Posts Tagged ‘strategic planning’
Thursday, September 15th, 2022 by AdvisorCatalyst
What
vulnerabilities have been revealed in your organization with the significant market
changes the last few years? You should consider
internal – thought processes and operating patterns – along with external factors.
In
addressing key vulnerabilities through resilience thinking, the following carry
greater weight in decisions:
- People ahead of processes.
- Balance Sheet strength.
- Non-cost factors – availability, speed, and more limited offerings.
- Contingencies and alternatives.
- More frequent leadership team connection and outward communication.
Though
decisions favoring resiliency result in natural redundancy (extra cost), when delivery
and availability are at stake, leaders yield margin to fulfil already sold
commitments or keep sales engines running.
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the
turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Peter Drucker
Click
here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each
quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Monday, August 1st, 2022 by AdvisorCatalyst
Leaders
have had a two-year crash course on a resilience mindset vs a mindset of maximizing
efficiencies. The global system which
allowed for decades of squeezing ever greater profits out of systems, networks
and supply chains has unraveled. The
pandemic and Ukraine war are simply two recent accelerators of a decade plus
trend away from global inter-connectedness and toward nationalism (e.g., China
policies, U.K. Brexit, and U.S. populist movement).
While
change was always a norm, greater change will be the new norm so continue building
the resilience mindset. Think flexible
systems. Build sufficient financial and talent
resources to weather turbulence.
Resilience is “The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance
and still retain its basic function and structure.” Brian Walker and David Salt in Resilience
Thinking
Click
here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each
quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Management, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Friday, October 30th, 2020 by AdvisorCatalyst
Thinking about the future during times of significant uncertainty can be mind-bending for leaders. A good set of questions is valuable in making sense of what we are experiencing and for setting priorities for the future.
• What brutal facts are we aware of, but ignoring to our detriment?
• Where is our arrogance causing disabling ignorance?
• What assumptions about our business model are no longer valid?
• What offerings are getting the most traction in the market? Why?
• What outcomes have surprised us (good or bad)?
What questions will be levers for your team for thought and conversation about the upcoming year?
“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.” Francis Bacon
Click here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Management, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Friday, May 1st, 2020 by AdvisorCatalyst
Some trends move slowly and then, BANG, a significant event radically shifts the arc of the curve. A “new” reality emerges as people quickly adjust their decision and behavior paths in response to the major event. Surprisingly, it is easy to get caught off guard with the accelerated trend shift even when the underlying change was happening for years. We became comfortable with the “old” rate of change and assumed it in our plans. Now we must assume the old change rate is gone. Are you examining existing trends for accelerated shifts to help your organization adjust to the new?
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”
Peter Drucker
Click here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Peter Drucker, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Management, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Friday, January 31st, 2020 by AdvisorCatalyst
It’s wonderful to begin a new year with a fresh plan! We enjoy the feeling of getting our organizational and personal goals identified. But,… the process is work. We must understand the market, research opportunities, and then debate which objectives should be priority.
Why do we go to this effort? The answer centers around three ways we, as human beings, are designed. We have:
• A natural excitement for the future.
• The capacity to think and plan.
• The desire to shape the elements around us to realize potential.
In short, we make plans to have an impact and shape our future.
“While I take inspiration from the past, like most Americans, I live for the future.” Ronald Reagan
Click here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Management, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Monday, September 16th, 2019 by AdvisorCatalyst
How do you rate a leadership team’s strategic ability? One thought – look at the team’s ability to iterate strategically without lurching wildly in different directions. Can the team adapt the organization’s strategy to produce more than one economically successful business model over time? Time, in this case, is a decade plus. Success for that duration typically involves at least one business model shift when you consider changing customer preferences, technological advancements and competitive forces.
On this course, teams will need to master two key elements:
• strategy thinking – both the creative and analytical aspects, and
• execution – consistent, disciplined action over time.
“There is another old poet whose name I do not now remember who said, ‘Truth is the daughter of Time.’” Abraham Lincoln
Click here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategic planning, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Management, Strategy Execution, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 1st, 2016 by AdvisorCatalyst
As leadership teams craft strategy plans for the upcoming year, they should remember the following lessons:
• There are no formulaic answers, however, you can benefit from a systematic approach to both your preparation and strategy planning conversations.
• Markets are dynamic so be disciplined in your strategy thinking. Challenge and test your basic assumptions – even if they are producing good results. Things change.
• Strategy requires clear choices and resource commitment. Each decision either reinforces or weakens the whole. The strength of how the decisions weave together form the fabric of compelling business models (think IKEA, The Container Store and Southwest Airlines).
“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans.” – Peter Drucker
Click here if you would like “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategic planning, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Leadership, Management, Strategy Planning | No Comments »
Friday, November 1st, 2013 by AdvisorCatalyst
Every business is built on a particular set of assumptions – assumptions about customer desires, the best delivery solution, the competitive landscape, external trends and internal capabilities. Considering these varied elements, and their shifting nature, we quickly realize every business model is merely hypothesis.
Over the next several months, companies will engage in the routine of strategic planning for 2014 and beyond. This is a good time to test a business model hypothesis. Leadership teams must have the courage to ask the question, “What underlying assumptions about our business are no longer valid?” and wrestle with the answers and related consequences.
“We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be.” (Stephen R. Covey)
Click here to have “In 100 Words” delivered to your inbox twice each quarter.
Tags: In 100 Words, management, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words | No Comments »
Monday, November 1st, 2010 by AdvisorCatalyst
This is the time for annual planning sessions, and many business leaders are pulling their teams together for a strategic retreat. But why do we call it a retreat? Retreat is a negative word synonymous with withdraw, relinquish, and concede. Is that your frame of mind as your organization plans the coming year? I don’t think so.
Forget the retreat. Lead your organization on a strategic advance. Plan how to advance your purpose and achieve your goals. Assess your current position, identify the target, and push forward. That’s what you really hope to do, so call it what it is.
“There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” (John F. Kennedy)
Tags: John F. Kennedy, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
Posted in In 100 Words, Strategy Execution | No Comments »
