Camp Strategy: Developing Competencies and Capabilities
Summertime brings back memories of camp. As a young boy, all my friends went to a beautiful wooded summer camp where they swam, shot arrows and frolicked. Being highly allergic to frolic, I was sent to strategy camp instead. One night around a bonfire roasting spinach and tofu on sticks, the strategist-in-training camp counselor wearing a tan short-sleeved dress shirt,…
Reprogramming Your SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is still the most commonly used strategic planning tool in the world and unfortunately, one of the most misused. A good SWOT Analysis can be sabotaged by the Anti-Strategy Squad if you don’t follow some simple guidelines: 1. Laundry List: SWOT is not designed to be a catch-all for everything that’s happening in your business so ditch the…
What Might You Be Missing?
In this eight-minute video, I’ll share with you three tips on ensuring that you and your team aren’t missing any key factors that could derail your business success this year. Strategic thinking and strategic planning will go a long way in filling in gaps that could cause your business to miss potential opportunities to grow and create advantage. By building…
Destroy the Multi-Taskinators!
Today, I’d like to…just a second…I need to check email on my phone…almost done…now, where was I? Oh, yes, I was saying that…hold on…just got a text…typing my reply now…adding the bitmoji…hitting send. OK, where were we? While multitasking may not seem this abrupt and annoying in daily interactions, make no mistake…it is! Studies show people check their smart phones, on…
Delegation through Strategic Thinking
How many managers in your organization are wasting their time and talent performing tasks that they should be delegating? Research shows a startling 41 percent of activities managers are working on are actually items that could and should be performed by the people that report to them. While it may feel good to roll up the sleeves and knock out…
Defeating the Dastardly Dr. Yes with Strategic Thinking
Here is a sobering thought: every half-hearted “yes” to something that’s not helping you achieve your goals is a concrete “no” to more valuable activities. Most managers practice passive disengagement, which means instead of pulling the plug on projects, activities and tactics that are no longer adding value, we continue to passively allow them to occupy our time and attention. Research…
Are Silos Destroying Your Business?
The word ‘silo’ has its roots in the Greek term ‘siros,’ which means ‘corn pit.’ Later, the word ‘silo’ was used by Western military units to describe underground chambers that were used to house missiles. Now, managers use the term ‘silo’ as an analogy for business systems, groups, or processes that work separately from one another. Silos can destroy a…
How to Practice Strategy Skills
How do you develop strategy? More important, how do you get better at developing strategy? Strategic thinking and planning skills don’t magically appear when you get promoted. They need to be practiced and honed just like any other skill. Research shows the #1 cause of business failure is bad strategy. Not being strategic is no longer an option. The good…
The Same is Not Strategic
How often do you find your company doing the same things in the same ways as your competitors? Many managers are trapped in this loop of operational effectiveness: doing the same activities in the same tactical ways as others. A study of 200 companies found that 93 percent of the top 20 percent of performers have a strong form of…
Strategic Thinking Can Kill Bad Meetings
A company’s annual conference, whether it be for marketing, sales, or a new product launch, is an amazing opportunity to create real dialogue on key business issues across the organization. Unfortunately, the majority of these meetings are 80 percent presentation and 20 percent conversation. The dog and pony show meetings have to go. While it may seem like a good…
