1. Strategy Stat:
   1. Fewer Strategic Priorities Is Better
   2. After a recession, progressive companies outperform pragmatic companies
2. Topic: Open Line Q&A
   1. Question 1: I’m a big fan of strategic planning, but have never led the charge as the strategy leader.  I am new to our company and they have already been down this road too many times and it has never stuck.  Do you have any recommendations to purse to make it work more successfully this time?
   2. Question 2:
      1. i.     Part A: We do customer research all the time, what kind of research beyond this do we need in order to enter into a strategic plan with all the information needed?
      2. ii.     Part B: I find that many organizations that do strategic planning really don’t do a good job with the environmental scan, especially the external component. Do you have any suggestions or tools or templates that help to successfully facilitate this process.
   3. Question 3: What is the appropriate number of strategic objectives?  We have an internal struggle regarding strategic objectives and how many is too many.
   4. Question 4: We are an existing successful business with a long track record.  We are developing a Strategic Plan and a Business Plan to raise capital to help us expand.  I would love to hear you discuss how the Strategic Plan and Business Plan can work together in a situation like ours.
   5. Question 5: Our company has been checking out MyStrategicPlan and a few other options the past few months.  What are the benefits of MyStrategicPlan and a robust plan versus the One-Page Strategic Plan.  To me, I like the concept of a one page plan, but don’t know exactly what the trade-offs are.  Am I thinking through the difference right – robust vs simple?
   6. Question 6: Can you suggest 3-4 resources (video, book, speech, slideshow) to share with my CEO that will help me emphasize the value of Strategy Planning and to convince him that it is worth his time, and his staff’s time? I don’t have the buy in yet:-)

Additional Resource Shared during Webinar: 80-sample Strategic Plans

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Strategy Expert Erica Olsen, COO and Co-Founder of M3 Planning, gives an overview of why scenario planning should be an important part of your strategic management process to maintain a strong business during times of growth and uncertainty.

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• Topic: Positioning Your Organization for the Future in an Economic Climate of Uncertainty
  • Conduct a simple and comprehensive scenario planning processes
  • Leverage existing tools and resources to jump start your effort
  • Drive the results into your existing strategic or operational plans

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1. Strategy Stat: Making Your Strategy Relevant
2. Topic: “Salesability”:  Sales Strategy & How it fits into your Strategic Plan
   • Why are some companies sales declining while other companies continue to increase sales?
   • How should companies use a strategic plan to build a sales strategy?
   • What are the key factors to consider in a creating an effective sales strategy?
   • How does the length of the sales cycle affect the sales strategy?
   • What considerations need to be made regarding sales personnel to support the sales strategy?

Referenced Book:  Start With Why by Simon Sinek

About Alice Heiman – visiting strategy leader:  Alice is the founder and President of Alice Heiman Inc. and is a sales strategist, author, speaker and trainer.  She also operates as a virtual CSO (Chief Sales Officer) for select customers.  From Fortune 500 to Entrepreneurs, some of her wonderful clients include: Coca-Cola; HP; GE Security; MERCK; University of Nevada Reno; and Dickson Realty.  Business websites: www.aliceheiman.com or www.smartsalestips.com

Download PDF (slide deck))

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Developing a strategy that can actually be implemented rises and falls on how you set up the structure of your plan from the beginning. Don’t fall into the trap of creating a plan that sits on the shelf because no one understands how to move it to action. The correct strategic objective and goal structure will allow you to avoid these pitfalls. During this phase of planning, this is literally where rubber meets the road. Listen to this important webinar to “Move from Big Ideas to Action.”

You will learn:

• How to create a holistic, balanced strategic plan
• The best practices to establishing strategic objectives and goals
• Setting organizational goals that are SMART
• Cascading organizational goals to departments and then to individuals
• Creating action plans that have ownership

Download PDF (slide deck)

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Fast-forward to discovering better ways to navigate your business today. With the following three key people to formally support strategic execution, we believe organizations have a much better chance of seeing their strategies come to fruition.

The Strategy Champion

Every organization needs people who are farsighted in their support of an idea. All strategic plans need to be championed by someone who has a conviction that goes beyond promotion of planning. Strategic champions connect with the concept that today’s efforts can collectively be harnessed to position a company toward a more confident position in the future marketplace. Strategy champions are guides. Their efforts position companies to trudge through the muck of the recession; aiming to gain firmer ground in the most direct way possible. In this manner, strategic companies exercise full stride at the earliest opportunity, resulting in a purposefully constructed competitive advantage.

The Strategy Endorser

It is optimal to ensure your organization’s strategy champions have executive-level influence, such as a CEO (business), director (non-profit) or Mayor (municipality). It is critical to ensure that the person at the helm gives full endorsement to the need and function of the strategic plan from assessment to execution. Strategic plans by design acknowledge change, and for some who might resist (and there’s always people that resist), a clear directive from the top will help pull the plan through the rough spots in strategic execution.

The Strategy Administrator

Administrators are the engines of an organization. Strategic plan administration serves the same purpose. Administrators are key for maintenance and upkeep of your plan. To ensure a strategic plan does not become a time albatross, make sure the system in which you manage the plan can be updated quickly, referenced easily and is centrally shared. It is particularly helpful to automate the process as much as possible. For example, having report templates that are produced without difficulty will make strategy review sessions a much less burdensome occurrence.

The take-away: Provide proper guidance for your strategic plan to make your journey a professionally driven endeavor. Without the three roles above fulfilled, strategic plans quickly turn into a misadventure in planes, trains and automobiles… that doesn’t have to be your experience!

StrategyCheck: Do you have the right people supporting your strategic plan?

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Mark Parker is more than just Nike’s CEO.  He has been an essential part of Nike’s success and continued reign at the top of the athletic shoe pyramid.  Parker provides a glimpse into how Nike’s strategic plan and mission statement embodies the heart and soul of the company.

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How do you do strategic planning looking out 1 -2 -5 years, when there is a real threat of a double dip recession?  How is it applicable?  How do you adjust?

Interested in our next Strategy Huddle, register here.

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Keeping your company’s strategy fit and thin is essential in strategic business planning.  If your company could put on some track clothes and step on a scale, would it look fit and healthy, or frail and flabby? If a company has been taking care of itself it shows with healthy bones and muscles. If not- well, it’s always a great time to hit the GYM.

Healthy Bones Your company’s strategic plan is more than just some business tool- it’s the skeleton of your organization. Just like your bones give you structure, you plan keeps everything attached at the right places and moving in unison. Imagine if you were missing any one of your bones (or all of them) – you’d be a mess!

If the members of your organization don’t have a great plan structuring their activities, then you may have mis-alignment of priorities. A foot attached to a chin here, an arm sticking out of your forehead- you get the picture. Anyone who wants to be able to get their organization moving in unison with strong supports needs to spend time planning.

Strong Muscles Sure, you need your structure, but your muscles actually get you places. Think of the muscles of your organization as your action plan- execution of your strategic plan actually moves your company forward towards your goals.

So how can you give your company a work out? If you have a great strategy giving your processes and priorities structure, then the simple answer is do what the plan says. A large percentage of companies who take the time to make sure they have a plan in place never actually use it- that’s like taking a bunch of calcium to strengthen your bones and then sitting on the couch with a bag of chips instead of hitting the weights.

If you want to work out, you need to manage performance. Don’t just set goals, make sure that you follow up regularly with status meetings and performance reviews. A good rule of thumb would be look at your status (your company’s scorecard) at least monthly- otherwise you may start building a gut! At least quarterly, management should also review your plan and objectives. Think of your managers as personal trainers for your company.

It may feel awkward getting back in the gym, but give it time. Fitness is as important to your company as it is for your own body.

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