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 and it lies between the pit of a manager’s fears and the summit of their knowledge. That’s the signpost up ahead–your next stop, the Strategylight Zone. The time: 5:30 pm. The place: a company, any company, maybe… READ MORE
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 takes a turn removing a stick from the pile, with the goal of not moving or disturbing the remaining ones. Unfortunately, in many organizations, the use of strategy tools is eerily similar to Pick-up-Sticks. A series of random, unrelated… READ MORE
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 in the world, invest approximately six weeks to refresh on the basic skills of the game. When is the last time your team refreshed on the basics of business strategy? When is the last time your team had a… READ MORE
Bad strategy beware: there’s a new superhero in town. Read the first three pages of the first ever business strategy comic book, “The Secret Powers of Strategyman.” To read the entire comic book and take the “Are You Strategic?” quiz, go to “Rich Horwath’s Files” and download “Strategyman Comic Book” at… READ MORE
1. Does everyone in your company have the same definition of strategy? Yes | No 2. Do people understand the difference between goals, objectives, strategies and tactics? Yes | No 3. Have the different groups in the organization clearly defined their goals and shared them with others? Yes | No 4. Do you clearly communicate your product/service points of differentiation that customer’s value? Yes | No 5. Is your group performing… READ MORE
How often have you and your colleagues completed a SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and asked, “So what?” What did you actually do with it? Too often SWOT Analysis become a “check-the-box”; exercise, adding little or no value to your business planning efforts. I’ve created a sequence of three steps to go from SWOT Analysis to strategy. Step 1 is the SWOT Analysis. Step 2 is to use the Opportunity and… READ MORE
Listen to my conversation on Forbes.com on how strategic thinking creates a new lens to view your business. Find interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate… READ MORE
February’s combination of snowdrifts and Valentine’s Day seems like the appropriate time to respond to some of the most pressing reader letters regarding strategy. So here goes: Dear Strategy Guy: The SVP of our Division requires us to fill out a 40-slide PowerPoint template, which we then turn into a 20-page written strategic plan. Problem is, the plan basically sits on a shelf collecting dust the rest of the year and we don’t really use it…. READ MORE
“We’re adding a little something to this month’s sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired.” Alec Baldwin in the film Glengarry Glen Ross David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross is a raw account of the sales profession as Mamet experienced it in the late 1960′s. While much has changed in the… READ MORE
Halftime Adjustment #3: Decisions Once a football coach has assessed the current context, evaluated the success and impact of behaviors, they must then make decisions for the second half. Do I stay with the starting quarterback or switch to the backup? Should we change the defensive scheme to put more bodies on the line and force them to throw the ball? In the same way a coach needs to make decisions regarding the use of his players, so… READ MORE
