Summary:
Planning a vacation is a lot like strategic planning. When planning a vacation, you have to consider who’s going with you; what you’re going to do; when you’re going to go; where you’re going to go; why you’re going in the first place; and, how you’re going to get there. In other words, the five W’s and an H (who, what, when, where, why, and how). These same questions need to be addressed in strategic planning.
As the leader of the organization, you’re the driver or pilot, or engineer (depending on the mode of transportation you select) and the members of the organization are on board (hopefully) and going along for the ride.
Article Quote:
“If you want to have the best success with the strategic direction of your organization, get the members involved in the process of setting the direction and then communicate all the details of where you’re going, how you’re getting there, why it’s important to go there… you know… the five W’s and an H.”
Link:http://www.firehouse.com/blog/rgasaway/strategic-planning-vacation-planning
After you have identified the five W’s and and H, the next step is to get everyone on board with the plan. This, of course is much easier said than done. First, management needs to believe in the plan and show commitment to it because without this commitment, employees are likely to not feel its importance.
To effectively execute the plan, management needs to translate the plan into actionable steps that can be measured. These steps need to be practical enough to be input in each employee’s daily to-do list as these tasks correlate to overall objectives.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
The way to think strategically is to identify your important longer-term goals, then deploy your means – resources, capabilities, time and energy in order to achieve these objective that lead you like stepping-stones towards the desired result. You will notice that by setting these intermediate targets and objectives of goals signifies that you have moved beyond strategic thinking and into strategic planning.
With creative strategic thinking it is essential to draw upon the whole “collective wisdom” of the organization by utilizing the diversity of thoughts and ideas of your organization. This “collective wisdom” should not be confined to only those in operational or team leadership role.
Article Quote:
“Means can be seen as creative resources and capabilities, throwing us new ends. In creative strategic thinking of this kind, it is essential that members of an organization, not just those in senior leadership roles, can themselves think creatively and strategically.”
Link:http://www.offlinexfactorreview.com/creative-strategic-thinking-for-your-leadership-role/
When individuals begin thinking strategically, the entire organization benefits. Unfortunately, getting everyone in the organization to think strategically is a challenge that many in leadership avoid.
Enhancing the ability to think strategically involves overcoming the fear of failure, taking incremental steps, and making a commitment -setting a good example – so others will follow you. Furthermore, leadership should not wait for the ideal moment to execute the plan as that can lead to missed opportunity.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
Strategic planning is important because it allows leadership to closely look at business functions, strengths, weakness, and opportunities while focusing energy and resources towards goals. Developing a strategic plan is only half the battle; the other half is executing the plan. Once you have your plan, check it against reality. If it is an unrealistic goal, your motivation is likely to deflate as months pass.
Author Cat Mason describes what she calls a “life sandbox” -the life context that her business exists within. By allocating time to life demands such as work, home, personal goals, etc., she is able to more accurately fit her business goals into the time she realistically can provide. Finally, break down the goals into projects with timelines and block out time from your schedule to accomplish these projects.
Article Quote:
“Planning is great … but plans are only as good as our ability to implement them. So what can you do NOW, while you’re focused, excited and motivated about the year ahead to ensure your plan does get converted into action?”
Link: http://www.herbusinessblog.com/grow-your-business/beyond-planning-easy-ways-to-convert-your-plan-into-action
Setting realistic goals and executing them by breaking them into manageable tasks, scheduling time to see that they get accomplished, and monitoring progress will greatly increase your chance of realizing your goals.
Performance technology can help keep you focused with instant visibility on the strategic plan, objectives to accomplish, daily to-do’s that work towards objectives, and monitoring capabilities that let you know instantly where you’re at in completing those objectives.
For more on strategic planning and execution, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
A strategic and sales plan puts your marketing plan into action and is the implementation work horse of a business plan. This article on the strategic and sales planning process is divided into ten sections, which are presented in a particular, building-block order. First, identify and rank your potential problems in your company operations and develop company objectives to minimize and manage these problem areas.
Other sections in this article include: Risk Analysis; Company Strategy, Strategic Tactics and Programs; Sales Strategy; Sales Program; Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures; Rolling Basis Operating Budget; Sales Forecast; Milestone Table; and Control Mechanisms. For a description of these sections, please follow the link below.
Article Quote:
“Strategy is focus and consists of key factors that distinguish your company and are most expected to contribute to your success. It is important that your company strategies complement each other so you are not sending your business in separate directions.”
Link: http://alcorp.net/?p=26433
Strategic planning is only half the battle; the other half is successfully executing the plan. First, break down the goals/objectives into manageable, realistic steps that can be measured. Measuring progress gives management greater visibility so they can respond quickly to change and course correct parts of the plan if necessary. For instance, if an objective is not completed by the predetermined time, it allows management an opportunity to investigate the reasons why. Perhaps the timeline was unrealistic to begin with, or someone simply didn’t get it done. By monitoring results often, accountability increases and the plan is allowed to remain flexible.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has not hit its development milestones, causing Boeing to take a $2.5 billion charge against earnings. The key to Boeing’s past success has been its ability to achieve its “big hairy audacious goals or BHAGs” (fromBuilt to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras).
Boeing decided to outsource not only the manufacturing of components but also the design, in order to keep development costs on the 787 Dreamliner low and to please Wall Street investors. By outsourcing, Boeing was able to spread some of the financial risk of the project to its contractors. While this may have spread the financial risk, it increased the execution risk.
Article Quote:
“Boeing’s problems did not just come from the outside; they were a direct result of actions taken by Boeing. Talk about the good ideas that you have, but also about the possible unexpected outcomes. For example, it was a good idea to mitigate the financial risk, but the unexpected outcome was to increase the execution risk.”
Link: http://www.cssp.com/strategicplanning/blog/?p=514
As your company ramps up a significant new development effort, take the time to assess the risks. Take a look at threats - things that can impact you from the outside. Also, look for ways to prevent threats or reduce exposure. What are some early warning signs? Set up contingency plans and hedge your risk if you can. These are the traditional risk assessment and mitigation steps.
Boeing may have avoided much wasted time if they had implemented strategic planning technology. Boeing could have developed more advanced communication tools earlier. For example, technology allows you to video conference and share designs so that there is clarity around the issues being discussed – simple emails often do not communicate the full complexity of a specific issue – especially when there were 28 different languages between the various sub-contractors.
For more on strategic planning technology, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
What’s the key to successfully jump starting your business and transforming your dream into reality? It’s simple: plan the work and work the plan. Even if you have little experience, developing and implementing a plan improves your chances of achieving your goals.
This article outlines the fundamental components of crafting a strategic plan to take your business to the next level. Conducting research and identifying opportunities, threats, competition factors, etc. is the first step to starting a business or developing a strategic plan.
Article Quote:
“Strategic planning is the process by which the key stakeholders in an organization envision its future and develop the procedures and operations that will enable you to achieve that vision. A strategic business plan serves two purposes. First it’s an internal document that defines your goals, strategies, and tactics. Second, it’s a tool for raising capital.”
Link: http://businesstopschools.com/236_the-secret-to-success-in-business-planning…plan-your-work-and-work-your-plan
After defining your goals and putting them into action, follow-up is essential. Identifying the ideas or objectives that improve the business while also changing direction if something is not working helps avoid pitfalls before they become huge losses.
Running your own business can be highly rewarding, but it’s often a risky endeavor. Over half of new businesses fail for lack of a good plan. As with almost everything, increasing your chances of success begins with preparation.
For more information of strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategic-manager/
Summary:
Making a sale to a credit grantor in the recessionary environment of 2009 has been more challenging than in years past — especially with the frequent turnover that we have seen within recovery groups. However, with the increased volume of past-due accounts, credit grantors have been looking to add to their agency networks.
In addition, this article states that once you’ve determined your unique selling proposition, discuss in your meeting whether you are fully communicating this strategic advantage in everything you do, including your marketing literature, your website, your sales pitch, your conference booth, and so on.
Article Quote:
“This past year, getting that call from the recovery manager was likely a function of whether your agency had all the boxes checked; SAS70, no substantial legal issues (FTC/State AG), the paper skill-set, a strong back-office, and, don’t forget the other important factor, the pre-existing relationship!”
Link: http://www.insidearm.com/go/arm-news/ask-the-experts-strategic-planning-for-2010-driving-sales-results
This article points out strategies for creditors to increase profits. As the author points out, one way to increase sales is to do a review of customers, past, present and future prospects. Making and maintaining connections with customers increases referrals, make customers feel they are important to you which in turn increases your bottom line. With the right technology, accessing customer lists along with other information such as their past payment histories is made simple.
For more on strategic planning technology, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
Organizations around the country , including hospitals, are busy developing their strategic plans for the coming year. Strategic plans used to have a five to eight year outlook, now a three year outlook is common practice. For hospital executives and boards of directors, this means that many decades of habit may be going out the window. The strategic plan is no longer a document that nobody pays attention to and gets dusted off every few years. Instead, strategy is something that needs attention every quarter.
Hospital leaders are trained to plan ahead for predictable trends—the move toward outpatient care, pressure for quality and transparency, digitizing medical records, as this author points out. However, the past year was filled with unpredictable economic and political events that have left hospitals scrambling to react.
Article Quote:
“Traditionally, the strategic plan was developed every few years by a few board members who met as the strategic planning committee. While it may still be useful to have a specific group focused on the issue, governance experts say that strategic planning shouldn’t exclude the rest of the board—everyone should be regularly thinking about the big picture and learning about the long-term effects of what’s going on today.”
Link: http://mhanewsnow.typepad.com/executive/2009/12/new-pace-of-strategic-planning.html
Strategic plans should not be something brought up only on annual board meetings. Instead, they need consistent attention and updating. For some, that means checking results every quarter; for others, daily attention is appropriate. Utilizing strategic planning technology helps bridge strategic planning and strategic execution.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
Every business needs to have a strategic marketing plan in place if they want to maximize their return on investments while getting their product or service promoted. Applying strategic planning to marketing will help focus your goals and provide a tactical plan to accomplish those goals. In this article, Jeremiah Tyson offers several tips to follow when applying your marketing skills.
First, marketers need to follow the 80:20 rule that concentrates on the 20 percent of products/services, and on the 20 percent of customers, which will account for 80 percent of the volume and 80 percent of the profit. Other tips offered by Tyson are to decide on your niche market, which kinds of advertising to use, and when to implement your marketing choice(s). Next, consistently split testing multiple types of the same marketing methods will help find better methods and as a result, will help maximize results and efforts.
Article Quote:
“Lay out a plan for yourself. Your marketing efforts will fail if you do not have a set plan that is executed precisely. Do all of your research before putting anything into action.”
Link: http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-is-Strategic-Planning-So-Important-in-Marketing?&id=3545278
Strategic planning, whether for marketing or for your overall business, requires an understanding of where you want to be versus the reality of where you are now. Strategic execution is essentially bridging the gap between the two. To successfully execute your strategic plan, provide well-defined and realistic benchmarks that will get you closer to the ultimate goal. Measure your results and course correct when necessary and keep a constant watch for market opportunities that arise.
Performance technology is useful when it makes the plan available to everyone in the organization. By providing visibility of the plan, buy-in and accountability increases and your plan won’t get shelved and forgotten until the next planning session.
For more information on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
The execution and management of such strategic issues such as business development, personnel, and fiscal operations often is the difference between the success or failure of any organization. This new book introduces readers to the duties and practices assigned to service managers in the successful operation of an automotive service facility. Additionally, it fosters a thorough understanding of strategic planning from the owner’s perspective to the service manager’s level in the establishment of a productive service facility.
The book starts with a general discussion of the management structure and the service manager’s role in facility operations. Next, the author discusses navigation of the personnel process from the recruitment of workers to supervision of their performance. The financial business practices of a service manager familiarizes readers with the importance of fiscal responsibility in the operation of a lucrative automotive service business. This book also offers information on the recruitment and retention of employees and the establishment of rules and performance measures gives readers valuable insight into the “real world” of the automobile business
Article Quote:
“The analysis of financial statements exposes readers to the basic activities and duties that are typical of an automotive service manager’s position.”
Link:http://www.livingstone2009calendar.com/business-and-finance/managing-automotive-businesses-strategic-planning-personnel-and-finances.html/
Whether you are in the automotive industry or any other industry, strategic planning and execution are important. Strategic planning offers an opportunity to review what has and hasn’t worked in the past, then looks toward future goals and how to accomplish them.
Where most people get caught up is in implementing the plan. Goals should be broken down into realistic, manageable steps that can be measured by management. By measuring your results, a realistic snap shot of what still needs to be accomplished is revealed. Measuring results also offers leadership has an opportunity to recognize key employees and investigate why others are under performing.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/