continue readingTimes of great upheaval represent a great opportunity for those who would act to get ahead. The right moves to do this are strategically important for your company, and could literally make or break your business. In my last article, I summarized four key steps to hanging on through the current downturn. Survive. Protect your […]
Continue readingIt’s pretty clear by now that the economy is going to take a severe beating this quarter, and possibly the entire year. With the strategic picture in mind, how do we steer our businesses through this rocky period? The key to understanding the answers to this are the things that are truly strategic in your […]
Continue readingCovid-19 and Business – How to Build Value During the Pandemic. It’s still somewhat early to predict how the Covid-19 outbreak has changed every part of our world. It’s not too soon to pick up some early ideas that are emerging from the disruption caused by the pandemic. Smart companies will look to use the […]
Continue readingSuccession planning and competencies – mentoring and family requirements. In the first article of this series, we looked at a number of questions which should be addressed by Senior Management. When implementing succession planning, answers to those questions establish a good foundation upon which to base our work. Questions from the first article. What is […]
Continue readingStrategies in recessions – What kind of strategies work best? We’ve been using Simplified Strategic Planning for over 40 years now, and we’ve seen companies fare well through recessions many times. Those that do well use strategies that are just a bit different from most of their competitors. You should consider those differences for your […]
Continue readingIn strategic planning, we sometimes look at threats that will harm your business. We avoid looking at every threat, since good strategy is about opportunities more than threats, but there are still some threats that may be worth examining. In general, these are threats that will substantially reduce your likelihood of success, but they also […]
Continue readingPandemics affect business strategy. If you’re like most people, the Covid-19 virus that you’ve heard news about concerns you. Some of that concern may be personal, since anyone could be infected by the virus. Some of that concern, however, may be about the impact on your business. There are several ways a pandemic can affect […]
Continue readingProtectionism with tariffs in your country is often seen as a benefit to companies, especially manufacturers. The idea is that when countries put a tariff on imports of products similar to yours, you gain an advantage in your domestic marketplace. If they place a 25% tariff upon similar goods entering your country, your foreign competitors […]
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