Strategic Planning That Works

Strategic PlanningTHAT WORKS!
Rob Waite
(502) 262-5910

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“Why can’t we just work on what we are doing and just see where it goes?”
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might not get there?” – Yogi Berra
Resource sub-optimization
Wasted energy
Frustration
WASTED MONEY!

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Let’s get into a strategic frame of mind…
Creativity – commoditization is the enemy and creativity is the solution.
Open mind – creativity rarely results from a logical process. Great ideas come from everywhere.
Open mouth – Everyone must participate.
Perspective – What is the sum of 2+2?
Courage - to be vulnerable, to be wrong
Respect the company’s history, but don’t let the past be a boat anchor that holds the company from moving to its future.

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The evolution of a business
Maturity
Expansion
Rapid Growth
Survival
Start-up
Time

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Evolution of a business – Company Objectives per Stage
“One man band” strategy development
Ad hoc strategy development
Management team
strategy development
Organizational wide
strategic development process
Start-up
Obtaining customers and cash
Producing product
Survival
Expanding revenues
Cost awareness
Quality consciousness
Rapid Growth
Maintaining Perspective (Reality vs. Euphoria)
Coordinate resources
Balancing today’s and tomorrow’s needs
Start to develop a management team
Expansion
Financing growth
Maintaining control, enthusiasm and commitment.
Hire a professional management team
Maturity
Expense control
Productivity
Management of market niches
Strategic organizational structure
Succession planning
Entrepreneur as Chairmen

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According to Fast Company, what are the two main reasons companies fail?
Lack of a strategy
In ability for the senior team to function as a team.

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The Strategic Planning Process
Mission Statement
Who are we?
Vision
Where are we going?
StrategicHypothesis
Testing and Revision
of the Hypothesis
How are we going
to get there?
Implementing the Strategy
Fine tuning/course correction

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The outcome of the session will yield the following:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Opportunities:
Threats:
SWOT Analysis
Who are we
Mission Statement
Where we are going
The 6 Marketing Imperatives Plan
Green Plan
Vision
Statement
Internal and External Communication Plan
How we are going to get there

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What is a Mission Statement?
The mission statement tells customers and employees WHO you are.
The vision statement tells customers and employees WHERE you are going.
The mission statement is a broad description of the ballpark you want to play in.
A platform for building the vision statement

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SWOT Analysis
Strengths – What are your internal strengths?
Weaknesses – What are your internal weaknesses?
Opportunities – What are your external opportunities?
Threats – What are your external threats?

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Questions to think about in developing the SWOT Analysis.
What gives us the most problems?
What are the best things customers say about us?
What are the worst things they say?
What do our employees complain the most about?
What keeps me awake at night?
What is the “coolest” project we are working on? Why?
What keeps me motivated at my company?
What are those “if only we…” statements that have gone through your mind?
Are we as profitable as I think we can be? Why or why not?
If your job was to destroy your company and not bankrupt your company in the process, how would you do it?
What indicators do I look at for future trends and opportunities?
Why, based on all the competitive alternatives, should customers buy from us???

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Outcome of the SWOT exercise
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Opportunities:
Threats:

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Outcome of SWOT exercise
Rate Strengths and Weaknesses importance to business success –
Leverage/Improvement Plan
High Probability
Low Probability
High Attractiveness
2. Create an Opportunities Matrix
Low Attractiveness
Low Probability
High Probability
High Seriousness
3. Create a Threat Matrix
Low Seriousness
4. Rate our competitors
..SWOT WorksheetsCompetitive analysis using SWOT1.xls

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The Vision Thing…
Lack of a vision ensures a lack of focus and direction for the company.
A vision must be concise, simple, specific, narrow and clearly articulated. It’s job is to tell everyone what they are to be doing and what they can expect.
A vision is not a vision unless it says yes to some ideas and no to others, inspires people and is a reason to get out of bed in the morning and come to work.

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An example of a bad vision statement:
An example of a bad vision:
“Our vision is to realize a future where ingenuity and commitment can redefine what’s possible in the ABC industry. This is the opportunity for XYZ Company: Imagine it. We have the ability, the resources and the drive to achieve it.”

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An example of a good vision statement:
“We will be the world leader in drywall and associated systems.
A world leader is the company that:
Has the low net delivered cost position.
Is the benchmark for innovation.
Offers the widest geographical coverage.
An ‘associated system’ is anything that touches drywall AND will enable us to sell more drywall.”

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The 6 Marketing Imperatives
Pick Markets that matter
Select Segments (submarkets) to dominate
Design Market Offer to create value for the customer and secure Differential Advantage
Integrate to serve the customer
Measure what matters (KPIs)
Answer the customers number one question: “Why, based on all of the competitive alternatives, should I buy from you and your company?”
..The 6 Marketing Imperatives Plan.doc

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Time to work!The 6 Marketing Imperatives

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Communication Plan
Internal Communication Plan
Leadership presentations
Newsletter
Employee Feedback
Wiki/Intranet
External Communication Plan
Leadership Travel and Phone Follow up
Customer Newsletters
Trade Shows/Associations
Company web site
Social Marketing
Senior Management Communication Plan
Monthly review of the 6 Marketing Imperatives and the Green Plan
“What’s going on meeting”
Twice yearly strategy review/planning
Avoiding the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team!

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The outcome of the session should yield the following:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Opportunities:
Threats:
SWOT Analysis
Mission Statement
The 6 Marketing Imperatives Plan
Green Plan
Internal and External Communication Plan
Vision
Statement

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Implementing the Strategy
25/50/25 Principal
Align variable compensation to the strategy
Stick with the game plan
“Leaving the game plan is a sign of panic and panic is not in our game plan.” – Chuck Noll, 4 time Super Bowl head coach
KPI Focus/Root Cause analysis…
Avoid the 5 dysfunctions of a team!

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Fine tuning and course correction
KPI monitoring and root cause analysis
Aiming corrective measures at root causes is more effective than merely treating the symptoms of a problem.
To be effective, RCA must be performed systematically, and conclusions must be backed up by evidence.
There is usually more than one root cause for any given problem

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The Five Whys
My car will not start. (the problem)
Why? - The battery is dead. (first why)
Why? - The alternator is not functioning. (second why)
Why? - The alternator has broken beyond repair. (third why)
Why? - The alternator is well beyond its useful service life and has never been replaced. (fourth why)
Why? - I have not been maintaining my car according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, root cause)

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Two questions to ask yourself
Are we a team?
Are we ready for the heavy lifting?

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team*
* Presented with permission from The Table Group Consulting Partners

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Two questions to ask yourself
Are we a team?
Are we ready for the heavy lifting?

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Dysfunction 1 – Absence of Trust
Members of great teams trust one another on a fundamental, emotional level, and they are comfortable being vulnerable to each other about their weaknesses, mistakes, fears, and behaviors.
They get to a point where they can be completely open with one another, without filters. This is essential because…

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Dysfunction 2 – Fear of Conflict
… teams that trust one another are not afraid to engage in passionate dialogue around issues and decisions that are key to the organization’s success.
They do not hesitate to disagree with, challenge and question one another, all in the spirit of finding the best answers, discovering the truth and making great decisions.
This is important because…

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Dysfunction 3 – Lack of Commitment
… teams that engage in unfiltered conflict are able to achieve genuine buy-in around important decisions, even when various members of the team initially disagree.
That’s because they ensure that all opinions and ideas are put on the table and considered, giving confidence to team members that no stone has been left unturned.
This is critical because…

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Dysfunction 4 – Avoidance of Accountability
… teams that commit to decisions and standards of performance do not hesitate to hold one another accountable for adhering to those decisions and standards.
What is more, they don’t rely on the team leader as the primary source of accountability, they go directly to their peers.
This matters because…

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Dysfunction 5 – Inattention to Results
… teams that trust one another, engage in conflict, commit to decisions and hold one another accountable are very likely to set aside their individual needs and agendas and focus almost exclusively on what is best for the team.
They do not give in to the temptation to place their departments, career aspirations, or ego-driven status ahead of the collective results that define team success!

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The role of leadership
Focus on collective outcomes
Confront difficult issues
Force clarity & closure
Demand debate
Be vulnerable