For Those Who Love Strategy As Much As We Do
On our recent client engagement with a gas company in Abu Dhabi, I was struck again (as I was the last time I worked in the region) that implementing all the “best practice” management tools in the world does not a great company make. The prosperity of Middle Eastern companies enables management to implement everything [...]
When you are at the point in the strategic planning process where you are doing your environmental analysis and customer analysis, consider these tips to help assess your customers and their needs. Uncovering why your customers buy products from your company or use your services is essential to be successful. Ultimately, the value you provide is [...]
Reconstructing your value creation The business model consists of eight key building blocks that deliver your value proposition.
On the right-hand side of the model, you identify your target customer segments, how you develop relationships with those customers and the channels by which you reach them, supported by the revenue streams generated from that interaction. On the left-hand [...]
Throughout the strategic planning process you should be working through a series of exercises and exploration that generate a long list of issues you need to address or solve during your planning process, including the following:
Past history–lessons learned Current products and services attractiveness and profitability Financial performance to assess the health of your organization Industry structure to uncover [...]
We came across this article on NPR and had to share it with all of you as a little inspiration to the New Year and business strategy! We’ve all been there. Trapped in line at the DMV. Or stuck on hold while trying to call a city agency. It’s easy to complain about government bureaucracy. But [...]
It is not uncommon that the term strategic plan and business plan get confused in the business world. Before beginning your strategy implementation, take a look at the difference between the two terms to ensure you are on the path to success. While a strategic plan is a type of business plan, there are several [...]
Strategic Planning is the Most Popular Management Tool – Find Out Why Companies committed to executing strategy are equipped with advantages over their competitors. Because managing strategically matters to the life of your business, our guide on the Benefits of Strategic Planning (on the right) will show you what you can gain from strategic planning and [...]
The 11 Step Business Action Plan I came across this article on the American Express Open Forum and had to share it with our followers and clients. Murray Smith gives a quick 11-step list for creating a business action plan in this article. In our system, MyStrategicPlan, we use Action Plan Reports to show a person [...]
We’re delighted to unveil our Second edition, the Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies. We wrote this book from our experience helping fortune 500 companies, non-profits and churches create and execute their strategy, and we’re happy to share our insight with you. This business climate has dramatically increased the use of strategic planning, and it has become [...]
Strategic planning can yield less than desirable results if you end up in one of the possible pitfalls! To prevent that from happening, here’s a list of the most frightening and common traps to avoid:
Relying on bad information or no information: A plan is only as good as the information which it’s based. Too often, [...]
Many leaders struggle with getting buy-in for the strategic planning process and getting their team to feel like they are part of the plan. Recently we were asked, “How do you successfully lead the charge as a strategy leader?” This question applies to both people who are new to strategic planning and those who have years [...]
The BSC was introduced by Robert Kaplan, a Harvard Business School professor, and David Norton, the founder and president of Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc., in the early 1990s as a new way to work with business strategy. Today, over half of the Fortune 1,000 companies in North America are using the Balanced Scorecard, which has [...]
Are you feeling like you’re in a strategic planning rut? Do you need a little inspiration to help find your path? Check out some inspiring quotes from Steve Jobs we pulled from Fast Company to help kick-start your planning process.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you [...]
In response to the great input from our valued clients, team members and professional colleagues, today we are unveiling our third major redesign in our seven years of existence. Our team worked with our friends at Mesh Creative and Delge to help make it possible, and we are excited to roll out these exciting changes. [...]
There is no doubt that most business operators recognize a lack of leadership in our elected officials – no matter which side of the aisle you are on. No jobs created in August during the height of what should be solid marketplace activity. First time this has happened since 1945!! Yet there are corporations sitting [...]
A recent study from Bain & Company titled, Management Tools and Trends, looked at usage and satisfaction of the 25 most popular management tools. This study showed that Strategic Planning Tools rank the highest for satisfaction and usage. Figure 7 below shows how Strategic Planning Tools ranked against the other management tools. If you are [...]
To maximize resources and funding, organizations need to focus on what they do best and outsource the rest. Easy to say, right? That concept is harder to do in practice. The MacMillan Matrix, a tool developed by Wharton School of Business professor Ian MacMillan, was specifically designed to tackle this task. The Matrix can help you [...]
Many people are confused by the terms strategy, strategic plan, and strategic planning. For the moment, forget what you’ve heard about this subject. Strategic planning makes a huge difference to your organization both tangibly and intangibly. Below are some explanations that should clear up all the confusion. What is strategy? Strategy means consciously choosing to be clear [...]
MyStrategicPlan is one of many strategic planning software options available in the market today. There are very few options that allow you to input the plan content/data, then track progress and execute to it, but there are many that provide a mechanism to capture and structure the plan. At minimum, strategic planning software / strategic planning [...]
Here are some tips to help planning in your agency or community:
Identify specific agencies charged with implementation of clear outcomes. This only works if named agencies participate in the planning. Identify a single, coordinating entity charged with overseeing implementation. In some cases, the coordinating agency or group is created to implement the plan. Involve respected and representative [...]
* Strategic Planning 101 with MyStrategicPlan
* Strategy Huddle™
* How MyStrategicPlan Helps Organizations
