The document outlines Mark Affleck's "Five Steps to Build a Winning Strategy": 1. Crystallize the organization's identity and vision for the future. 2. Identify and prioritize key issues and challenges facing the organization. 3. Determine bold strategic imperatives that must be accomplished to achieve the vision. 4. Break the strategic plan into actionable increments with clear accountability. 5. Ensure the strategy is propelled by an inspiring core distinctive that differentiates the organization.

1. 5
Mark Affleck
Steps to Build a
Winning Strategy
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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2. Internet
Headlines
Scream!
“5 Easy Steps for this . . . ”
“10 Secrets to that . . . ”
All day every day internet headlines
stream across our screen with a beckoning
allure. All of them offering to produce great
results in a “few easy steps.”
That begs this question:
Do these “lists” really work?
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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3. The “Easy-Steps” List
That’s the question…
Can the “Easy Steps” approach be
successfully applied to the complexities of
developing STRATEGY for an organization
or managing a career in this tumultuous
“ChangeAge”?
Maybe not…but, WAIT!
CONSIDER THIS:
These lists are NOT designed to “answer
everything” and “solve your problems.”
They are designed to make us
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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4. Not only does the “Easy-Step” approach make
us think, it makes us challenge our most
cherished assumptions, too. It makes us explore
by drilling down beyond our comfort level to
where the confrontation with reality awaits.
As a CEO Leader and Strategist for 25
years, I’ve been considering how the “easy
steps” method could be used to convey the
essence of strategy. What follows are my:
“Five Steps to Build a Winning Strategy.”
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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5. THE GOAL
The goal behind using the “Easy Steps”
approach for developing strategy is NOT
to tell the entire story about strategy.
The goal is to prompt you to think,
challenge, and explore. To start, here’s the
first question: Do you have a strategy?
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2
3
4
5
Detail for each of the five filters
follows on the pages ahead.
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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6. I DENTITY
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Do you know who you are and where
you’ve been? Even more important,
do you know WHERE YOU’RE HEADED?
Those questions MUST be answered
before anything else happens with
your strategy.
Structure ALWAYS follows Strategy. And Strategy
is ALWAYS preceded by identifying the vision goal.
The goal of Step 1 is to make sure your organization’s VISION END STATE
is crystallized, accepted and embraced by the entire team. IS IT?
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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7. STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination.
I SSUES
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The first step--IDENTITY--says a church must know where it has been
and crystallize its Vision End-State Destination for the future. With
that complete, the next task in Step 2 is to identify and prioritize
the church’s KEY ISSUES and YELLOW CHAIRS.
If an organization denies reality blinking on the radar, the risk
of FALLING SHORT of its potential increases exponentially.
Radar
Strategies should never launch before investigating the organization’s KEY ISSUES and YELLOW
CHAIRS. Almost always, there is too much emphasis placed in planning based on the past.
Strategy is always about the FUTURE.
Take a look at your radar screen now.
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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8. STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination.
STEP #2 Strategies should never be developed before identifying Key Issues and Yellow Chairs.
I MPERATIVES
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Yes…watching the radar screen is important, but
it’s not enough by itself. There must also be an
interruptive and strategic RESPONSE to the threats
and opportunities blinking on the radar screen.
That response isn’t a “good idea,” it’s IMPERATIVE.
The organization’s Strategic Imperatives–no
more than five—are the bold moves that must
be made to reach the end-state vision destination.
In healthy organizations, an “indomitability swagger” behind the Strategic
Imperatives produces a powerful vibe permeating the team’s CULTURE COMPASS.
It’s a sense that the team cannot be vanquished…an esprit de corps fire that cannot
be doused. Identifying and completing Strategic Imperatives produces just that.
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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9. STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination.
STEP #2 Strategies should never be developed before identifying Key Issues and Yellow Chairs.
STEP #3 Strategic IMPERATIVES are the bold moves that must be made to make the vision a reality.
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INCREMENTALISM
Successfully completing STEPS 1-3 will establish a STRONG BASE for
developing an effective strategy. But it will fall apart without a swift
and strong ACTION RESPONSE. And when it comes to taking action,
many strategies fail because they are imprisoned by a GRAND
VISION. Ambitious visions are essential, of course, but they often
freeze teams behind this question:
“Where do we start? ”
The antidote to INACTION is to break the Strategic Frame into ACTION INCREMENTS.
Everything must be turned into a project with a distinct beginning and end; clear
milestones; and uncompromising individual and team accountability.
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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10. STEP #1
STEP #2
STEP #3
STEP #4
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Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination.
Strategies should never be developed before identifying Key Issues and Yellow Chairs.
Strategic IMPERATIVES are the bold moves that must be made to make the vision a reality.
The antidote to inaction is to break the Strategic Frame into phases of Action INCREMENTS.
I NSPIRATION
Even if an organization successfully completes Steps 1-4 and begins to
make incremental progress forward, the strategy won’t fully blast off
without being propelled by INSPIRATION. This is a common place to
stumble because every organization and every team is “competent.”
Just ask them or visit their website. But we all know that’s not the
measure of competence. Here’s why…
Since competence is a mandatory fee for entry, organizations
must have a CORE DISTINCTIVE that will differentiate them
from others. In the end, the target audience has a CHOICE
and that should prompt every leader to ask:
What makes US Different? What makes US
Distinctive? Will they choose US?
Mark Affleck
February 2014
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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11. Are you inspiring?
For more information…
Call 949 351-4112
Or go to http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
CEO Change Leader Strategist Issues & Crisis Manager
As CEO of YellowChair Strategy, Mark helps leaders transform
their organizations to “survive today and win tomorrow.”
Mark Affleck
February 2014
MARK AFFLECK
http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
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