[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
way (how). Strategic doing is successfully and profitably con-
necting products or services to customers wants and needs,
both now and in the future.
I have developed six key principles to consider when
developing a strategic approach to business development and
growth. They are:
1. Keep your strategy simple, clear, and easy to imple-
ment, understand, and inspect.
2. If it isn t happening, look up the ladder rather than
down.
3. The project also requires believing and doing it with
passion, commitment, and resolve.
4. The purpose is to successfully connect products and
services to customers and markets, in the short term as
well as the long term.
5. People and departments must be held accountable to
ensure that the strategy is being implemented.
6. Everyone needs to buy into your result. This requires
senior management unity and a single voice.
Planning Challenges 73
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 74
So, why not ask yourself the following questions (just for
a starter, folks):
1. What is the problem?
2. Define what it is.
3. Who is it a problem for? (Customers, suppliers,
employees, management, or shareholders, for example.)
4. Why is it a problem?
5. Is it a new problem or a recurring one?
6. If it is a recurring one, why hasn t it been fixed yet?
7. What would the business or the department in question
look like if it weren t a problem?
8. What needs to be done to fix it? When? Why? By
whom?
9. Who needs to take ownership of it?
10. What will the outcomes be if it isn t taken care of?
Ready to read on?
Plans get you into things, but you
have to work your way out.
WILL ROGERS
74 81 Challenges Smart Managers Face
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 75
CHALLENGE #22: Promoting Strategic
Direction
Intelligent, talented, and successful executives accurately see
their organizations for what they really are. This is most
often noticeable in the area of strategic direction or the
lack of it.
Let s take a brief look at the fourteen principles that pro-
mote validity in strategic direction and focus or what I
choose to call the Primary Strategic Driving Force of the
organization:
1. Your best shot at succeeding is with a clearly developed
and communicated strategic direction and focus.
2. Your senior management team must buy into it.
3. Your middle management team or employees must be
involved in your strategy development process.
4. Your employees must understand it, believe it, embrace
it, and use it as their benchmark in decisions, actions,
and behaviors. (This takes more than having your strat-
egy posted on a wall or banner in your office.)
5. The strategies of all business units must be clear and
compatible with the corporate strategy.
6. Your strategy is developed or determined throughout
the year, not just at a once-a-year retreat or planning
event.
7. Your strategy is revisited on a frequent basis.
8. Your strategy never depends on, or is driven by, your
competitors, current market indicators, your past per-
formance, the government, investors, or current opera-
tional initiatives.
Planning Challenges 75
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 76
9. The notion that your top management team actually
sets your strategy can be true, but don t get lulled into
the attitude that this is definitely true. It may be an illu-
sion. (It could be a board of directors or the market-
place, a group of your top customers, or a financial
organization that actually owns the company.)
10. Your strategy drives your long-range planning. At the
risk of sounding redundant: planning should focus on
the how, and strategy should focus on the what. If you
will keep asking yourself, Are we talking about how
or what? you can stay focused on the strategy and not
let the plans drive the strategy.
11. Strategy is not the same as a long-term plan. Just
because you have a five-year plan doesn t mean you
have a five-year strategy. Most long-term plans tend to
be operationally focused. Long-range operational
thinking (the how) may be substituting for long-range
strategic thinking (the what).
12. The best time to think about and discuss strategy is
when you are on top, in good financial shape, not
when you are running for your life to stay ahead of the
pack.
13. Your top management team is dedicated, talented,
bright, and experienced enough to set, communicate,
and implement your corporate strategy with integrity
and congruence.
14. Strategic planning is essential even for a small business
(less than fifty employees).
76 81 Challenges Smart Managers Face
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 77
Understand and implement these principles and you will
be a master of the challenges of planning.
Four steps to achievement:
plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully,
proceed positively, pursue persistently.
WILLIAM WARD
Planning Challenges 77
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 78
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 79
CHAP TER 4
HIRING CHALLENGES
Business is about people. But if you were to look closely at
Corporate America, you might be deceived. It could appear
at first glance that business today is about:
" Money and profits
" Advances in technology
" Innovation and change
" Exporting jobs to other countries [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
way (how). Strategic doing is successfully and profitably con-
necting products or services to customers wants and needs,
both now and in the future.
I have developed six key principles to consider when
developing a strategic approach to business development and
growth. They are:
1. Keep your strategy simple, clear, and easy to imple-
ment, understand, and inspect.
2. If it isn t happening, look up the ladder rather than
down.
3. The project also requires believing and doing it with
passion, commitment, and resolve.
4. The purpose is to successfully connect products and
services to customers and markets, in the short term as
well as the long term.
5. People and departments must be held accountable to
ensure that the strategy is being implemented.
6. Everyone needs to buy into your result. This requires
senior management unity and a single voice.
Planning Challenges 73
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 74
So, why not ask yourself the following questions (just for
a starter, folks):
1. What is the problem?
2. Define what it is.
3. Who is it a problem for? (Customers, suppliers,
employees, management, or shareholders, for example.)
4. Why is it a problem?
5. Is it a new problem or a recurring one?
6. If it is a recurring one, why hasn t it been fixed yet?
7. What would the business or the department in question
look like if it weren t a problem?
8. What needs to be done to fix it? When? Why? By
whom?
9. Who needs to take ownership of it?
10. What will the outcomes be if it isn t taken care of?
Ready to read on?
Plans get you into things, but you
have to work your way out.
WILL ROGERS
74 81 Challenges Smart Managers Face
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 75
CHALLENGE #22: Promoting Strategic
Direction
Intelligent, talented, and successful executives accurately see
their organizations for what they really are. This is most
often noticeable in the area of strategic direction or the
lack of it.
Let s take a brief look at the fourteen principles that pro-
mote validity in strategic direction and focus or what I
choose to call the Primary Strategic Driving Force of the
organization:
1. Your best shot at succeeding is with a clearly developed
and communicated strategic direction and focus.
2. Your senior management team must buy into it.
3. Your middle management team or employees must be
involved in your strategy development process.
4. Your employees must understand it, believe it, embrace
it, and use it as their benchmark in decisions, actions,
and behaviors. (This takes more than having your strat-
egy posted on a wall or banner in your office.)
5. The strategies of all business units must be clear and
compatible with the corporate strategy.
6. Your strategy is developed or determined throughout
the year, not just at a once-a-year retreat or planning
event.
7. Your strategy is revisited on a frequent basis.
8. Your strategy never depends on, or is driven by, your
competitors, current market indicators, your past per-
formance, the government, investors, or current opera-
tional initiatives.
Planning Challenges 75
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 76
9. The notion that your top management team actually
sets your strategy can be true, but don t get lulled into
the attitude that this is definitely true. It may be an illu-
sion. (It could be a board of directors or the market-
place, a group of your top customers, or a financial
organization that actually owns the company.)
10. Your strategy drives your long-range planning. At the
risk of sounding redundant: planning should focus on
the how, and strategy should focus on the what. If you
will keep asking yourself, Are we talking about how
or what? you can stay focused on the strategy and not
let the plans drive the strategy.
11. Strategy is not the same as a long-term plan. Just
because you have a five-year plan doesn t mean you
have a five-year strategy. Most long-term plans tend to
be operationally focused. Long-range operational
thinking (the how) may be substituting for long-range
strategic thinking (the what).
12. The best time to think about and discuss strategy is
when you are on top, in good financial shape, not
when you are running for your life to stay ahead of the
pack.
13. Your top management team is dedicated, talented,
bright, and experienced enough to set, communicate,
and implement your corporate strategy with integrity
and congruence.
14. Strategic planning is essential even for a small business
(less than fifty employees).
76 81 Challenges Smart Managers Face
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 77
Understand and implement these principles and you will
be a master of the challenges of planning.
Four steps to achievement:
plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully,
proceed positively, pursue persistently.
WILLIAM WARD
Planning Challenges 77
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 78
81 Challenges REFLOW2 2/5/07 3:58 PM Page 79
CHAP TER 4
HIRING CHALLENGES
Business is about people. But if you were to look closely at
Corporate America, you might be deceived. It could appear
at first glance that business today is about:
" Money and profits
" Advances in technology
" Innovation and change
" Exporting jobs to other countries [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]