Category: Strategic Planning

• “Let’s think about that”

  Posted on: Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 by richhorwath

  Imagine Noah was once again building an ark (we have been getting quite a bit of rain in the Midwest). And instead of taking two of each animal, he showed up at your office and said, “I’m taking two of… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking
• Strategy Spring Training: Part 2

  Posted on: Thursday, February 21st, 2013 by richhorwath

  2. Barometer. Imagine the following: you make an appointment to see your doctor after several weeks of worsening cold and flu symptoms. The doctor finally enters the exam room and you exchange a few pleasantries. However, she doesn’t ask you any… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking
• Strategy Spring Training: Part 1

  Posted on: Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 by richhorwath

  Major League Baseball’s annual spring training means the welcoming back of warmer weather, the smell of freshly mown grass and another year of the Chicago Cubs not winning the World Series. Men making millions of dollars a year, the best… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking
• Escaping the Check-the-Box Process

  Posted on: Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by richhorwath

  “The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking.” Elon Musk, Co-Founder of Tesla Motors and PayPal “Help Wanted: Looking for a Professional Template Filler-Outer. Lots of experience required. Good pay. No thinking necessary.” While… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking
• Think

  Posted on: Friday, November 30th, 2012 by richhorwath

  “We could leave our strategic plan on an airplane and it wouldn’t matter. It’s all about execution.”   CEO of a large U.S. Bank   Since many strategic plans are nothing more than budget-driven, out-of-touch, unused slide decks with the… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking
• Strategic Trade-Offs: Does No Mean No?

  Posted on: Thursday, November 1st, 2012 by richhorwath

  Towards the end of the calendar year, armies of managers march in and out of conference rooms brandishing laptops and wielding PowerPoint templates containing the makings of next year’s strategic plans. The plans generally contain industry data, market patterns, sales… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking
• Defender, Challenger or Spectator?

  Posted on: Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 by richhorwath

  A condition is a situation with respect to circumstances. The term condition can be applied to a number of different arenas, from medicine (What is the patient’s condition?) to sports (What are the conditions of the golf course?). Before a… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking, Strategy
• "How's a Strategy?"

  Posted on: Friday, June 1st, 2012 by richhorwath

  Abbott: Well Costello, this year’s strategic plan has to be the best ever. Costello: Yes, Abbott and we’ve got to get it just right. The first thing we need to do is make sure everybody understands the key planning terms…. read more

  Posted in: Blog, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking, Strategy
• The Strategylight Zone

  Posted on: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 by richhorwath

  There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to most managers. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between art and science, between the qualitative and quantitative… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking, Strategy
• Pick-Up-Sticks for Strategic Thinking Tools

  Posted on: Thursday, May 10th, 2012 by richhorwath

  Pick-Up-Sticks is a game many of us played as kids. If you recall, a bundle of sticks roughly six inches long are held in a loose bunch and released on a table top, falling in random disarray. Each player then… read more

  Posted in: Blog, Business strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic thinking, Strategy