Strategic thinking involves anticipating changes, recognizing new opportunities, and adapting plans in response to events. Good strategists balance planning with the ability to react creatively when circumstances change. The IKEA strategy emerged from reacting to opportunities rather than rigid planning. Strategic plans should allow for challenging assumptions and recognizing when the plan is outdated. Regular reviews and adapting strategy helps organizations take advantage of unforeseen events. Strategists assess risks and uncertainties but also make committed decisions to shape an uncertain future. Both internal risks like capabilities and external risks like market dynamics must be considered. An effective strategy balances planning with the flexibility to adjust to new information.
The document discusses contingency planning processes for trading firms based on an interview with Eric Aldous from RBC. It finds that trading teams have analysts who determine trades but also have contingency plans in place for every trade. Critical thinking and predefined contingency plans are needed to map out a range of outcomes and courses of action for every trade. Key steps that may require contingency planning for financial investments include reviewing investments, deciding how much to invest, and when to redeem investments. Contingency planning and critical thinking should be part of every business and personal decision.
This document provides an analysis of tools and techniques for problem solving and risk mitigation using critical thinking. It recommends two solutions: the four factors model and Six Sigma. Various critical thinking tools are discussed for overcoming barriers, separating facts from beliefs, and evaluating arguments. The document also provides a framework for contingency planning through generating alternatives to address barriers, conducting a risk analysis, and determining appropriate risk mitigation strategies like training and process simplification. Sources used were selected based on their relevance to critical thinking, contingency planning, and the financial sector.
Strategic thinking training course brisbane sydney melbourne perth adelaide c...James Smith
This document discusses strategic thinking skills. It defines strategic thinking as a deliberate thought process that examines factors that will affect long-term success or failure of a company. Strategic thinking requires analytical skills to analyze inputs, problem solving skills to address problems, and management/planning skills to implement solutions. It is important for organizations to engage in strategic thinking to anticipate changes, opportunities, and solve problems. The document outlines different types of strategic thinking skills and provides tips for improving strategic thinking abilities.
1) The document discusses developing a comprehensive financial strategy that combines different investment ideas, practices, and notions into a coordinated plan.
2) It emphasizes regularly reviewing and adjusting the strategy based on economic changes to ensure the strategy's actions and goals remain aligned.
3) The author proposes a "Financial Select" approach that incorporates monthly coaching, regular strategy adjustments, and considering both long-term and short-term factors to develop a holistic financial strategy.
social and ethical considerations in businessStacey Troup
Google provides $5 million in grants to racial justice organizations in 2016. This grant is part of Google's $100 million annual budget for charitable donations. While some may see the grant as too narrowly focused on black lives, the funding actually supports education programs in low-income neighborhoods for all races. Google considers social and ethical implications before donations and sees this grant as an opportunity to support underserved communities. Google applies corporate social responsibility through technology-focused donations aimed at long-term solutions to global issues.
Berkeley Angel Network Event - Prof Robert Wiltbank PresentationBenjamin Bayat
Returns to Angel Investors in Groups
Presented by Prof. Robert Wiltbank to the Berkeley Angel Network group in Fall 2013.
For more information on Prof. Wiltbank, please visit his website: http://www.willamette.edu/~wiltbank/
The document discusses contingency planning processes for trading firms based on an interview with Eric Aldous from RBC. It finds that trading teams have analysts who determine trades but also have contingency plans in place for every trade. Critical thinking and predefined contingency plans are needed to map out a range of outcomes and courses of action for every trade. Key steps that may require contingency planning for financial investments include reviewing investments, deciding how much to invest, and when to redeem investments. Contingency planning and critical thinking should be part of every business and personal decision.
This document provides an analysis of tools and techniques for problem solving and risk mitigation using critical thinking. It recommends two solutions: the four factors model and Six Sigma. Various critical thinking tools are discussed for overcoming barriers, separating facts from beliefs, and evaluating arguments. The document also provides a framework for contingency planning through generating alternatives to address barriers, conducting a risk analysis, and determining appropriate risk mitigation strategies like training and process simplification. Sources used were selected based on their relevance to critical thinking, contingency planning, and the financial sector.
Strategic thinking training course brisbane sydney melbourne perth adelaide c...James Smith
This document discusses strategic thinking skills. It defines strategic thinking as a deliberate thought process that examines factors that will affect long-term success or failure of a company. Strategic thinking requires analytical skills to analyze inputs, problem solving skills to address problems, and management/planning skills to implement solutions. It is important for organizations to engage in strategic thinking to anticipate changes, opportunities, and solve problems. The document outlines different types of strategic thinking skills and provides tips for improving strategic thinking abilities.
1) The document discusses developing a comprehensive financial strategy that combines different investment ideas, practices, and notions into a coordinated plan.
2) It emphasizes regularly reviewing and adjusting the strategy based on economic changes to ensure the strategy's actions and goals remain aligned.
3) The author proposes a "Financial Select" approach that incorporates monthly coaching, regular strategy adjustments, and considering both long-term and short-term factors to develop a holistic financial strategy.
social and ethical considerations in businessStacey Troup
Google provides $5 million in grants to racial justice organizations in 2016. This grant is part of Google's $100 million annual budget for charitable donations. While some may see the grant as too narrowly focused on black lives, the funding actually supports education programs in low-income neighborhoods for all races. Google considers social and ethical implications before donations and sees this grant as an opportunity to support underserved communities. Google applies corporate social responsibility through technology-focused donations aimed at long-term solutions to global issues.
Berkeley Angel Network Event - Prof Robert Wiltbank PresentationBenjamin Bayat
Returns to Angel Investors in Groups
Presented by Prof. Robert Wiltbank to the Berkeley Angel Network group in Fall 2013.
For more information on Prof. Wiltbank, please visit his website: http://www.willamette.edu/~wiltbank/
This document discusses entrepreneurship and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. It covers topics such as who entrepreneurs are, the importance of having a great idea, the personal traits needed like commitment and risk tolerance. It also discusses common management challenges, how to increase chances of success through opportunity analysis and business plans, and key factors like the people, opportunity, competition and risk/reward. Non-financial resources and entrepreneurial orientation are also summarized.
Strategic planning is important for companies to survive and succeed in today's rapidly changing global marketplace. Most companies do not have a proper strategic plan and only focus on short-term goals rather than long-term vision and direction. Strategic planning provides companies with purpose, direction, and a way to align all business activities. It requires creating a clear vision and values, developing a well-thought out plan with input from inside and outside the company, and committing to great execution through communication and accountability. Companies that strategically plan and implement their plans have much higher success rates than those that do not plan strategically.
Having a strategic plan is crucial for business success. Strategic plans allow businesses to anticipate changes, adjust tactics, and ensure they are reaching goals. The best performing companies actively use and update strategic plans as part of regular business operations. Outsiders now view strategic plans as one of the most important factors in evaluating a business's risk level and management capabilities. Developing a strategic plan helps businesses strengthen operations and allows employees to better understand and contribute to the company's objectives.
The document discusses identifying good and bad strategy. It defines strategy as what an organization does and does not do. Bad strategy is identified as skipping details, having conflicting goals, and unfocused resources. Good strategy focuses energy and resources on pivotal objectives that can create favorable outcomes. It emphasizes finding existing strengths, coherence, and concentrating on limited objectives. Good strategy identifies what single objective, if accomplished, would make a big difference and removes limiting factors through step-by-step focus.
Strategic thinking requires envisioning the future, questioning assumptions, understanding systems and relationships, and adapting to change. It acknowledges that the external environment and needs are constantly shifting. Strategic thinkers generate new ideas by examining alternatives, forecasting trends, and assessing stakeholders' evolving demands. They are opportunistic and focus on moving forward even with incomplete data, continually refining an organization's strategy through feedback and measurement to capitalize on changes.
7th Cairo Marketing Club (Good & Bad strategy) by Dr. Haytham MohamedMahmoud Bahgat
#Mahmoud_Bahgat
#Marketing_Club
Join us by WhatsApp to me 00966568654916
*اشترك في صفحة ال Marketing Club* عالفيسبوك
https://www.facebook.com/MarketingTipsPAGE/
*اشترك في جروب ال Marketing Club* عالفيسبوك
https://www.facebook.com/groups/837318003074869/
*Marketing Club Middle East*
25 Meetings in 6 Cities in 1 year & 2 months
Since October 2015
*We have 6 groups whatsapp*
*for almost 600 marketers*
From all middle east
*since 5 years*
& now 10 more groups
For Marketing Club Lovers as future Marketers
أهم حاجة الشروط
*Only marketers*
From all Industries
No students
*No sales*
*No hotels Reps*
*No restaurants Reps*
*No Travel Agents*
*No Advertising Agencies*
*Many have asked to Attend the Club*
((We Wish All can Attend,But Cant..))
*Criteria of Marketing Club Members*
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
For Better Harmony & Mind set.
*Must be only Marketer*
*Also Previous Marketing experience*
●Business Managers
●Country Manager,GM
●Directors, CEO
Are most welcomed to add Value to us.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
《 *Unmatched Criteria*》
Not Med Rep,
Not Key Account,
Not Product Specialist,
Not Sales Supervisor,
Not Sales Manager,
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
But till you become a marketer
you can join other What'sApp group
*Marketing Lover Future Club Group*
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
《 *Unmatched Criteria*》
For Conflict of Intrest
*Also Can't attend*
If Working in
*Marketing Services Provider*
=not *Hotel* Marketers
=not *Restaurant* Marketers
=not *Advertising* Marketer
=not *Event Manager*
=not *Market Researcher*.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
*this Club for Only Marketers*
Very Soon we will have
*Business Leaders Club*
For Sales Managers & Directors
Will be Not for Markters
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
■ *Only Marketers* ■
*& EPS Marketing Diploma*
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Confirm coming by Pvt WhatsApp
*To know the new Location*
*#Mahmoud_Bahgat*
00966568654916
*#Marketing_Club*
http://goo.gl/forms/RfskGzDslP
*اشترك بصفحة جمعية الصيادلة المصريين* عالفيسبوك
https://lnkd.in/fucnv_5
■ *Bahgat Facbook Page*
https://lnkd.in/fVAdubA
■ *Bahgat Linkedin*
https://lnkd.in/fvDQXuG
■ *Bahgat Twitter*
https://lnkd.in/fmNC72T
■ *Bahgat YouTube Channel*
https://www.Youtube.com /mahmoud bahgat
■ *Bahgat Instagram*
https://lnkd.in/fmWPXrY
■ *Bahgat SnapChat*
https://lnkd.in/f6GR-mR
*#Mahmoud_Bahgat*
*#Legendary_ADLAND*
www.TheLegendary.info
Strategic Thinking and Strategic Thinking led Management are critical for long term growth and sustainability for an individual as well as an organization. This deck introduces the concept and its element in a crisp and concise manner and it is from a recent webinar i conducted on Strategic Thinking,
The document discusses strategic leadership and thinking. It describes Syntesis Global as a management consulting firm that works with large companies. The webinar covers various aspects of strategic leadership, including the 5 phases of strategic planning, identifying strategic gaps, and developing strategic thinking skills. The goal is to provide leaders with frameworks and tools to improve strategic execution and drive organizational alignment.
5 Keys to Leading with Intent. Much of the presentation stems from Stephan Bungay's "The Art of Action". This presentation is reference for some of the leadership philosophy and practical steps for leadership in an organization seeking to promote autonomy, independent thinking, and agility in order to compete in a world characterized by complexity and change.
This document provides an overview of the key differences between causation and effectuation approaches to entrepreneurship. Effectuation is a means-oriented approach where entrepreneurs leverage their own resources and form partnerships to create new ventures, viewing contingencies as opportunities. In contrast, causation takes a goal-oriented approach focused on minimizing risk, forecasting the future, and protecting ideas from competitors.
This document provides an overview of big picture thinking, marketing strategy, and strategic development. It defines big picture as the complete perspective of an issue considering all relevant factors. Strategy is a long-term plan to achieve goals through differentiating activities. The importance of strategic thinking is discussed in allowing organizations to plan proactively and increase efficiency. Methodologies for developing strategy include assessing the situation and defining objectives, vision, strategy, and metrics. Best practice examples from Nigeria and abroad are presented, including Dove's real beauty campaign and Coca-Cola's share a coke campaign.
There’s heaps of fascinating research about the many behavioral biases we are all subject to as individuals.
These include remarkable optical distortions and the way we miss the obvious when we are concentrating on something else. We have a tendency to overestimate ourselves - most famously 90% of drivers assess themselves as above average in ability. We have an attachment to what we already own - how come we won’t buy concert tickets from scalpers at an inflated price, and simultaneously won’t sell tickets we own at face value? We also tend to overweigh risks, even against the chance of regret rather than actual loss.
It’s no surprise then that group decisions are even more flawed.
So how can we overcome biased decision making?
Here are some biases that we often see, followed by some techniques we use to overcome them. We have found that by applying these techniques companies can make better decisions, which in turn increases their resource reallocation and creates more profitable growth.
The document provides guidance on developing effective strategies for organizations and individuals. It discusses conducting a diagnostic of operations to identify potential savings and growth opportunities. Key aspects of strategy include analyzing the operating environment, identifying strategic options, and selecting the best options. The document outlines a 5-step process for strategy development: 1) defining a vision, 2) establishing a mission, 3) setting objectives, 4) developing strategies, and 5) implementing tactics. Alignment is important from the top-level vision down to tactical actions. Conducting an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can help in strategic planning at both the organizational and individual level.
Systems Thinking Our Way Out of Busy WorkDuri Chitayat
This document discusses how companies often get caught in a cycle of focusing on tactical problem solving and feature requests rather than strategic work as they gain product market fit. This leads teams to feel busy but not accomplish important goals and leaves customers unsatisfied. It recommends using systems thinking to select work that solves big problems by developing a strategy with clear measures of success focused on customer value and business benefits while accounting for constraints. Regular inspection and adaptation is key to emerging the best strategy through experimentation and learning.
Strategy to Execution: Tips to Execute Your Strategy With Excellence.Avi Mizrahi, MBA, BBA.
Strategy is sexy. Execution is really difficult. Perhaps that's why so many strategic initiatives fail. I believe that transitioning from strategy to execution is the biggest challenge facing today's organizations. Execution is a leader's job and this presentation will lay out a practical approach to ensure your strategy is executed with excellence.
This document lists common mistakes that can kill startups, including having a single founder without collaboration, choosing a bad location or unoriginal idea, raising too little or too much money, poor financial management, launching too slowly or quickly without understanding competition, regulatory issues, fights between founders, and not having a strong core team. It emphasizes that startups are on a learning curve and need to address regulatory compliance and project management to help ensure success.
Group 11 presents a case of a marginal performer named Nyageri. They recommend that Strom, the manager, address the issue early by documenting evidence of Nyageri's poor performance in areas like audit ratings, deadlines, overtime, and appraisals. Strom should schedule a review meeting to discuss the problems and be prepared to take appropriate action if needed. When meeting with Nyageri, Strom should engage him to understand his perspective but keep the discussion focused on job-related issues.
“Strategic Thinking is a way of understanding the fundamental drivers of a Business and rigorously (and playfully) challenging conventional thinking about them.”
--> Focuses on finding and developing unique opportunities to create value for the organization
--> Takes into account: Products & offerings, Markets, Clients/Customers, Competitors, and Suppliers.
--> Input to strategic planning
--------------------------
The process of Strategic Thinking must ensure that business strategies are:
+ Aligned: fit with business’s Mission, Vision, Competitive Situation, and Operating Strategies
+ Goal-orientated: strategies’ outcomes must linked with business’s goals
+ Focused: points out exactly what should be prioritized
+ Implementable
An investor's least favorite statement -- Oops Wrong CEO -- and You Need More...Leslie S. Pratch
While you own a company, you need the right people to execute and adjust the plans that will achieve your financial targets. When you go to sell, the team in place must be strong enough to convince buyers there's still substantial upside ahead. Managing human capital proactively and systematically can prevent problems and make your investments much more valuable.
How Performance Recognition Impacts Innovation and Employee EngagementInnovation Excellence
This document discusses how performance recognition impacts employee engagement, innovation, and output. It finds that employees who receive recognition are over twice as likely to be highly engaged compared to those who do not. Recognition also fuels innovation, as employees who receive strong recognition generate nearly twice as many new ideas per month to improve their company. Finally, recognition increases employee output, with over 50% of employees working at 90% capacity or above when companies focus on recognition, compared to only 40% when recognition is weak. The document recommends that managers thoughtfully combine both frequent, informal recognition of ongoing efforts as well as less frequent but more formal recognition of above-and-beyond performance.
This document contains the production log of a student named Daniel Harrison for creating a motion graphic sting for the TV channel E4. The log details his process of experimenting with different effects in After Effects to create an explosion and stars for the intro. These included using light burst, burn effect, and partial world cc stars. It also describes how he animated the E4 logo pieces moving into place and spinning to complete the sting.
This document discusses entrepreneurship and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. It covers topics such as who entrepreneurs are, the importance of having a great idea, the personal traits needed like commitment and risk tolerance. It also discusses common management challenges, how to increase chances of success through opportunity analysis and business plans, and key factors like the people, opportunity, competition and risk/reward. Non-financial resources and entrepreneurial orientation are also summarized.
Strategic planning is important for companies to survive and succeed in today's rapidly changing global marketplace. Most companies do not have a proper strategic plan and only focus on short-term goals rather than long-term vision and direction. Strategic planning provides companies with purpose, direction, and a way to align all business activities. It requires creating a clear vision and values, developing a well-thought out plan with input from inside and outside the company, and committing to great execution through communication and accountability. Companies that strategically plan and implement their plans have much higher success rates than those that do not plan strategically.
Having a strategic plan is crucial for business success. Strategic plans allow businesses to anticipate changes, adjust tactics, and ensure they are reaching goals. The best performing companies actively use and update strategic plans as part of regular business operations. Outsiders now view strategic plans as one of the most important factors in evaluating a business's risk level and management capabilities. Developing a strategic plan helps businesses strengthen operations and allows employees to better understand and contribute to the company's objectives.
The document discusses identifying good and bad strategy. It defines strategy as what an organization does and does not do. Bad strategy is identified as skipping details, having conflicting goals, and unfocused resources. Good strategy focuses energy and resources on pivotal objectives that can create favorable outcomes. It emphasizes finding existing strengths, coherence, and concentrating on limited objectives. Good strategy identifies what single objective, if accomplished, would make a big difference and removes limiting factors through step-by-step focus.
Strategic thinking requires envisioning the future, questioning assumptions, understanding systems and relationships, and adapting to change. It acknowledges that the external environment and needs are constantly shifting. Strategic thinkers generate new ideas by examining alternatives, forecasting trends, and assessing stakeholders' evolving demands. They are opportunistic and focus on moving forward even with incomplete data, continually refining an organization's strategy through feedback and measurement to capitalize on changes.
7th Cairo Marketing Club (Good & Bad strategy) by Dr. Haytham MohamedMahmoud Bahgat
#Mahmoud_Bahgat
#Marketing_Club
Join us by WhatsApp to me 00966568654916
*اشترك في صفحة ال Marketing Club* عالفيسبوك
https://www.facebook.com/MarketingTipsPAGE/
*اشترك في جروب ال Marketing Club* عالفيسبوك
https://www.facebook.com/groups/837318003074869/
*Marketing Club Middle East*
25 Meetings in 6 Cities in 1 year & 2 months
Since October 2015
*We have 6 groups whatsapp*
*for almost 600 marketers*
From all middle east
*since 5 years*
& now 10 more groups
For Marketing Club Lovers as future Marketers
أهم حاجة الشروط
*Only marketers*
From all Industries
No students
*No sales*
*No hotels Reps*
*No restaurants Reps*
*No Travel Agents*
*No Advertising Agencies*
*Many have asked to Attend the Club*
((We Wish All can Attend,But Cant..))
*Criteria of Marketing Club Members*
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
For Better Harmony & Mind set.
*Must be only Marketer*
*Also Previous Marketing experience*
●Business Managers
●Country Manager,GM
●Directors, CEO
Are most welcomed to add Value to us.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
《 *Unmatched Criteria*》
Not Med Rep,
Not Key Account,
Not Product Specialist,
Not Sales Supervisor,
Not Sales Manager,
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
But till you become a marketer
you can join other What'sApp group
*Marketing Lover Future Club Group*
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
《 *Unmatched Criteria*》
For Conflict of Intrest
*Also Can't attend*
If Working in
*Marketing Services Provider*
=not *Hotel* Marketers
=not *Restaurant* Marketers
=not *Advertising* Marketer
=not *Event Manager*
=not *Market Researcher*.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
*this Club for Only Marketers*
Very Soon we will have
*Business Leaders Club*
For Sales Managers & Directors
Will be Not for Markters
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
■ *Only Marketers* ■
*& EPS Marketing Diploma*
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Confirm coming by Pvt WhatsApp
*To know the new Location*
*#Mahmoud_Bahgat*
00966568654916
*#Marketing_Club*
http://goo.gl/forms/RfskGzDslP
*اشترك بصفحة جمعية الصيادلة المصريين* عالفيسبوك
https://lnkd.in/fucnv_5
■ *Bahgat Facbook Page*
https://lnkd.in/fVAdubA
■ *Bahgat Linkedin*
https://lnkd.in/fvDQXuG
■ *Bahgat Twitter*
https://lnkd.in/fmNC72T
■ *Bahgat YouTube Channel*
https://www.Youtube.com /mahmoud bahgat
■ *Bahgat Instagram*
https://lnkd.in/fmWPXrY
■ *Bahgat SnapChat*
https://lnkd.in/f6GR-mR
*#Mahmoud_Bahgat*
*#Legendary_ADLAND*
www.TheLegendary.info
Strategic Thinking and Strategic Thinking led Management are critical for long term growth and sustainability for an individual as well as an organization. This deck introduces the concept and its element in a crisp and concise manner and it is from a recent webinar i conducted on Strategic Thinking,
The document discusses strategic leadership and thinking. It describes Syntesis Global as a management consulting firm that works with large companies. The webinar covers various aspects of strategic leadership, including the 5 phases of strategic planning, identifying strategic gaps, and developing strategic thinking skills. The goal is to provide leaders with frameworks and tools to improve strategic execution and drive organizational alignment.
5 Keys to Leading with Intent. Much of the presentation stems from Stephan Bungay's "The Art of Action". This presentation is reference for some of the leadership philosophy and practical steps for leadership in an organization seeking to promote autonomy, independent thinking, and agility in order to compete in a world characterized by complexity and change.
This document provides an overview of the key differences between causation and effectuation approaches to entrepreneurship. Effectuation is a means-oriented approach where entrepreneurs leverage their own resources and form partnerships to create new ventures, viewing contingencies as opportunities. In contrast, causation takes a goal-oriented approach focused on minimizing risk, forecasting the future, and protecting ideas from competitors.
This document provides an overview of big picture thinking, marketing strategy, and strategic development. It defines big picture as the complete perspective of an issue considering all relevant factors. Strategy is a long-term plan to achieve goals through differentiating activities. The importance of strategic thinking is discussed in allowing organizations to plan proactively and increase efficiency. Methodologies for developing strategy include assessing the situation and defining objectives, vision, strategy, and metrics. Best practice examples from Nigeria and abroad are presented, including Dove's real beauty campaign and Coca-Cola's share a coke campaign.
There’s heaps of fascinating research about the many behavioral biases we are all subject to as individuals.
These include remarkable optical distortions and the way we miss the obvious when we are concentrating on something else. We have a tendency to overestimate ourselves - most famously 90% of drivers assess themselves as above average in ability. We have an attachment to what we already own - how come we won’t buy concert tickets from scalpers at an inflated price, and simultaneously won’t sell tickets we own at face value? We also tend to overweigh risks, even against the chance of regret rather than actual loss.
It’s no surprise then that group decisions are even more flawed.
So how can we overcome biased decision making?
Here are some biases that we often see, followed by some techniques we use to overcome them. We have found that by applying these techniques companies can make better decisions, which in turn increases their resource reallocation and creates more profitable growth.
The document provides guidance on developing effective strategies for organizations and individuals. It discusses conducting a diagnostic of operations to identify potential savings and growth opportunities. Key aspects of strategy include analyzing the operating environment, identifying strategic options, and selecting the best options. The document outlines a 5-step process for strategy development: 1) defining a vision, 2) establishing a mission, 3) setting objectives, 4) developing strategies, and 5) implementing tactics. Alignment is important from the top-level vision down to tactical actions. Conducting an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can help in strategic planning at both the organizational and individual level.
Systems Thinking Our Way Out of Busy WorkDuri Chitayat
This document discusses how companies often get caught in a cycle of focusing on tactical problem solving and feature requests rather than strategic work as they gain product market fit. This leads teams to feel busy but not accomplish important goals and leaves customers unsatisfied. It recommends using systems thinking to select work that solves big problems by developing a strategy with clear measures of success focused on customer value and business benefits while accounting for constraints. Regular inspection and adaptation is key to emerging the best strategy through experimentation and learning.
Strategy to Execution: Tips to Execute Your Strategy With Excellence.Avi Mizrahi, MBA, BBA.
Strategy is sexy. Execution is really difficult. Perhaps that's why so many strategic initiatives fail. I believe that transitioning from strategy to execution is the biggest challenge facing today's organizations. Execution is a leader's job and this presentation will lay out a practical approach to ensure your strategy is executed with excellence.
This document lists common mistakes that can kill startups, including having a single founder without collaboration, choosing a bad location or unoriginal idea, raising too little or too much money, poor financial management, launching too slowly or quickly without understanding competition, regulatory issues, fights between founders, and not having a strong core team. It emphasizes that startups are on a learning curve and need to address regulatory compliance and project management to help ensure success.
Group 11 presents a case of a marginal performer named Nyageri. They recommend that Strom, the manager, address the issue early by documenting evidence of Nyageri's poor performance in areas like audit ratings, deadlines, overtime, and appraisals. Strom should schedule a review meeting to discuss the problems and be prepared to take appropriate action if needed. When meeting with Nyageri, Strom should engage him to understand his perspective but keep the discussion focused on job-related issues.
“Strategic Thinking is a way of understanding the fundamental drivers of a Business and rigorously (and playfully) challenging conventional thinking about them.”
--> Focuses on finding and developing unique opportunities to create value for the organization
--> Takes into account: Products & offerings, Markets, Clients/Customers, Competitors, and Suppliers.
--> Input to strategic planning
--------------------------
The process of Strategic Thinking must ensure that business strategies are:
+ Aligned: fit with business’s Mission, Vision, Competitive Situation, and Operating Strategies
+ Goal-orientated: strategies’ outcomes must linked with business’s goals
+ Focused: points out exactly what should be prioritized
+ Implementable
An investor's least favorite statement -- Oops Wrong CEO -- and You Need More...Leslie S. Pratch
While you own a company, you need the right people to execute and adjust the plans that will achieve your financial targets. When you go to sell, the team in place must be strong enough to convince buyers there's still substantial upside ahead. Managing human capital proactively and systematically can prevent problems and make your investments much more valuable.
How Performance Recognition Impacts Innovation and Employee EngagementInnovation Excellence
This document discusses how performance recognition impacts employee engagement, innovation, and output. It finds that employees who receive recognition are over twice as likely to be highly engaged compared to those who do not. Recognition also fuels innovation, as employees who receive strong recognition generate nearly twice as many new ideas per month to improve their company. Finally, recognition increases employee output, with over 50% of employees working at 90% capacity or above when companies focus on recognition, compared to only 40% when recognition is weak. The document recommends that managers thoughtfully combine both frequent, informal recognition of ongoing efforts as well as less frequent but more formal recognition of above-and-beyond performance.
This document contains the production log of a student named Daniel Harrison for creating a motion graphic sting for the TV channel E4. The log details his process of experimenting with different effects in After Effects to create an explosion and stars for the intro. These included using light burst, burn effect, and partial world cc stars. It also describes how he animated the E4 logo pieces moving into place and spinning to complete the sting.
Fight club was directed by david fincher in 1999danielharrison12
The document discusses the movie Fight Club and how it relates to the hypodermic needle model theory. It examines how the violence and themes in Fight Club could influence viewers negatively and why the British Board of Film Classification initially did not allow it to receive an 18 rating without edits. It also discusses the reception theory approach of Stuart Hall and how individual factors like age, gender, and experiences influence how different people perceive the same movie.
The document discusses the photography style of German photographer Kai Ziehl. Ziehl is known for his black and white architectural photographs that focus on intricate details of buildings. He uses a wide-angle lens and takes photos from a low angle to emphasize structures. Ziehl also includes a lone person in the distance in his photos to convey a sense of isolation. The document examines two of Ziehl's photos in detail and analyzes his compositional techniques, including his use of light, shadows, and the rule of thirds.
El documento habla brevemente sobre el baloncesto como deporte. Menciona que el baloncesto es un deporte de equipo que se juega con una pelota en una cancha y donde el objetivo es anotar más puntos que el equipo contrario encestando la pelota en el aro.
The Australian economy is going great but for how long?
There's new principles to consider in digital strategy, if you don't think about them now it may be too late.
Hossam Weiss provides a document outlining his experience and qualifications for business planning. He has over 20 years of experience in project, program, and portfolio management as well as general management and business planning. He has worked with several major companies. The document outlines his educational background and professional certifications. It then discusses the objectives and outline of a business planning presentation, covering topics such as situational analysis using tools like SWOT, PEST, and Porter's Five Forces to understand the internal and external business environment and form strategies and objectives.
Strategic Planning
& Goal Setting
ASSESSMENTS:
STRATEGIC PLANNING
GOAL SETTING
White Paper
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Strategic planning is a disciplined effort. In the end, it produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape
and guide what an organization is, who it serves, what it does and why. With a focus on the future, effective strategic
planning also articulates how an organization will know if it is successful. A successful strategic plan sets priorities,
focuses energy and resources, strengthens operations, and ensures that employees and other stakeholders are work-
ing toward common goals. Strategic planning answers three key questions:
• Where are we?
• Where are we going?
• How will we get there?
Where are we?
Consider the foundational elements of your mission statement, values and/or guiding principles, and SWOT
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) to assess where your business is — what is happening internally and
externally — and determine what changes you need to make.
Where are we going?
The future is impossible to predict, but contemplating scenarios will focus your attention and help you define the
future for your business. Specifically, compare your organization to your competitors. What do you do best? What
makes you unique? What can your organization potentially do better than any other organization? Answering these
questions will help you formulate a picture of what your future make up will be and where you are headed.
How will we get there?
This is the meat of your strategic plan. It’s also the most time consuming. There are a number of routes from your
current position to your vision, and picking the right one will determine how quickly or slowly you get to your final
destination. Determine your strategy, set short and long term goals, and develop action items to get you there. Iden-
tify issues that surround management and monitoring of the action items.
Remember, strategic planning is about growing and improving your company. When you don’t plan, the best you can
hope for is maintenance of the status quo. Further down the line, you can expect challenges that will significantly
damage or destroy your organization.
The Seven Rules
In addition to answering the three questions above, effective strategic planning requires following 7 critical rules.
1. Pick the right players.
Selecting who should be part of the planning team is an important question. It is essential that planning team mem-
bers are people who are committed to the growth of the company, and who can provide valuable input to the process.
Unless there is a key employee or manager you want to develop, this is not a time to include every member of your
staff. Vet each team member, ensuring each is of the quality and stature (i.e. gets work done and is respected within
the company) required to be part of the planning group. Members of the planning team must maintain complete
2. Strategic Planning & G.
Strategic Planning is a key business activity for many organizations, and yet, many of these plans remain on the shelf while day-to-day demands take over. This presentation outlines how psychological type (popularized in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - MBTI) can be leveraged as a great tool for a strategic planning effort. Originally presented at the August 2009 APTi Conference by Jennifer Tucker and Hile Rutledge:
The document discusses strategic planning and implementation. It provides elements of strategic planning including defining the present situation, desired future, goals, and strategy. It emphasizes that strategic planning should be future focused, leadership driven, allow for organizational involvement, and create measurable objectives. It also discusses the importance of effective implementation, overcoming barriers, and mitigating risks to ensure the strategy is executed as intended.
The document outlines a 10-step process for creating a one-day strategic plan. Step 1 involves identifying a competitive advantage. Step 2 is to write a mission statement describing the company's purpose and customers. Step 3 is creating a vision statement describing the desired future state in 5-10 years. Step 4 is a SWOT analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Step 5 involves profiling customers' needs. Step 6 is setting goals and objectives. Step 7 assesses available resources. Step 8 develops action plans. Step 9 tracks progress with a scorecard. Step 10 makes strategy implementation and review a regular habit.
This document contains a copyright notice for a book on business acumen published by NexGen Prep, Inc. in 2015. It states that no part of the publication may be reproduced without prior written permission, except for brief quotations for non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. It then provides a table of contents that lists 10 chapters on topics related to business acumen, including key performance indicators, risk management strategies, recognizing learning events, and financial literacy. The preface provides an overview of the book and what readers will learn about increasing financial literacy, improving business sense, recognizing learning events, managing risk better, and increasing critical thinking.
IB Business and Management (Standard Level)
All material taken from the IB Business and Management Textbook:
"Business and Management", Paul Hoang, IBID Press, Victoria, 2007
This document discusses strategic thinking, including its definition as a mental process that synthesizes psychological and material data to assess and create the future. It outlines the objectives, elements, benefits, phases and components of strategic thinking. Specifically, it explains that strategic thinking has three phases - understanding the current situation, envisioning the desired future situation, and determining how to get there. It also discusses why strategic thinking is important for business success by enabling effective resource use, preparing for a changing environment, matching competitors' strengths, supporting growth, and improving decision making. The document distinguishes strategic thinking from strategic planning.
The document discusses developing a strategic plan. It begins by explaining that strategic planning is the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between an organization's goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities. This involves defining a clear mission, setting objectives, designing business strategies, and coordinating functional strategies. Strategic planning sets the stage for other planning activities. The document then discusses analyzing a company's current business portfolio, including identifying strategic business units and assessing their attractiveness. It describes the Boston Consulting Group approach to portfolio analysis, which evaluates business units based on market growth and market share.
The document outlines the process of strategic business planning, which involves defining a vision for the future of the organization, conducting a gap and SWOT analysis to understand strengths/weaknesses and opportunities/threats, setting objectives to achieve the vision, crafting an action plan, and monitoring performance. It emphasizes that strategic planning is a process, philosophy, and gives structure to link long, medium, and short-term plans. Key steps include developing factors from analysis, prioritizing issues, setting measurable business objectives, and creating an action plan with assigned responsibilities and due dates.
The executive summary should summarize the key points of the business plan in less than 500 words. It should briefly discuss the company mission, vision, objectives, management team, product/service, market, and financial projections. The summary is critical as it may be the only section read by potential investors. It must convince the reader that the business proposition is solid and worth further consideration.
This document provides an overview of strategic planning including:
1. It defines strategic planning and outlines the typical 6 step process including analyzing the current situation, developing a vision and goals, identifying obstacles and resources, creating a strategy, defining tactics, and monitoring progress.
2. It discusses the benefits of strategic planning such as improved focus, coordination, competitive advantage, and risk minimization.
3. It also notes some limitations like the knowledge and skills required, potential issues with interdependence between units, and financial costs.
The document provides a high-level summary of the key elements and purpose of strategic planning for an organization.
This document discusses developing an effective business strategy through a strategic planning process. It outlines four key questions to answer: 1) How do customers see us? 2) How do we see ourselves? 3) How do we see the future? 4) What are we going to do? The strategic planning process involves gathering input from customers, employees, and competitors to develop a vision for the future of the business and a specific action plan for the upcoming year. Regular review and implementation is emphasized to ensure the strategic plan is put into action and the business can adapt as needed.
This document discusses developing an effective business strategy through a strategic planning process. It outlines four key questions to answer: 1) How do customers see us? 2) How do we see ourselves? 3) How do we see the future? 4) What are we going to do? The strategic planning process involves gathering input from customers, employees, and competitors to develop a vision for the future of the business and a specific action plan for the upcoming year. Regular review and implementation is important to ensure the strategic plan guides the business and does not just sit on a shelf.
This document discusses developing an effective business strategy through a strategic planning process. It outlines four key questions to answer: 1) How do customers see us? 2) How do we see ourselves? 3) How do we see the future? 4) What are we going to do? The strategic planning process involves gathering input from customers, employees, and competitors to develop a vision for the future of the business and a specific action plan for the upcoming year. Regular review and implementation is emphasized to ensure the strategic plan is put into action and the business can adapt as needed.
This document discusses business planning and the importance of experimentation. It begins by outlining what will be covered in the business planning module, including getting back to basics on business plans, debunking common myths, improving plans over time, and learning from experimentation. It then discusses what business plans are and why they are important, addressing myths around business planning. The document emphasizes that while planning is important, experimentation is also critical for building resilient businesses and planning for difficulties. Business plans should incorporate learning from previous attempts and focus on addressing investors' main concerns around the executive summary, management team, and financials. Overall, the document promotes balancing thorough planning with a willingness to test assumptions and adapt plans based on real-world feedback
This document provides guidance on developing a strategic plan to help businesses succeed. It discusses defining a vision, purpose, values and critical success factors. It uses John F. Kennedy's vision to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s as an example of effective strategic planning. Tools like SWOT analysis and flow charts are presented to help structure the planning process.
This document lists questions about teamwork values and how they relate to treating customers fairly and promoting diversity. It asks whether a team is hired and judged based on attitude rather than experience, promotes the company's vision and treats customers fairly. It also asks if the team has defined its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, promotes diversity in gender, race and other attributes, and supports each other in meeting individual and collective goals. It concludes by offering a guide on treating customers fairly, customer experience, employee satisfaction and diversity.
As a woman what is vital to me is assessing all discriminations women are facing and using my experience and skills to help women overcome them. Here are key things which need addressing.
Teamwork values with Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and Diversity Checklist.Rupinder K Gill
This document discusses questions for evaluating how well a team promotes company values of treating customers fairly and diversity. It addresses whether the team follows these principles, is inclusive and diverse, supports individual growth and reaching targets. It also questions if the team has clear goals, respects each other and can challenge decisions constructively. Finally, it recommends reading a guide on treating customers fairly, customer experience, employee satisfaction and diversity for more information.
I always keep my latest DBS check on file as I’m a volunteer for charities. As you can see I’ve had a life long clear record. Please find original documents here. You can order a copy of yours online too on Government website.
George Floyd: Black lives matter, peaceful protests and black historyRupinder K Gill
In relation to George Floyd’s death I have spent the past few days educating myself on Black lives matter and black history in America. Here is what some of my reading was based on. I have chosen to focus on Black lives matter, slavery, Rosa Parks, Emmett Hill, Martin Luther King Jr, Trayvon Martin and George Floyd – times where black citizens have been racially oppressed and what we can learn.
This document outlines the six strategic priorities of a business: 1) operate a safe and sustainable business, 2) accelerate growth to be a top three player in markets, 3) achieve top quartile performance and efficiency, 4) provide sector-leading customer experience, 5) attract and retain highly motivated teams, and 6) embrace innovation and technology across the business. The business aims to build, maintain, invest in infrastructure, renew services and buildings, and develop housing.
Kier's working value system: Behavioral frameworkRupinder K Gill
This document outlines Kier's behavioural framework which defines the behaviors and responsibilities expected at different levels within the organization. There are four levels described - Contributor, Manager, Leader, and Strategist. For each level, behaviors are defined across three categories: how they work together, how they achieve goals, and how they present themselves. The framework is intended to provide clarity around expectations and guide employees in developing behaviors that support collaboration, customer focus, and performance across all roles.
This document discusses concerns about the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill. It argues that the bill could force non-party campaigners like charities to choose between supporting political parties or providing aid in the year before an election. This could result in charities losing vital funding. Additionally, enforcing such a policy may not be possible as social media users often support both charities and political parties. Banning support of charities could give a negative impression of the government's values. Instead, charities should be able to participate in the democratic process as it may benefit their causes.
The document discusses the right to education according to human rights law. It outlines that the right to education has been included in many constitutions and international treaties, however in reality many children still do not have access to education. The key features of the right to education are that it must be available, accessible, acceptable, and adaptable. Education should aim to promote understanding and respect between groups. The core components of the right include access to education without discrimination, free and compulsory primary education, free choice of education, and the right to be educated in one's own language when possible. The right to education is interconnected with other human rights.
Revision notes: Equality and Non-DiscriminationRupinder K Gill
1) The international human rights system is founded on the principle of equality and non-discrimination, which requires that all people have equal rights and opportunities regardless of status or group membership.
2) The concept of equality has evolved significantly in international law since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with detailed legal standards and jurisprudence giving substance to the notion of equality, including equality of opportunity and results.
3) However, achieving true equality remains a challenge, as large sections of the population still experience unequal access to economic, social and political participation and decision making due to disparities in income, wealth and power.
Foundations of Economic Prosperity - Research notesRupinder K Gill
This document provides an overview of the key concepts regarding economic prosperity at the individual, national, and global levels. It defines prosperity as having secure access to life's necessities as well as the ability to purchase non-essential goods. True national prosperity exists when a strong majority of citizens can consume beyond basic needs. Few countries have achieved widespread affluence, generally defined as an annual per capita income over $10,000. While economic growth does not guarantee national prosperity, factors like health, education, security, and freedom contribute to quality of life assessments. Individual prosperity is also multifaceted and depends on conditions like entrepreneurship opportunities, access to capital, and public goods that allow for maximized productivity.
This document provides an overview of investing and different types of investments. It discusses what investing is, the difference between financial and real assets, and how financial assets derive value from real assets. It then summarizes four main threats to investment success: market downturns, bankruptcy, inflation, and human nature. It also introduces different types of investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). For stocks, it discusses how companies issue shares, dividends, and how to trade stocks. For bonds, it outlines the basic features and types of bonds. It defines mutual funds and ETFs as pooled investments and compares their structures and advantages.
This is taken from the "Strength Deployment Industry" Guide. Understanding personal strengths in relating to others via analysis of your key behavioural abilities. These are the 7 Motivational Value Systems for the corporate environment (This can be used in everyday life, educationally too). Psycologically and practically which of these values represent you? I think working around to being a combination of the values is what I always try to aim for.
This document discusses strategic thinking and developing action plans. It provides guidance on analyzing employee engagement survey results to select priority issues, ensuring actions are linked to business strategy and measurable. An example tracking spreadsheet is outlined for monitoring progress of actions. The document also discusses treating customers fairly principles and analyzing the internal and external environment using tools like PEST, Porter's five forces, value chain analysis and the intelligence cycle to inform strategic planning. Famous strategic thinkers like Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey are mentioned.
Live Earth was a concert held across seven continents to raise awareness of climate change and inspire individuals and political leaders to take action. The concert at Wembley Stadium featured performances from major artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, and Madonna. Al Gore announced a seven-point pledge for individuals to combat climate change through personal actions and advocacy. These included commitments to demand international climate treaties, become carbon neutral, support renewable energy, and preserve forests. The review encourages ongoing individual actions to address climate change through more sustainable behaviors and support of organizations working on solutions.
This document discusses issues around human rights, especially women's rights to education in developing countries. It notes that not all traditions should be accepted without question and that many countries still do not fully respect women's rights to education. The document advocates for supporting organizations working to promote female education and quotes Malala Yousafzai's call to prioritize education over military intervention. It also expresses support for LGBTQ+ rights and equality regardless of attributes like gender, calling for non-discrimination and an end to judging how people choose to love or treat each other.
Building Your Employer Brand with Social MediaLuanWise
Presented at The Global HR Summit, 6th June 2024
In this keynote, Luan Wise will provide invaluable insights to elevate your employer brand on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. You'll learn how compelling content can authentically showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences to support your talent acquisition and retention objectives. Additionally, you'll understand the power of employee advocacy to amplify reach and engagement – helping to position your organization as an employer of choice in today's competitive talent landscape.
buy old yahoo accounts buy yahoo accountsSusan Laney
As a business owner, I understand the importance of having a strong online presence and leveraging various digital platforms to reach and engage with your target audience. One often overlooked yet highly valuable asset in this regard is the humble Yahoo account. While many may perceive Yahoo as a relic of the past, the truth is that these accounts still hold immense potential for businesses of all sizes.
Top mailing list providers in the USA.pptxJeremyPeirce1
Discover the top mailing list providers in the USA, offering targeted lists, segmentation, and analytics to optimize your marketing campaigns and drive engagement.
IMPACT Silver is a pure silver zinc producer with over $260 million in revenue since 2008 and a large 100% owned 210km Mexico land package - 2024 catalysts includes new 14% grade zinc Plomosas mine and 20,000m of fully funded exploration drilling.
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
We know we want to create products which our customers find to be valuable. Whether we label it as customer-centric or product-led depends on how long we've been doing product management. There are three challenges we face when doing this. The obvious challenge is figuring out what our users need; the non-obvious challenges are in creating a shared understanding of those needs and in sensing if what we're doing is meeting those needs.
In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
• Introduce a taxonomy for user goals with real world examples
• Present the Onion Diagram, a tool for contextualizing task-level goals
• Illustrate how customer journey maps capture activity-level and task-level goals
• Demonstrate the best approach to selection and prioritization of user-goals to address
• Highlight the crucial benchmarks, observable changes, in ensuring fulfillment of customer needs
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
Industrial Tech SW: Category Renewal and CreationChristian Dahlen
Every industrial revolution has created a new set of categories and a new set of players.
Multiple new technologies have emerged, but Samsara and C3.ai are only two companies which have gone public so far.
Manufacturing startups constitute the largest pipeline share of unicorns and IPO candidates in the SF Bay Area, and software startups dominate in Germany.
Training my puppy and implementation in this story
Part 2: Strategic Thinking revision notes
1. Part 2: Strategic Thinking revision notes
Thinking like a Strategist
When thinking like a strategist you see new possibilities that can be shaped into
situations that are desirable or favourable. You should be able to notice historic
trends that open up new opportunities and you need to be able to play a kind of multidimensional chess game, imagining several moves ahead of what your next move
should be now.
Skilled strategists accept that the world is a complex place and still manage to figure
out what to do now in order to shape events. They do not pretend to know all the
answers; they just look for patterns and then creatively design actions now to shape
the future then.
Reacting to Events
A winning strategy is often about reacting to events. Planning only takes you so far
because you do not know what will happen in the future as you can only guess. Good
intuitive reactions can develop great strategy.
IKEA
“A young Ingvar Kamprad used cash from his father – a gift for good exam results –
to found IKEA. He lived near a furniture maker and therefore reacted by selling
furniture. He reacted to a boycott of local rivals by producing his own furniture. His
first designer reacted to not being able to fit his table in his car by producing his first
flat-pack furniture. Kamprad reacted to excessive customer demand by starting selfservice.” The IKEA strategy came from clever reactions to unplanned opportunities.
Sport
The same can be said with sport. In a game of football you have a plan (tactics), a
formation and technical skills however this will only take you so far. No player can
know what is going to happen on the pitch and how the opposing team will play. Yet,
they are able to imagine what could happen and they are able to adapt their game,
react to changes in relation to how the game is being played on the field. However
they must keep their strategy close to them so the opposing team are not able to
predict their own game play.
Points to consider:
What can we do today that was impossible yesterday?
Is our plan still working? How can we take advantage of events?
Planning
A plan is a list of objective, priorities and tasks. Some managers insist the plan is
followed as a point of principle. The plans demand a response from senior
executives, managers and professionals. Every level of the hierarchy produced their
own version of the master plan. However you need a prepared mind to recognise
2. unplanned opportunities. The good news is that openly discussing the benefits of
reacting and the limits of planning is healthy for business. There is something for
everyone in the idea. It can bring together those who believe all plans work and those
who believe that the day-to-day is all that matters. Both are rightcorrect and both are
wrongincorrect.
Another practical challenge is making room for both kinds of strategy in the formal
ways that your team or company is organised. Strategy is more effective if it is
adapted throughout the year. Some of this is adjustment in the way the strategy is
executed; individual managers and their team may figure out how to react to
circumstances in order to deliver the official plan.
Points to consider:
How can employees challenge the assumptions of the plan?
By the time the planning is complete is the plan out of date?
You will know that you are getting better at reacting and planning when you
find some of your greatest achievements of the past year where not part of the
plan at the beginning of the year.
Your approach to planning will become more fluid. You will include options for
moving in other directions if circumstances change. You need to examine “What if?”
scenarios whilst planning. You will become better at recognising new opportunities
whilst still having time to react to them and know how to use them to achieve your
ambitionsgoalsobjectives.
Strategists key measures:
You have a way of recognising new unplanned opportunities
You review reactions to problems to see if they should change strategy
Your strategy is reviewed, evaluated and adapted more than once a year
Reactive times (responsiveness) are actively improved
Ensure ad hoc plans are made with a view to the bigger picture
You want channelled initiative and creativity
Taking Risks
All decisions are all about the future. Since the future is not certain, all decisions will
have an uncertain outcomeresult. However, because you are trying to shape the
future you still need to make decisions. Part of this is assessing levels of uncertainty;
the other part is making decisions that can give you the best chance of achieving your
goals despite uncertainty.
Uncertainty can only be reduced via committed decisions and actions. You can’t wait
for uncertainty to disappear yet, you can choose to create certainty of purpose and
direction. You can not remove risk, however you can think about creating a culture
and processes to adapt to unforeseen problems.
3. Points to consider:
How high are levels of uncertainty in your industry?
What uncertainty surrounds a particular decision?
What are the risks in making (or not making) certain decisions?
How could this go wrong? What would you do next?
Avoiding risk is not the main aim of a business. The aim of a business is taking risks
and benefiting from the higher returns of taking those risks. The entrepreneurial
approach to making investments is attractive to growth strategy. And it’s why large
organisations tend to try to recapture small-group risk taking. They understand doing
nothing is often as risky as doing something.
Some risk comes from outsideexternal to the organisation. However, most risk is
about the ability of an organisation to complete it’s plan. The risky part is adapting to
the needs and demands of the market. The risk is dealing with competitor moves and
actions whilst trying to deliver products and services that customers will purchase.
And keeping your share holders satisfied.
One thing I learned from working at AXA is they never explained how the stock
market controls the company enough for all levels of employees to understand it. The
company is trying to award their share holders via excellent business achievements
every quarter. If employees understood the position of the shareholders, in relation to
how the stock market works then they are more likely to work to their best at every
level. Working to their best gives excellent results, shares go up and therefore
creating room for pay rises, bonuses or being given shares as a bonus option. Keep
all employees and shareholders satisfied.
Points to consider:
Which risks are outside of your control?
Which risks are within your direct control?
How can you deal changes outside of your control?
How can you anticipate external changes?
Risks are internalinside and externaloutside of the organisation.
Insideinternal influences to the organisation
How are you demanding are aspirations?
How high are performance levels?
Is there a performance aspiration gap?
How similar is the top team?
Does the top team have a stake in the business?
What skills does the organisation have?
4. Outsideexternal influences to the organisation
Is your market complex or simple? (can be both)
Are the rules of the market stable, dynamic or chaotic?
Are resources scarce or plentiful?
Is the market growing or shrinking? How is the general economy doing?
Are there shocks beyond your market?
There are various methods some organisations use to analyse risk. For complex
choices decision trees have been used. Another approach is scenario thinking where
the strategist uses imagination to ‘see’ into the future and design actions that can be
taken to shape the future. This is all about reducing uncertainty by making actions
that are under the control of the organisation.
Strategy Key Measures:
You have identified attractive destinations and objectives
A credible strategy for attaining objectives is created
Level of outside uncertainty is understood
Size of performanceaspiration gap is identified
The capabilityuncertainty gap is managed effectively
Does your plan answer the following questions?
Where are we?
Where do we go from here?
What changes have to be made?
What potential problems need to be addressed?
How should changes be made?
How shall we measure progress?
SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).
In the real world of business SWOT analysis is the main strategy tool. It is a very
practical and efficient way to start exploring the bigger picture and in deciding what
to do next.
Take these points into consideration when drawing up lists for your SWOT
analysis.
Get everyone to think hard and imaginatively about the whole organisation
and its external context.
Consider links between the four boxes in your grid. For example what
strengths will allow you to take advantage of opportunities to overcome
threats? What weaknesses need to be addressed to benefit from them?
Prioritise your list by looking at the relative impact and probability.
Turn prioritised lists into specific strategies (or plans) with dates and owners.
The SWOT analysis can more from thinking to action.
5. Action Plans, Business Retention and TCF:
As discussed in Strategic Thinking Part 1 think about creating Action Plans, the
Treating Customers Fairly Principles and the value of Business Retention.
Action Plans
How to develop action plans that bring the most value using Scope (employee
engagement survey) as an example.
Analyse the results of the Scope survey and select the most appropriate (will
improve business) survey items to focus on.
Choose 3-4 priority areas for action which will help to improve the levels of
engagement (of employees). Stay focused on these priority areas.
Ensure that each action is linked to the business strategy so that achieving the
actions on the plan will help to achieve the strategy overall. Ensure you are
able to articulate these links and the actions are SMART.
Summarise and document the action plans in jargon free clear English
Ensure each action is checked and signed off and are sponsored by senior
management. i.e. Someone who is going to drive the action forward and be
accountable for hitting the targets and deadlines set.
Create a tracking spreadsheet to monitor the progress of each action set. (I
have a working example, my original “Root Cause Analysis Customer
Experience Tracker Log” tool. If you wish to see a copy send me a message)
The action plan produced should be regularly visited and kept up-to-date with
progress monthly. This can also be used as a root cause analysis tool.
Identify and document any problems or risks (high or low) and how they
potentially be overcome with a solution.
Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) Principles (6)
1. All firms must pay due regard to the interests of it’s customers and treat them
fairly.
2. Treat customers as individuals. A customer can be anyone, policy holders,
retail, financial advisors and internal colleagues amongst many others.
3. Make promises you will keep. If you say you will do something for a
customer or client ensure that you have and if not make sure to inform the
customer of progress and reasons why there is a delay etc. Do not promise if
you can not deliver and breaking a promise can lead to a dissatisfied customer.
Always phone the customer on time even if you are not able to fulfil the
promise and explain very clearly why and what has happened. Offer an
alternative action if appropriate.
4. Communicate clearly with all customers. Use jargon free clear English. Issue
a well presented accurate document and write emails as you would write a
formal letter.
5. Provide accurate information on time. Get it right first time and deal with all
points raised. Always deliver within set time scales.
6. Treat complaints as a priority and an opportunity to learn: Business Retention.
Every complaint provides an opportunity to improve processes and therefore
avoiding reoccurrence of the issue. Customers who receive a goodexcellent
6. response to their complaint will become positive about the company and
through word of mouth the company will maintain a goodexcellent
reputation. However, customers who receive a poor response or feel they have
not been taken seriously will continue to complain and through word of mouth
the company’s reputation may suffer.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) have published (6) desired outcomes as a
means of clarifying the approach firms should take in setting their TCF guidelines.
Consumers:
Are dealing with firms where TCF is a key part of the corporate culture.
Are marketed and sold products that have been designed to meet their
needs.
Are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed
before, during and after point of sale.
Are provided with clear common sense advice which takes in to account
their circumstances.
Receive the level of product performance and level of service they are led
to expect.
Do not face unreasonable post sale barriers when they want to change
their product or switch provider, submit a claim or make a complaint.
Fairness is fundamentally about delivering what we promised to our customers. We
have to ensure that our promise is reasonable and accurately reflects what we intend
to deliver.
In conclusion take these points into consideration:
Explore the threats you are facing and may face. Examine their causes and
your potential responses. Think about how you will recognise them. What are
the warning signs? At what point should you be concerned?
Discuss the generic (general) responses to performance problems. What can
you do now to prepare? What can you do now to avoid problems in the
future? How can you use potential threats to engage the organisation in
improving what it does now? (Think also about business retention)
Are you abiding by the Treating Customers Fairly Principles?
Are you creating effective action plans?
Have you evaluated your plan via a SWOT analysis?
Consider how you can create a better more sensitive early warning system.
Plug in and listen to all customers and employees and ensure they are satisfied.
Use staff surveys and group discussion, appraisals to gain an understanding of
what problems there are and where the company is doing well.
Develop a continuous marketing and innovation function that is hungry for
change at all levels and capable of seeing and doing more clearly then
competitors.
Rupinder K Gill