Conducting A Strategic Analysis + 8 of The Best Tools To Use
A huge part of developing a strategic plan is a reliable, in-depth strategic analysis. In this article, we’ll cover: What is strategic analysisWhy conducting a strategic analysis improves your strategy formulationA strategy formulation case studyHow to conduct a strategic analysisThe core concepts of strategic analysisStrategic analysis tool examplesHow to choose the right strategic analysis tool What is…
Strategy Implementation: The 6 Step Process
No matter how foolproof your strategic plan is, it won’t survive first contact with reality. Planning a strategy and implementing it are two very different stories. What is Strategy Implementation? Simply put, strategy implementation is the term used to describe the process or activity that ensures that strategic planning is actually executed. In other words, it’s DOING what you…
Goal is a 4-Letter Word
This is the time of year when people start thinking about their “goals” for 2022. So I thought I would republish one of my most popular posts. ————————————————————————– I don’t have “goals.” I don’t believe in “goals.” I don’t allow the people I work with to have goals. Wait – what? I don’t have goals?…
Corporate Strategy: The Four Key Components
Every comprehensive strategic plan starts with the corporate strategy level. What is Corporate Strategy? Corporate strategies are arguably the most fundamental and broad-ranging strategy level within an organizational strategy. The corporate strategy level concerns itself with the entirety of the organization on a more or less abstract level, where decisions are made about the overall…
Less Thinking, More Doing
Are you ever approached by people wanting your advice on how to start a business? They see you running a successful company and think, “Wow, I’d like to do that.” Their only stumbling block is that they don’t have an “idea” for a business. They refer to an idea like it’s this mythical creature that comes along…
Create Teamwork to Produce Greater Results
All businesses require teamwork in order to achieve optimum efficiency and productivity. Even a small business with a limited number of employees needs everyone working together to achieve goals, service customers, and make sales. When this occurs with repeated frequency, the business becomes viable, profitable, and provides jobs. Even when employees work remotely, employees can…
Build Organizational Alignment
Organizations that lead the market align everyone towards their desired direction. Identifying your destination and developing your strategic plan to reach it is the easy part of strategy. Executing that plan is the hard part. Only when you achieve company-wide organizational alignment can you successfully do it. In this article, we’ll discuss the following topics: What is…
Quality in Today’s Marketplace
Quality has always been important to buyers. In today’s marketplace still reeling from the after-effects of the COVID pandemic, it is even more important. If you don’t think quality matters, just ask customers. Regardless of the business sector (retail, service, manufacturing, etc.), quality is an important issue with customers especially considering that many buyers are…
Possibilities: Seek What Might Work
Risk is always going to be present in any business. This risk, however, is inherently greater for a small business. Studies and research have shown staggering statistics regarding the failure rate of businesses falling into these categories whether a business is located in the U.S. or other international country. Even for those businesses still operating…
Problem Solve the Right Way
As an owner or manager of a small business, there will always be problems that need to be handled. Certainly, during these times of continued uncertainty due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners and managers must know how to solve an immediate problem. Many times, the solution is a quick reaction…
The Downside of “Foxhole Leadership”
Basketball coach Don Meyer is famous for something he calls “The Foxhole Test.” He encourages players to imagine themselves in a life-or-death battle and asks them to pick the teammates they would want in the trenches with them. The test is designed to break down the inevitable cliques and friendships that evolve on a team…
Managing in Today’s Business World
It’s not easy being a boss and managing employees. It’s even tougher managing in today’s business world dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic…loss in sales, employee instability, and supply chain problems not to mention political issues, mandates, and new ways to operate. Owners and managers of small businesses might very well have to…