By Robert W. Bradford, President/CEO In strategy, you will inevitably find resistance to your plans. This resistance is sometimes forceful, and other times something you can overcome with resources and effort. An interesting question is how to deal with resistance. Should you always push hard to overcome resistance to your strategic objectives (probably not) – […]
Continue readingBy Denise Harrison, Vice President Execution of strategy: we know it is important, but why doesn’t it happen? Based on my experience working with over 100 companies on strategy development there are four key areas that lead to execution success. Focus on the few: Select a few – 8-10 key strategic objectives to accomplish in […]
Continue readingby M. Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant In my prior article (“Time to Start Planning for Growth – Step One: Analysis“), we discussed the lessons we should be learning from the major slowdown in business experienced during the recession, and how to analyze them so we would be positioned to plan to grow as business improves. […]
Continue readingBy Robert W. Bradford, President/CEO I’ve heard this comment from people who are very successful. People who are running companies that – for the moment – are doing quite well. And yet, this comment puzzles me, mightily. It puzzles me because strategic planning is about doing the right thing in the right place at the […]
Continue readingBy Denise Harrison, Vice President Recently I was talking to a company president – he was frustrated that a large project was off track. What happened? Well, during the recession, his team bid on a significant contract for a large company; the contract included requirements that were a stretch for his company. Traditionally the team […]
Continue readingBy M. Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant Strategic Planning Expert As we get further into 2010, the time has come to start planning for the uptick in the economy. No, it likely will not be a “V” shaped recovery. And, if the government and the Federal Reserve get it wrong, we could have a “W” shaped […]
Continue readingEvery once in a while, I run across a company that is doing just fine, and has been pretty successful for a long time. These companies scare me. Nothing creates failure like success, and the temptation to rest on one’s laurels has heralded doom for many a fine organization. These days, people at least accept […]
Continue readingBy M. Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant Strategic Planning Expert In a recent issue of The Wall Street Journal, an article forecasts the end of Strategic Planning – again. In the article, the efficacy of strategic planning is questioned in some depth. Instead of utilizing strategic planning properly, the article suggests that flexibility and responsiveness will […]
Continue readingBy Denise Harrison, Vice President Strategic Planning Expert Can success breed failure? This seems like an oxymoron doesn’t it? But world class companies continue to fall into this trap – Toyota is the latest example. Toyota gained market share in the automotive market by focusing on quality – this was their strategic competency. This single-minded […]
Continue readingBy Robert W. Bradford, President/CEO When 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. This screening is particularly useful […]
Continue readingBy Denise Harrison, Vice President “First, the bad news, the market for buggy-whips has disappeared; but the good news is, that we have cornered the market for 8-Track tape players.” Who makes the screens that go into electronic readers – you know the screens on Amazon’s KindleTM and Sony’s ReaderTM? Prime View dominates this market; […]
Continue readingBy M. Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant Pricing can be very tricky in times like the ones we are going through currently. Too high a price and you can lose considerable volume, customer loyalty and market share. Too low a price could lead to diminished profits, commoditization of the brand or product/service and lower long term […]
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