strategic planning

Are You Practicing to Win?

What do Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, and other elite athletes have in common?  They all practice.  A lot. Even after winning world championships, the first thing they do the following season is undertake rigorous training and practice sessions to develop their skills to even higher levels. Then they play a number of practice…

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Innovate Your Business Model… or Die

Kids say the darnedest things! Recently, researchers asked a group of 12-year olds if they typically listen to music on YouTube, an iPod, or a CD? Not surprisingly, the majority answered “YouTube.” However, the second most common response was, “What’s a CD?” Researchers also asked a group of high school students how they most often…

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The “Short Pass” Approach to Winning in Business

The long bomb is one of the most exciting plays in football. Lofting a well-placed ball into the hands of a receiver streaking down the field can instantly change momentum and turn a losing effort into a dramatic win. But is it the best strategy for reaching the goal line? In 2012, NFL quarterbacks collectively…

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Are You a Strategy 10-Percenter?

I recently came across a disheartening statistic (from an IBM white paper on planning and implementation) that says only 10 percent of organizations manage to successfully implement their strategies on a consistent basis. My first reaction was, “That can’t be right; that’s too low!” But the more I thought about it, the more it matches…

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Strategy Ain’t What it Used to Be

Still doing strategic planning the same old way? Get with the new approach or get left behind!

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Are You a Tourist or Resortist?

Whether on a billboard or inside your organization, language matters. Find out why the words you use can help make the difference between winning and settling for second best.

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Eliminate Your But!

I would love to see the following sign outside every strategic planning conference room: Strategic Planning Session in Progress No Thought Bubbles Allowed! Of course, it will never happen because we can’t get rid of our thought bubbles. What we can do is take a careful inventory of them and update those that no longer…

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Slow Down Your Strategic Planning So You Can Go Fast

Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.” In the business world, this definition also applies to concepts and ideas. As business leaders we like to think we’re impartial, open-minded and objective in regards to new ideas,…

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Have You Done Your 1st Quarter Checkup?

Spring has sprung (according to the calendar, anyway) and April is upon us. For those who operate according to the calendar year, that means its time for an end-of-quarter checkup in regards to the strategic plan. More specifically, it means we should begin asking questions like: Are we making progress towards the goal? Is it…

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Shifting From Strategic Planning to Strategic Agility

At the end of last year, I wrote about the need to put the old strategic planning model out to pasture and embrace a new method that focuses on developing strategic agility. Here’s why this is so critical. At its core, strategic planning involves a process of analysis. You do some research into what is…

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Treating the Complexity Complex

In my last blog, I suggested that many business leaders are struggling to deal with the increasing complexity of today’s business world. Here are some strategies you can employ to cope with this emerging “complexity complex.” Let’s start by defining what we mean by saying the world is getting more complex. We all know the…

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What We Can Learn from the NFL Draft

I have a confession to make – I love the NFL draft! I don’t sit in front of a TV for three days, hanging on every pick. But I like the suspense of wondering who will get selected first. I enjoy seeing the differences between what the experts predict and who the teams actually draft….

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