Strategic Thinking Now
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Change
Change Can Be Challenging
The only constant in life is change. And it’s so true! Every project you take on, regardless of size or scope, creates a change in the status quo. That kicks off several stages of change that result in a series of predictable emotions and behaviors.
Sometimes they’re easy changes, ones you look forward to, such as getting a promotion or moving into a new job at another company. But you still go through all the stages of change similar to the Kübler-Ross Stages of Grief – shock/loss, denial, sadness/depression (the hang-in point), and finally acceptance and excitement about the new reality.
Leadership
Cutting Jobs Causes Leadership Vacuum
When a downturn in the economy occurs, many companies respond with a knee-jerk reaction by cutting jobs and budgets. While this may be necessary, too often what has happened is that executive management first looks at the highest paid employees and offers them an early retirement package. As a result, these firms face a lack of bench strength in terms of middle managers who know the business and can quickly help the company get back on its feet.
There may be a wide gap between the staff and the executive team that are left, creating a serious leadership void. Consequently, morale may plummet.
Life-Work Balance
Millennials Are Screwed - Stacey Ferreira TedX Talk
These young people like Stacey Ferreira have it together. They aren’t stupid or lazy. They have different expectations based on the world they’re exposed to. These Millennials have a different outlook on work/life balance.
They want to be productive. Millennials want to have an impact on changing what doesn’t work. They aren’t afraid to share their opinions and ideas with top executives. If you don’t like what they have to say, so be it. If you do, use it. These 2 billion Millennials under 20 are out to change the world.
Business Planning
Overcoming Planning Mistakes
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to address a group of folks who were undergoing some community-wide leadership training. I was asked to focus on the topic of strategic planning and I tied some leadership issues into the process. I am about to describe a couple of examples of planning mistakes that were takeaways from this session and offer some possible lessons from them.
Personal Development
Thinking Differently Yields New Possibilities
Looking for inspiration recently, I turned to one of my favorite books, The Art of Possibility. Opening it up I came to a story about thinking differently. It was written by a health system’s Vice President who attended a presentation one of the authors, Boston Philharmonic Symphony Conductor Benjamin Zander, made to his company.
The audience was told to reflect on someone no longer in their lives while Zander played Chopin. The Vice President thought about his father’s inability to tell him he loved him all the time he was growing up. This caused him to distance himself from his father as an adult.
Operational Alignment
Strategy Execution is the Key to Successful Planning
We’ve heard it time and again – the area where most companies fall short is in strategy execution. They spend countless hours upfront planning and engaging their staff in providing solutions and getting their input on the key strategies. But then when they begin to implement them, they usually fall short of plan. Why?
Many companies do a lot of things right. They dig deep to find what’s working and what’s not. They involve their key stakeholders both within and outside the organization. They ask for and integrate feedback into the plan. They streamline processes, create new structures to improve communications and work flow. Yet, the old habits still creep in and it’s back to business as usual.
Email and Social Media
Is Email Marketing Dead?
Email marketing is still important according to blog articles I’ve read by sources such as mailmunch.com, porchgroupmedia.com, and Hubspot.com. Today, AI is integrated into almost every platform, changing how we create and share content across multiple platforms. Multi-channel marketing as it’s called, is an important trend in today’s marketing strategy. That means sharing content you create on social posts as emails, videos, blog posts, articles, text messages, and where appropriate, website updates.
Marketing Planning
Is Black Friday Obsolete?
We all know that Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is the hottest shopping day of the year. But did you know that more than half of shoppers do their holiday shopping in October or earlier? If you wait until November to launch your holiday campaign, you may miss a large majority of shoppers.
Now is the perfect time to plan your holiday campaign. Whether you sell online, have a retail store or are in the restaurant space, planning your campaign now gives you a jump on those early shoppers.
Strategies & Teamwork
The strategies and tactics of each team change continuously during this 21-day race. The Tour de France, which started earlier this year on June 30th, is the world’s most grueling bike race. It crosses France, dips into the Pyrenees and then the Alps, before finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Except this year it finishes in Nice because Paris is hosting the summer Olympics.
Each team of 9 riders and multiple support staff, is a highly organized and coordinated machine. Everyone on the team has a role and each person understands their role and the impact he has on the rest of the team. As Cavendish said in an interview, his job is to gain points in the sprint finishes, and try to win as many stages as possible.
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Maximize Your Potential: Build a Sustainable Growth Blueprint
As a small business owner, you may be so caught up in the day-to-day operations of your company that you haven't had the time or the inclination to create a formal business plan for growth. A business plan is your personalized growth blueprint.
While it's understandable that you're focused on keeping your business afloat and managing the daily challenges, having a solid plan for growth is essential for the long-term success of your business.
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