Santa Claus is Coming to Town…and He Has a Strategy
He’s making a list He’s checking it twice He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you’re sleeping And he knows when you’re awake He knows if you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness sake —Lyrics from “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Well, it’s about…
Developing a Common Approach to Strategic Thinking
New research with 400 talent management leaders found the following results: Less than half (44.3%) of organizations have a common definition of strategy Less than half (46%) of organizations have a common language for strategy Strategic thinking is the most important competency for senior leaders (63.7%) Only 1 out of 4 organizations teach their managers strategy skills Here are three…
Strategy Demands Differentiation
One of the reasons so many organizations are struggling is because their offerings are not differentiated from the competition. The act of strategic thinking and strategic planning can help your team explore how to create differentiated value for customers to pave the way for profitable growth and competitive advantage.
The Strategy Off-Site Meeting
It’s ironic that business strategy is designed to clarify a group’s direction, but the meetings to discuss it can often be muddied, disjointed, and result in greater confusion. One study showed that 80 percent of senior executives’ meeting time is spent on issues that account for less than 20 percent of the company’s long-term value. Another survey showed that 88…
Deconstructing Frankenstrategy
As the cool, white fog covers the ground on Halloween, beware the creatures lurking in the shadows of your company’s hallways. Nestled amongst the darkened offices is a single light, perhaps a candlelight, continuing to burn deep into the night. And there in that laboratory of an office, rising from the PowerPoint slides of Hell comes a creature pieced together…
Plan-tober
1. The plan is updated with new insights throughout the year to remain relevant. 2. The plan clearly identifies a limited number of priorities so we have extreme focus and are not spreading our resources too thin. 3. The plan drives my daily activities. 4. The plan is a concise summary of the factors that will make or break the…
Strategic Thinking Can Squash Status Quo-Lock
Is your team living Albert Einstein’s description of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Popular adages such as “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” “Don’t rock the boat,” and “Let sleeping dogs lie,” all feed into the natural tendency to prefer the status quo. Time and again, research has proven that when individuals have the option of doing something…
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…
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…
