Strategic Planning for RESULTS - Lessons learned from working with thousands of SMB clients Stephen Lynch is the Head of Strategy and Consulting at RESULTS.com. He is a “Kiwi” (New Zealander) living in San Francisco. RESULTS.com’s software gives them unique and privileged insights into the day to day operations of thousands of small-medium sized growth firms. We see what really works and what doesn’t in terms of strategy execution, goal setting, tracking performance, running effective meetings, engaging employees and holding them accountable. To save you from spending several lifetimes trying to figure it all out for yourself, you can access these powerful (and often counter intuitive) insights in this presentation.

1. Strategic Planning for RESULTS
Best practices based on the direct observations
of thousands of RESULTS.com client firms
Presenter: Stephen Lynch
Role: Head of Strategy & Consulting at RESULTS.com
Email: Stephen.Lynch@Results.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/stephengeoffreylynch
Slides: results.com/slides
Software Demo: results.com/insurance

12. 18,446,744,073,709,551,615

15. “We’re in the second
half of the chessboard”

16. “In short, software is eating the world.”

17. “The digital era will dwarf what
occurred in the information era.
It’ll be a brutal disruption,
the majority of companies today
will not exist in a meaningful way
10 to 15 years from now.”

19. “Business is going to change more
in the next 10 years than it has
in the last 50”

20. “It is not the strongest who survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the ones most responsive to change”

22. “You need to operate with one eye focused on
the short-term, and one eye focused on the long-term.
Short-term planning is about improving your current
business, & meeting the needs of today’s customers.”

23. Often, this demands bold, disruptive strategic moves”
“Long-term planning is not performance improvement.
It is about forgetting the past and reshaping your
business to compete more effectively in the future.

24. 3 to 5 Year Strategic Moves

25. "If you’re planning over a 3 year time horizon,
you're competing against a lot of people.
But if you're willing to invest on a 7 year time
horizon, you're competing against a fraction of
those people, because very few companies are
willing to do that.
We can't realize our potential as people or as
companies unless we plan for the long term."

26. “You need to clearly explain
the top 3 things the
company is working on.
If you can't,
then you're not leading well”

27. Industry Analysis

29. Questions / Answers:
#RealStrategy || @RESULTSdotcom

30. “The questions
remain the same.
It’s the answers
that keep changing”

33. Questions / Answers:
#RealStrategy || @RESULTSdotcom

34. Questions / Answers:
#RealStrategy || @RESULTSdotcom

35. Rivalry between existing competitors

36. Who are your Key Competitors now? (the “players”)
What moves are they likely to make? Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Industry life cycle: introduction > growth > maturity > decline / Industry growth rate / Industry profitability / Number of competitors / Market
share / Capital requirements / Globalization / Commoditization / Cost advantages / Economies of scale / Friendly vs. Aggressive competition)
List your answers below:

37. New Entrants

40. What New Entrants could disrupt you?
Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Industry barriers / Capital requirements / Learning requirements / Access to supplies / Access to distribution / Performance vs. incumbents /
Perceived differentiation in customers’ mind / Loyalty to incumbents / Switching costs / Retaliation by incumbents / “Innovator’s dilemma”)
List your answers below:

41. Substitutes

49. What Substitute products / services could disrupt you?
Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Technology changes / Industry structure changes / Availability of substitutes / Performance of substitutes / Perceived differentiation in
customers’ mind / Switching costs / Customer desire to seek out alternative solutions to satisfy their need)
List your answers below:

50. Suppliers

51. “Who” or “What” do you need to
pay to run your business?

53. Who are your Key Suppliers? What moves are they likely to make?
Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Cost of supplies / Negotiating power of suppliers / Access to alternative sources of supply / Switching costs /
Forward integration – supplier becomes competitor)
List your answers below:

54. Customers

56. “An excessive customer focus
prevents firms from creating new markets
and finding new customers
for the products of the future.
They unwittingly bypass opportunities.”

57. “Asking customers what they want is a systemic flaw.
Customers can’t say what new product would be
desirable three years from today.
New ideas are generated by imagination, risk, trial &
error by the producer.”

60. Strategic Focus
What do your target
customers value most?
Value Discipline
(Generic Strategy)
Company examples
Low cost
Consistency
Speed
No hassles
Operational Excellence Southwest Airlines,
Walmart, Fedex
State of the art
Products and Services
Product Leadership Apple, Gillette, BMW
Customized products
Personalized solutions
Customer Intimacy Zappos, Nordstrom,
Ritz Carlton

62. Who are your Key Customers? What moves are they
likely to make? Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Customer demographic and psychographic description / Power to dictate prices or terms / Ability to influence other customers / Customer
reviews / Perception of differentiation between vendors / Loyalty / Switching costs / Backward integration – customer becomes competitor)
List your answers below:

64. Political and Regulatory Factors

65. What political factors / laws / regulations are likely to impact you?
Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Industry specific regulations / political spectrum left vs. right / political stability / laws / taxes / trade policy / wars / environmental issues /
health / safety / consumer laws / employment laws)
List your answers below:

66. Economic Factors

69. What economic factors / changes in buying behaviors
are likely to impact you? Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Economic growth / interest rates / exchange rates / inflation / availability of credit / investor interest in your industry / discretionary spending
changes in customer purchasing habits / use of debt and leverage vs. more frugal spending / new forms of payment)
List your answers below:

70. Social Factors

73. “We live in a culture that
discourages empathy.
A culture that too often tells
us our principle goal in life is
to be rich, thin, young, famous,
safe and entertained”

76. STANDARDIZED
Industrial age
work
CUSTOMIZED
Network age
work
LABOUR:
obedience
systems
processes
productivity
TALENT:
initiative
innovation
creativity
passion
Management 1.0
Management 2.0

77. “We are going to have to
reinvent management; the way
we lead, we plan, we organise,
we hire, we motivate...because
today, organisations are facing
a set of challenges that
are truly unprecedented"

78. Baby Boomer
1946 -1964
Generation X
1965 - 1980
Millennial / Gen Y
1981 - 2000
Key life influences Cold War nuclear threat, NASA
moon landing, Vietnam, Civil
rights, Hippie culture
AIDS, Divorce, MTV, Cold War
ending, Personal computer,
Microsoft
Internet, Always connected,
Share everything online,
Facebook, Apple and Google
Work environment Long hours, Office only Formerly Office, Increasingly
working from home
Office, Home, Wherever,
Desires flexible work hours
Work ethic Workaholic, Quality focus,
Team player
Clear direction, Get tasks done,
Self reliant, Free agent
Entrepreneurial, Variety,
Multitasking, What’s next?
Management style Hierarchy, Chain of command Everyone should manage
themselves, Challenge people
Collaboration, Consensus
Personal Motivators Salary, Job title, Feeling valued
and respected
Money, Freedom, Break the
rules and do it your own way
Meaningful work,Maintain
personal life, Training, Mentoring
Mentoring Does not like feedback. Does
not take negative feedback very
well
Does not think feedback is
necessary. Will ask for it they
want it
Wants frequent management
feedback, Feedback on demand
at the push of a button
Internal
communication
Face to face meetings focused
on process, Memos
Face to face meetings focused
on results, Emails
Face to face participative
discussions, Emails,
Collaboration software
Client
communication
Face to face, Phone Face to face, Phone, Email Email, Social Media, Instant
messaging
Career Goals Climb the ladder at one
company, Job security
Build transferable career with
variety of skills & experiences,
Build a business.
Build several parallel careers or
businesses simultaneously

79. What social factors / trends / attitudes / behaviors
are likely to impact you? Any Threats? Opportunities?
( Demographic trends / career attitudes / health issues / environmental concerns / communication styles / social behaviors / online behaviors /
media consumption / cultural differences / generational differences / income equality / society’s evolving attitudes, values & beliefs)
List your answers below:

80. Technology Factors

107. What technological factors / trends / are likely to impact you?
Any Threats? Opportunities?
(New technologies / Rate of technology adoption / Impact of internet and mobile / Social media / New devices & interfaces / Jobs replaced by
technology / Business models disrupted by technology)
List your answers below:

108. “Many managers do not
understand the importance
of having a clear strategy.
Strategy is about
making trade-offs.
The essence of strategy
is choosing what NOT to do.”

109. “You need to clearly explain
the top 3 things the
company is working on.
If you can't,
then you're not leading well”

112. What are the top 3 long-term strategic moves
to position your firm for future industry success?
(will be implemented within the next 3-5 years)
3-5 Year Strategic Move Person Accountable
1.
2.
3.

113. RESULTS.com - One Page Strategic Plan

114. ★ Research your early adopter customers
★ Subscribe to thought leaders who comment on industry trends
★ Attend industry conferences
★ Learn from other industries - peer networks
★ Conduct thorough industry analysis at least every 12 months
○ Porter’s 5 Forces + PEST
○ Survey your staff to get their input
★ The questions remain the same. The answers keep changing
★ Strategy requires tradeoffs. What are you NOT going to do?
★ Sniff Test - Would doing the opposite also be a valid strategy?
★ Review strategy every quarter - does it still make sense?
3 to 5 yr Strategic Moves - best practices

117. “However beautiful the strategy,
you should occasionally
look at the results”
“However beautiful the strategy,
you should occasionally
look at the results”

118. Thank you for your time!

119. Strategic Planning for RESULTS
Best practices based on the direct observations
of thousands of RESULTS.com client firms
Presenter: Stephen Lynch
Role: Head of Strategy & Consulting at RESULTS.com
Email: Stephen.Lynch@Results.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/stephengeoffreylynch
Slides: results.com/slides
Software Demo: results.com/insurance