As you know from the Simplified Strategic Planning book and seminar, execution is the Achilles’ heel of strategic planning. Although the Simplified Strategic Planning approach is the best approach to strategy execution we’ve seen, your execution may fall behind. So – what is the best way to handle getting behind in your strategy execution? First, […]
Continue readingQuantitative Approaches to Strategic Planning or Qualitative? Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a great increase in what I think of as automated strategic planning. Some heavily quantitative approaches (like balanced scorecard) can be part of a good strategic planning process. The problem I notice is that often, companies use these approaches as a […]
Continue readingWhy strategic plans fail. In my last post, I talked about the issues people have with keeping their strategic planning alive. Today, I’d like to discuss some specific techniques I’ve seen companies use routinely to solve those problems. Companies that achieved 100% of their objectives and had excellent financial performance used these tips. Treat the planning […]
Continue readingThe Winner’s Profile is one of my favorite exercises in the Simplified Strategic Planning process. In it, you identify the key attributes that will make your company a clear winner in the long term. The Winner’s Profile is a visionary conclusion to the assumptions portion of the planning process and a beginning of strategy formulation. […]
Continue readingOver the years, I’ve met many wonderful executives in my speaking and the simplified strategic planning seminar. I’m sad and perplexed when the CEO leaves the seminar inspired to do great strategic planning – and then falters. While some companies find difficulty in completing the first cycle, their process often falters after successfully completing the […]
Continue reading“Strategy planning is messy” declared one CEO as a team member expressed a desire for a more linear approach. The team member was frustrated, because he couldn’t see the end game. The CEO went on to say, “It’s okay that it is messy. We have to consider many alternatives and new information before we funnel […]
Continue readingWhat will make strategic planning happen and keep people from getting mired in non-strategic activities? Even at the top of organizations, strategic planning seems to take a back seat. Like any other critical management activity, companies must do strategic planning routinely and not postpone it. Today, I’d like to look at how to make strategic […]
Continue readingFinding Strategic Issues that the team must resolve to produce an actionable Strategy is key in Simplified Strategic Planning We find Strategic Issues with multiple diagnostic exercises. One is an exercise we call “Winner’s Profile”. We do it for a couple of reasons. One is to help visualize what the future leader in your industry […]
Continue readingRapidly Changing Competition There is one consistent message I hear from CEOs all over the world. Competition is tough and getting tougher. But what, exactly, does that mean? Does it mean there are more competitors, or that competitors have more resources than they did in the past? Or does it mean something completely different? The […]
Continue readingBy pursuing a simple, generic strategy, many companies think they can make more money – but exactly the opposite is true. This approach can wreck your business. One of the ways of thinking I’ve encountered in strategic planning is based upon the desire to make things easier. For example, companies automate processes to make things […]
Continue readingCustomers’ dimensions of value may be very different from ours Customers don’t look at us – or our products and services – in the same way we do. When we look at what we do, we see the effort, the difficulty, and the risk we put into everything. The sum of the know-how we apply […]
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