Sometimes we read books, articles or opinions that give us insight into the things we are doing right, the things we could be doing better and the ways we can expand our knowledge to be better organizational strategists.

This summer, Richard Rumelt authored a book called “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters.” As you might expect the title alone caught our attention! Rumelt hit the mark on a couple common misconceptions of strategy, and we’d like to elaborate on those points with M3 Planning’s COO Erica Olsen’s perspective.

#1: There’s a growing tendency to equate fluff, buzzwords and financial goals as sufficient for “strategy” that needs to be debunked to really understand the power of a good strategy.

Olsen: There’s nothing fluffy about a good plan—a solid plan requires a good, hard look at your company, the way you do things and how successful you are at delivering to your customer/client/membership base. Only then can you get a clear, data-based understanding of your current strategic position. This can be effectively addressed by conducting a rigorous SWOT exercise, as this will help you diagnose your company just like a doctor might a patient. This is where the fluff will get flattened, and you can move forward to create a diagnosis that does more than explain the situation, but also defines the domain of action.

#2: Good strategies work by harnessing and applying power where it will have the greatest effect for facing big challenges. Most people think they might have a good strategy, but end up pursuing a “dog’s dinner” of conflicting policies and actions.

Olsen: People do amazing things with common tools. It’s about knowing how to use what you have. Good leaders can take a strong, compelling vision and use it to engage people by creating a shared understanding of what is possible. Good strategy isn’t a magical stunt. It’s more about the 1-2-3s of connecting the dots in a 3-D landscape. The process is a multi-level thought exercise, yet Rumelt does not spend a lot of time on execution, which is where we have seen many strategies become stagnant. A good strategy that cannot be executed (i.e. not realistic, no accountability, not cascaded or aligned) is as bad as magical thinking.

Overall, this book is a good library addition for our fellow practitioners of strategy. It offers a picture of what good strategy looks like. In summary, remember no strategy is complete without the execution of coherent, coordinated actions to address your organization’s situation or challenges. Like guardrails on a highway, your plan offers a guiding approach. Happy strategizing on your organization’s journey!

- Cammy Elquist LoRé writes the newsletter and is a functional leader of Customer Loyalty Engagement programs for M3 Planning. She can be reached at @cammyelquist on Twitter.

StrategyCheck

Does your strategy look like a dream sequence or a dot-to-dot?

Give the Gift of Goats

In 2010 the RUN Ministries’ Nepali Rescue Project rescued more than 20,000 girls from human trafficking. They also provided counseling, job skills training and practical tools to start micro-businesses to at-risk girls and those coerced into human trafficking. One of those practical tools includes giving goats to rehabilitated girls so they can return to their village with a livelihood to begin a new life with hope and dignity. M3 Planning was pleased to donate 12 goats as part of our on-going commitment to support one charity a month with 10% of our net income. See the other charities we’ve supported by clicking here.

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We approach this measurement with the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology. Whether you’re familiar with it or not, we guarantee you know of the companies that use it: Apple, Siemens, Phillips, Chick-Fil-A, USAA, Enterprise, Costco and this cross-industry list goes on and on. In Fred Reichheld’s most recent book “The Ultimate Question 2.0” he cites research that shows companies that use and guide decisions by using NPS information tend to grow at least twice the rate of their competitors.

The research presented in this book does a good job backing up many big claims: that customers that score companies high on the NPS 10-point scale will spend more, complain less and essentially will become a very effective and profitable “word-of-mouth” marketing force.

The crux of the NPS approach is that it measures the likelihood of customers to put their reputation on the line and recommend your organization to others. (Take our NPS survey about the newsletter.) Results are arranged into categories that make it easy to act upon the data. It’s intuitive enough for front line staff to understand, and insightful enough for executives to use for decision-making. Using NPS shouldn’t be mistaken for a walk down easy street though, or Wall Street for that matter.

Why? In putting your Net Promoter information to use, your quest for profits will also benefit the customers. This gets marginalized (ahem, AOL) or even ignored (hello the Enrons and Lehmans of the world) too often. We aren’t jumping on any Vulture Capitalists wagon here. We are just getting back to the Golden Rule. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Make a positive impact on those who chose to do business with you. And when your company’s outlets or employees get called on the carpet for not following this universal adage, get ready to battle defensiveness, because it’ll come. But fight the good fight, and you just might find your company and maybe even the environment beyond it a more fulfilling place to inhabit.

By earning the trust and respect of customers, companies move from being a flash in the pan to becoming valued members of their communities. Now that’s a balance that matters and one that we wholeheartedly believe will help keep your footing in turbulent times.

- Cammy Elquist LoRé writes the newsletter and is a functional leader of Customer Loyalty Engagement programs for M3 Planning. She can be reached at @cammyelquist on Twitter.

Feeding America Through a Food Bank Near You

We at M3 Planning believe that healthy organizations attract and retain engaged staff that create vibrant communities, which leads to a successful nation and world. We add to that cycle by supporting one charity a month with 10% of our net income. Because our customers are part of that contribution, we donated to local food banks nationwide in the name of our customers. Feeding America, a nation-wide network of food banks, provides food for America’s hungry and engages the communities in t he fight to end hunger. Thank you for your support!

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Like in life, business momentum means increasing the things that move you forward and decreasing those that hold you back. Momentum, by its nature, requires a lot of upfront push to get the ball rolling. Here are four suggestions to jump start the momentum in your 2012 strategic planning efforts, which we think are pretty handy for applying to our own individual lives as well.

1. Eliminate Your Energy Drains and Recharge Yourself
   Energy drains are those things that drag you down. It’s this kind of friction that can rob you of making progress where it matters. Find the time to do the things that give you energy. Then stick a post-it note next to each drain you identify with an idea for getting rid of it. Then direct this newly unleashed energy to overcome inertia and get your strategic objectives on track.




2. Conquer Your Fears—Concentrate and Be Brave
   The greatest source of procrastination is often a deep-seeded fear—fear of success, change, failure, ridicule, or even just the unknown. Take a daily step to remove your fears by asking yourself every day, “What would I do today if I was really brave?” Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. So go ahead– be brave, eat that frog and get on with your charge!




3. Let Things Evolve
   When the flywheel of momentum starts to turn, pay attention to clues, connections and opportunities that are presented. Be aware of environmental shifts and market changes that may strengthen the guiding role a strategic plan plays during these times. Don’t plan yourself into a corner that won’t be relevant next year. Have a goal in mind, but be flexible on the process of getting there. It will make the path one that makes sense to travel.





4. Be Committed
   No matter what your organizational goals are, or how difficult they’ll be to achieve, maintaining momentum requires commitment. Be committed to the strategic management process, as it takes new habits to reference and incorporate long-term considerations into day-to-day actions. Be diligent and have patience, because like anything of importance, strategic achievements require a proper cycle for fulfillment.

- Copy adapted from Strategic Planning for Dummies, which was written by M3 Planning’s COO Erica Olsen.

STRATEGY CHECK
What obstacle do you need to brave to make progress?

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Managing by financial numbers alone is a reactionary approach to driving your business forward. So, as you move into 2012, consider establishing new benchmarks in the following areas… and get proactive in driving your organization toward long-term viability.

1. Financial perspective: How do we look to investors?

   Measurements usually include cash flow, sales growth, market share and return on expenditures.

2. Customer perspective: How do customers see us?

   Measurements may include time required to meet customer’s needs, quality-defect levels, performance/experience value and differentiation.

3. Internal Processes perspective: What must be perfected?

   Focus on those business processes that have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. Know what competencies are needed to best ensure operational excellence.

4. People & Learning perspective: How do we improve and create value?

   This driver focuses on creating value by developing an environment that fosters learning, innovation and prioritizing on its “human assets.” Take stock of your organization’s ability to innovate, improve and learn as it ties directly to company’s value.

Beyond its ability to provide insight into the strength of an organization tomorrow, the Balanced Scorecard resonates with us because it fundamentally honors the role of people in organizations. The premise here is that people, as the foundation of the Balanced Scorecard, drive the other three elements to achieve organizational goals.

For all of us at M3 Planning, we know that this is what really matters in any organization. At the end of any day, it’s about people taking care of people’s needs. All too frequently, it is easy to get disconnected from that fundamental fact. You can help share this “balanced” perspective, by downloading our white-paper here.

So as we begin 2012, may you find ways to spread good will to all in honor of the people around you…and remember your organization’s environment provides another channel to do the same.

- Cammy Elquist LoRe’ works on our consulting side at M3 Planning and can be found on Twitter @cammyelquist.

Does your organization look into the past or assess the present in determining its health?

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Using a SWOT analysis helps make framing your strategy much less complicated. It offers a categorical way to capture present and anticipated conditions that matter. In our last newsletter we talked a bit about the importance of recognizing your internal Strengths and Weaknesses for strategic planning. This week let’s go outside the walls and halls of your organization and begin to identify those Opportunities and Threats beyond your control.

Opportunities refer to favorable conditions that if acted upon properly could produce rewards. Threats refer to conditions or barriers that may prevent desired achievement. The way to differentiate between a strength or weakness (internal states) from an opportunity or threat (external states) is to ask: Would this issue exist if the company did not exist? If the answer is yes, it should be considered external to the firm. Here are some additional questions to ask in some key external categories to get your “OT” gears in motion:

• Your Customers: Who are they, what motivates them, and what are their unmet needs? What is an opportunity you might fulfill for them?
• Your Competitors: What are their strengths and weaknesses, what strategies and structures do they employ, and what kind of image do they cultivate? How might these elements present a threat to your business?
• The Market: What is the overall size of your market and is there projected growth? Is the distribution system optimized? What are some key success factors to engage with or develop to better position your company?
• Our Environment: What technological, governmental, economic or cultural disruptions would most impact your company? How can you strategically address these uncertainties?

As you can see, understanding the external environment is a necessity for best chartering strategy. The world is indeed a complex place, but employing a SWOT analysis consistently over time will give you clarity to simplify the conversation. It’s one of the most effective tools for strategic planners, and worth remembering that with the appropriate use of tools, pyramids have been built and mountains moved.

Focus on your strengths. Shore-up your weaknesses. Capitalize on your opportunities. Recognize your threats. And don’t forget to predict the ways to measure your success!

How will you capitalize on your opportunities this new year?

M3 Planning Helps Nevada Area Boy Scouts Be Prepared

M3 Planning has been delighted to help the Nevada Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America be prepared for the future. For a year and a half, we have volunteered time to survey stakeholders and assist the council with creating and executing its strategic plan.

“This is the kind of work that molds the future not only for their organization, but also for the communities in which these young men and young women are raised,” Howard Olsen, CEO of M3 Planning, said. “This will help them maintain their top leadership role serving kids and parents.”

The Nevada Area Council is the only council to be recognized with the National Quality Council Award for the past 21 years consecutively. It is the second largest geographically-sized council in the continental USA. Communities in the Nevada Area Council’s span are served by more than 3,500 adult volunteer leaders, an active Executive Board of 50 community leaders, a council staff of nine professionals and six support staff.

*M3 Planning donates 10% of our net profit to non-profit causes.

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If this time of the year reminds us of anything, it’s of our traditions. In the strategic planning world, fall and early winter are busy times for us. We are at the top of our service cycle and blessed to work with companies across the country that are either renewing their strategic plans or realizing that they do not want to begin yet another year without one.

If you’ve signed on to this newsletter, chances are that you appreciate the value of a strategic plan done right. One basic tool to approach planning with diligence is the use of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

Like any planning tool, a SWOT is only as good as the information it contains. Here are some sample questions to help you internally assess the strengths and weaknesses of your company. Questions like these should be sent to your key staff, managers and leaders; don’t sell your brain trust short by only relying on a couple people to answer the following:

What does the company do best? What are our company’s functional capabilities? What must we do to succeed long-term? How can we be more innovative and effective? What unique resources or capabilities do we have now, and what do you lack? Of note: Many people get confused about the difference between strengths and opportunities, as well as the difference between weaknesses and threats. Like directions on a compass, the “S” and “W” is your internal orientation, where the “O” and “T” is discovered in your outward environment.

Even though these are internal questions, analysis to the identified strengths and weaknesses should be done with a market orientation and customer focus because: 1) Strengths are only meaningful when they assist the firm in meeting customer needs. 2) Weaknesses that might not seem outwardly apparent to customers often will still manifest through the experiences that they have with your company. You’ll then better understand your core competencies because they will be tied to satisfying a customer need.

If you want to check out more about internal analysis, please feel free to browse this free chapter on internal analysis from the recently re-released Strategic Planning Kit for Dummies, written by our Chief Operating Officer Erica Olsen.

- Cammy Elquist LoRe’ works on our consulting side at M3 Planning and can be found on Twitter @cammyelquist.

How fully do you understand your internal environment?

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Not to oversimplify how to create a strategic plan, but by placing all the parts of a plan into a few key areas, you can clearly see how the pieces fit together. By asking yourself the three questions that follow you’ll be on your way. Each of these question areas has certain parts to it, but the general gist is to treat the process like a researched and planned journey.

1. Where are we now? As you think about where your organization is now, look at your foundational elements (mission and value) to make sure there has not been a change. More than likely, you will not revise these two areas very often. Then look at your current position or your strategic position. This is where you look at what is happening internally and externally to determine how you need to shift and change.

2. Where are we going? The elements of this question help you answer other questions such as what will my organization look like in the future? Where are we headed? What is the future I want to create for my company? Because the future is hard to predict, use your creative license to imagine what it may look like. 3. How will we get there? Knowing how you’ll reach your vision is not only the meat of your strategic plan, but it’s also the most time consuming. The reason it takes so much time to develop is because there are a number of routes from your current position to your vision. Needed resources, people, training are all questions that come up in this area of planning and answering this question requires representation of all your departments with all your key leaders and managers as well.

Every company has varying complexities to address in this three-question strategy gauntlet. So you can see how these appear in the end product, we’ve gathered more than 80 strategic plans from organizations such as NASA, the City of Las Vegas, Washington State, the New Zealand Police Department and others. Gain free access to these excellent examples to see how these organizations have answered the three questions above and charted a solid course forward.

- Cammy Elquist LoRe’ works on our consulting side at M3 Planning and can be found on Twitter @cammyelquist.

Where are you in your strategic planning cycle?

Standing Back to Back with Back2Back

Our client Mike Ellison, CEO and Founder of Ellison Surface Technologies, shared his passion and dedication to Back2Back, which exists to serve abandoned and neglected children, by inviting our COO Erica Olsen on a mission trip to Monterrey Mexico this month. Along with Mike’s company and the amazing team from Back2Back, Erica was lucky to serve in several children’s homes and squatters villages.  Back2Back supports over 500 children in twelve separate children’s homes, over 1,000 impoverished families living at the Rio and Cadereyta communities, and 42 teens in the Hope Education Program.

What we love about this organization is how it “stands back to back” with in-country services to bring in the needed resources to sustain every part of the system that cares for orphans. From facilities to budget management for the administrators to face painting to school uniforms, Back2Back is able to provide “care for today and hope for tomorrow” to the children of Mexico, India and Nigeria.

* M3 Planning believes in corporate responsibility. We donate 10% of our net profit to non-profit causes.

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In Chip Heath’s book “Switch,” he provides case study after case study of change efforts that hit the mark. In talking about people or personality types he gives the analogy of the elephant and the rider. The latter is lead by rational thought; the elephant is guided by emotional interpretations. Both have the power to truncate momentum, but what type of change destination can be reached without talking about the path?

Consider this example of a university dorm canned food drive that Heath offers in his book. Residents of the dorm were surveyed beforehand to identify those students who were thought to be benevolent enough to donate food (the “saints”), and those who were perceived to be less charitable (”the jerks”). Then they altered the path.

One donation letter was released instructing the students to simply deliver the cans to a well-known spot on campus. A second letter was more detailed, including a map, a specific request for a can of beans, and suggested dropping the cans off at a time they would normally be at the popular spot so they wouldn’t have to go out of their way to get there.

The students who received the basic letter were not very generous. Only 8 percent of the saints donated and not a single jerk participated. Yet here’s the power of tailored communication: Students who received the more detailed letter had 42 percent of the saints donate and 25 percent of the jerks!

Point is that before we vilify others for thwarting change efforts, we’ve got to work effectively to assess the situation. Remove antiquated obstacles (i.e. processes that do not make sense), smooth the path (provide clear direction), and provide landmarks along that way that will reassure the people that they are on the right track (small wins).

This certainly makes it seem simplistic. Change meets resistance for good reason; some people even call this due diligence. Nevertheless, the “one step forward, two steps back” dance can be a frustrating endeavor. Sometimes the solution that works best might be hated most… until it becomes obvious that it works. Think about change as something that needs to inspire, inform and instruct and you’ll likely be moving your change or strategic implementation efforts in the right direction.

Posted by Cammy Elquist LoRe @cammyelquist

How detailed are you with your communication for strategy or change?

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After all, the conventional knowledge is that there is no better time to innovate than in periods of transformation. With ongoing economic-political turbulence, M3 Planning identified two likely outcomes: either re-emerge dizzy and disheveled or re-position ourselves as a leader in strategic services. There might be shades of grey between those examples, but it is rather simple to us: find ways to innovate now, take advantage of competitors’ disruptions and become established as a solid leader in strategic toolset offerings. (See the value of various toolsets for executives here.)

So you may be asking yourself, ‘how might one company DO this?’ Here are three approaches that we took:

1. Align existing assets to better supply value to the customer: The base foundation of MyStrategicPlan did not change, as we have a scalable methodology that didn’t need re-tooling. What we did need to develop was a better way of delivering information to the user. The visible result is how users can now navigate and interact with the system. We didn’t need to hire new people or expand our network of partners, we just re-tasked our focus during this past year and maintained this priority in our workloads.
2. Lead with business intelligence for strategic gains: Since MSP was first launched we’ve learned much about how to leverage strategy for administrative and operational effectiveness. With this new design we have the ability to scale our pages into other programs and software. We have our eye on a bevy of new ways our system will be able to meet the tailored demands of our customers and clients in the future. And that’s all we’ll divulge… for now.
3. Finding flexibility during course corrections: While in the midst of an innovation process, breaking with the status quo also means maintaining what is working. Easier said than done, as workload shifting can lead to displaced details that were easily tracked before the transformation began. Lower the priority on less critical details, then shift responsibilities and timelines to lessen individual stress levels. If unchecked, stress can take a toll on the quality of the outcome! The day we think we can handle it all is the day we chart our own demise.

All this said, the ever-required role of effective leadership is needed to leverage a flexible operating model for rapid execution. At M3 Planning we are blessed with a team that can handle what is thrown at them, even if the toss comes during hours when most people might be sleeping. This underlines the importance of employee loyalty, but that is another newsletter topic!

What kind of innovations could you make now, with the resources you have?

M3 Planning Gives Back to the Potter’s House Association

*M3 Planning donates 10% of our net profit to non-profit causes*

In the heart of Guatemala City is the largest dump in Latin America. More than 11,000 people live and work in and near the dump, and nearly 6,500 of them are children. Often they are treated as outcasts, little better than the garbage that shapes their existence. Many must scavenge in dump for resources. Potter’s House Association is a Christian non-profit organization that exists to change the living situation for these thousands. Through education programs, medical attention, micro-enterprise programs and nutrition programs the Potter’s House Association empowers them to take ownership of the problem and build solutions to break the cycle.

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It is going to be an interesting case study in change management. Participants currently pay over $300, and some believe paying this kind of cash gives them a modicum of ownership. Others believe the LLC can manage the transition the way it sees fit. Keeping these “customers” happy will require individuals with strong communication skills, no doubt. Leadership will be key in paving the path for these and other burning issues.

With so much innovation in existence at this event, it seemed fitting this week to read the Center for Creative Leadership’s thoughts on spanning gaps between current leadership talent and future leadership talent. Here’s their suggested approach:

• Know your needs: Identify the capabilities managers will need now and in the future to execute and sustain the organization’s strategy.
• Create a leadership strategy: Make sure leadership’s character and skills are aligned with long-term needs as defined by strategy.
• Develop goals for leadership development: Wherever needed, create opportunities for feedback, evaluation and coaching to make sure managers and emerging leaders understand their own strengths and weaknesses as they plug into the purpose of the organization.
• Create systems: Make sure succession planning includes the recruitment, and development of talent that aligns with the organization’s values and vision.
• Evaluate: What metrics will help you confirm that the right leaders are in the right place? What systems and resources might be needed to do so?

Addressing leadership in a strategic way is a small detail in the overall change management process. With change comes some form of resistance 100% of the time and it is a multi-pronged process. Yet if any organization can offer alternatives to approach change, Burning Man can. With displays of innovation, creativity and collectivism in a grand scale that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth, we’ll see what kind of organizational structure survives when the dust settles.

How are you creating leaders in your organization?

M3 Planning Gives Back to Whitney Elementary School

*M3 Planning donates 10% of our net profit to non-profit causes*

Nearly 85 percent of the children who attend Whitney Elementary School in East Las Vegas are homeless. That’s 518 kids out of 610. When Principal Sherrie Gahn arrived at Whitney 8 years ago and saw the children eating ketchup for lunch she knew she had a problem that a traditional public school could not fix. Gahn came up with a plan involving the kids, their parents and the community.

“All I need them to do is give me their children and let me teach them,” Gahn says. “In turn I will give you food and clothes and we will take them to the eye doctor. I will pay your rent, pay your utilities, but keep your child here.”

The children get free clothes, free bread to bring home and even free haircuts. Almost all of it given by 500 donors and local businesses who drop off donations daily. Gahn creates a wish list, and her army of volunteers makes it happen. More information is available here or by calling the School District’s Title I HOPE program at (702) 855-6682.

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