Breaking Out Of The Box

Human behavior and organizational behavior have at least two major points in common. Both gravitate towards traveling in the same well-worn paths, favoring the feeling of safety that repetition brings over the feelings of anxiety and fear that often accompany change. A second point of commonality is that both humans and organizations can be steered in the wrong direction by subscribing too heavily into “groupthink” (described by psychologist Irving Janis as, “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.”).  Both behaviors can lead to flawed logic and / or incorrect underlying assumptions becoming institutionalized into our way of thinking.

Whether it is a result of groupthink or the result of resisting fresh thinking and new approaches, business strategies do suffer as a consequence of wrong-headed thinking.

10 Operational Planning Steps That 85% of Corporations Wish They Knew

Considering that 85% of corporate strategic plans fail to deliver on their intended results (according to KPMG), it’s no wonder that operational planning has come to the forefront of the minds of CEOs across the globe. Data suggests that most organizations would certainly benefit from adopting a more formalized approach to strategic planning and that many companies have routinely failed to successfully and fully implement their strategic goals due to poor operational planning. What can be done to correct the problem?

Besting Your Plan’s Performance: The Time To Start 2012 Strategic Planning is Now

You Should Be Getting Year-Over-Year Performance Increases

If plan governance isn’t instilled as a core element of the executive team’s reality, focus on accomplishing strategy wains quickly.  Why?  Because time flies past rapidly and organizations face so many daily distractions that the interference begins to blur the big picture for all but the most focused executives. Ideally, strategic plans should be refreshed quarterly, updated annually and rewritten every three years. It should be an ongoing part of business operations to re-check against plan goals and objectives.

Corporate plan management is a day-to-day and week-by-week activity.  The long-held belief that strategic plans are addressed once a year serves to obfuscate the ever-green nature of what plans really represent.  They require a switch in our mindset away from treating strategic planning as if it were a project.  Instead, it is an ongoing journey that requires us to recheck our position against the map frequently to avoid getting lost.

Corporate Strategy and the Elephant in the Room

What Holds Companies Back From Developing Great Strategies?

Recession weary executives have a new challenge to face.  Times have changed and businesses must re-evaluate their pre-recession strategies.  The elephant in the room is in full view, but organizational leaders do not like to talk about it or even think about it.  Yes, the elephant in the room, that no one likes to address, is outdated strategy and the need for new and improved strategic thinking.  Making change to the way we have operated in the past in difficult.  A starting point for change is to correct the self-inflicted organizational dysfunction that occurs during strategy development.  Half-baked strategic decision making based on wishful thinking and antiquated assumptions must stop now.  Corporate strategies will never be perfect or foolproof, but they can be systematically improved through process changes and “testing” strategies ahead of committing to them and gambling our reputations, jobs and the very life of the business. To see our economic recovery continue, we need to see smart strategies from our business leaders and the brilliant teams of people working for them.

The 2011 Strategic Planning Checklist: Evaluate Your Strategic Planning Process and Strategy Effectiveness

One of our most popular articles last year dealt with a simple checklist for evaluating strategic planning process effectiveness.  Having ushered in the new year and a fresh decade, we decided it would be a worthwhile exercise to revisit the list and analysis done last year and submit an updated, more fitting set of evaluation criteria for 2011.  There are new criteria added in this year’s evaluation, and many that have carried over from last year but have enhanced analysis.

To get into the spirit of introspection, let’s start with the following questions:

• Have you given much consideration to the possibility that your strategic and operational plans may be far less effective than they could be? 
• How would you begin to measure the effectiveness of your current strategic planning process?
• Is the process effective and repeatable in consistently defining meaningful goals that get achieved as expected when the plan is followed?

Strategy and the planning associated with creating and implementing it is all about the results, but how do you evaluate your process for strategic planning and know if it is on track or as optimized as it might be?  This article should help you to objectively evaluate your planning process and identify potential issues and risks that may exist in your organization's current planning world.  As you read this article, answer along as we ask the questions to help you honestly evaluate your current business planning process.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Examining the M&A Ecosystem

It’s hard to name many business transactions that are as risky and complex as mergers and acquisitions (M&A).  Over 85% of M&A deals fail, according to a recent study on M&A outcomes by KPMG. Another study, by A.T. Kearney, found that the total return to shareholders on 115 global M&A transactions was negative 58%.  These astounding numbers are enough to make any organization think twice.

Still, when interviewed by the NY Times recently, Robert Kindler, global head of M&A at Morgan Stanley, responded that he is optimistic about the takeover market for the first time in years.  He stated, “When you have historically low interest rates, less volatile equity markets and stock trading at low forward multiples, that is when mergers and acquisitions are going to be active.”  Despite the grim statistics, there are many compelling reasons to attempt an M&A transaction, but they must be done with and understanding of the risks and challenges involved.

The Change Management Process: Accomplishing Change and Making it Stick

There are times when an organization must go through serious transformation.  By this we mean the type of game-changing metamorphosis that requires corporate leaders to devise a new vision which must then be adopted by staff members and ultimately put into action. Transformational change is only possible with a legitimate sense of urgency and effective change management that is orchestrated with a change management strategy.  This article, based on the Method Frameworks Plan4^SM process and adapted from John Kotter’s 8-step change model and book on change management best practices, “Leading Change” (Harvard Business School Press, 1996), examines methods for managing corporate change and accomplishing successful outcomes.

The Critical Step of Current-state Analysis & Review in Strategic Planning

What is the definition of success and how can you get there if you don’t know where you are starting from?  Obviously it makes sense that you need to know your point of origin to determine the optimal route to your desired destination.  If that is the case in our day-to-day lives, then why do so many forget to apply that simple concept in business – and in this case – in our business planning?  This article focuses on a major step of critical importance in your planning process – a review and analysis of your organization’s current-state.  

How Long Should It Take To Complete A Strategic Plan?

Some time back, Method Frameworks published a tongue-in-cheek article entitled “Your Strategic Plan in Seven Days” (order now and get a free 2-minute egg timer!).  The truth is, it is possible to accomplish the creation of the enterprise strategic plan in a relatively short time...provided the foundations are already in place.  The keystone to remember is that the organization must have a mature and effective planning process that is already working and can serve as the plan’s foundation in order to be able to refresh both strategy and execution tactics relatively quickly while still accomplishing the creation of comprehensive and usable plan artifacts.  If that foundation isn’t there, it is time to build it.



Just compiling goals and timelines into a spreadsheet that gets sent along with a meaningless report in a binder doesn’t cut it.  That becomes worthless data to all involved in the organization and will not accomplish the results strategic planning should accomplish.  No, the “magic binder” won’t perform miracles.

The Golden Thread: Linking Strategy to Execution

Recently during a conversation with an executive I heard a term used to describe strategy execution that I’d never heard before, but it made an impression on me.  He was discussing a challenge he faced within his own environment - the challenge of strategy execution.  His statement was, “We need the golden thread that links our strategy to execution initiatives.”

I liked the image this conjured up in my mind.  What he was describing was the middle layer of planning, referred to as “operational planning”.  Operational planning is the “golden thread” linking strategy to execution and is way too undervalued in my opinion.  Because operational planning all to often is not done well, or is overlooked altogether - this article describes ways to inject operational planning into the strategic planning process and string the “golden thread” through all of the execution loop-holes.

The Role of the Internal versus the External Strategist

Can an external strategist be an asset to an established corporate strategic planning team?  There is clearly no substitute for the value provided by the internal strategist and the homegrown planning processes that fit the organization like an old well-worn baseball glove.  But can this value be enhanced by an outsider’s involvement? 

The Definition of Strategic Planning: A White Paper

Strategic Planning is a misunderstood and often misused term, lacking a well-defined and widely agreed upon definition.  Strategy, and the planning associated with it, has origins dating back to its military usage as early as the 6th century.  In the corporate world, strategic planning generally refers to the defining of the organization’s go-forward plan for the future and accompanying desired outcomes. The spectrum of corporate strategic planning models and processes is broad, and the term has taken on many different connotations over recent decades. 

This White Paper aims to more definitively define the term, “Strategic Planning” in its corporate context and explores the basic components of what should be done in the planning process to make it worthwhile - delivering value, profits and securing competitive advantage.

Technology Strategy: Mid-Year Checkup

Back in January 2010, we first published this article, dealing with top strategic goals for CIOs and technology leaders.  It is now mid-way through the year and time to revisit those goals and check our progress.  How's your progress?

Here is a re-post of the article.

Many IT executives consider 2009 to be the “lost year”.   Forward momentum slowed to a crawl where Information Technology (IT) spending was concerned. Businesses went into a holding pattern and focused on reducing overhead and hoping for flat growth in revenue at best. Enter 2010, a new year and decade full of exciting business opportunities for companies, but also coming with guarantees of fresh challenges for technology and business leaders alike. The CIO, now more than ever, must be focused on the revenue-producing activities of the business enterprise in order to add value and be viewed as a major producer within the organization. But what can we do as the CIO to stay one step ahead of the business and keep the CEO happy? This article discusses three goals CIOs should focus on during 2010.

The Double-Win: Six Factors For Achieving Sustained Growth in the Top-line and Profitability

Achieving and then sustaining top-line growth requires sound strategy and a lot of hard work.  Quarter-over-quarter revenue growth is strong evidence of an organization with a well-conceived strategy that has achieved operational excellence in areas like new customer acquisition, existing customer retention and innovation in product / service value creation.  But what about achieving sustained profitability when growing the top line?  That can be more challenging.  This article explores six important factors needed for positioning your organization for the double-win of sustained growth and profitability.

Prioritizing Organizational Wants Versus Needs - How To Tell The Difference

...and make the right decisions

In strategic planning, we must learn to separate wants from actual needs.  We are forced to make tough decisions that open one door and close another.  Weighty strategic decisions can be made easier if we apply a decision “triage” to help structure the cognitive process we must complete.  But how do we separate requirements from “desirements” in the business world fairly and consistently?  Sometimes budgetary constraints drive us to adopt a strategy of eliminating options that are not actually requirements for our business, at least not at this time.   For that first round of elimination, we need a litmus test of sorts.  More to the point, what we need is a decision process to help us filter the wants from the needs.  This article provides a system for making such an evaluation within our strategic planning process.

Why You Should Not Hire a Management Consulting Firm

...at least not yet.

There are many strategic management consulting companies in the United States and around the world.  For organizations that are looking for strategic consulting help in their business, there are so many options available to them that making a decision on the right consulting firm becomes daunting.  Even with all of the available expertise, many companies never seek the outside help.  Maybe that is the best for all concerned.  Bringing in outside consulting help is not for everyone.  When consulting companies come in to help with strategy or to solve complex business challenges, it is often an exercise that forces executives to check their egos at the door and confront their own organization’s issues and baggage.  Not all companies are up for that.  Are you ready?

Where Did "Why" Go?: The Role of Critical Evaluation in Strategic Planning


Why? It is an inquiry we don’t make often enough. “Why?” is the simplest form of a question, yet when it is asked, it cannot help but be thought provoking. “Why”, “what if” and other forms of critical evaluation promote discussion and lead to improvement in our decision-making process. Even so, we all too often elect not to use these words from of our repertoire. Instead, they are often replaced by, “sounds good to me” or some other form of passive acceptance. We should reflect on the importance of this elegantly simple but powerful trigger for critical thinking and make sure we do not allow “why” to become part of a forgotten business vocabulary. This article explores the importance of critical evaluation in strategy planning and asking, “Why?”.

“Don’t We Have People For That?”: Operational Planning & Strategy Execution

Well-implemented strategic planning provides the vision, direction and goals for the organization, but operational planning translates that strategy into the everyday execution tactics of the business that will ultimately produce the outcomes defined by the strategy.  Operational planning is the conversion of strategic goals into execution.

No business likes to admit it, but most are lacking in the know-how, competencies (skills, knowledge, experience) and discipline to carry off precise execution of strategic goals. This article addresses just how critical operational planning is to having good execution and offers help to those organizations who struggle with why and how to do it.

Strategy Misalignment: The Symptoms, Dangers and Treatment

Strategic misalignment is insidious.  It creeps into organizations silently, tenaciously takes root and over time begins to undermine successful organizations.  There are tell-tale symptoms to watch out for and many dangerous implications when it goes untreated. 

This article reviews the symptoms to watch for; evaluates the damage that occurs over time if left unchecked and reveals methods to correct the ailment and reverse the damage that occurred.

Mapping Out Strategy Execution: Part 2 of “Why We Fail at Strategy Implementation“

In the first segment of this article, we explored some common causes of plan execution failure. The issues addressed in that article are all avoidable if execution is planned and managed properly.  Much of the success or failure of strategy implementation is determined during the planning process. The issues not dealt with during the planning process can be systematically handled during tactical execution.  This article delves into a six step road map for strategy execution and provides techniques to mitigate problems in execution and avoid common implementation issues with our strategic plans.

Strategy Execution: Why We Fail At Strategy Implementation

Why do so many organizations fail at strategy implementation?  The quality of an organization’s strategic plan is not the primary determinant of success in goal achievement.  No, the primary factor is that success hinges on execution.  This article is part 1 of a two part series and examines some of the most common root causes of organizations and their leaders to miss the mark on strategic implementation.  In part 2 of the series we map out an approach for successful strategic execution.

Enterprise Myopia: Is Customer Value Being Overlooked?

Is your organization’s strategy overlooking the most important stakeholder – your customers? With some simple but elegant changes to the strategic planning process, businesses can avoid committing this cardinal sin. By refocusing business strategy on value creation for the end-customers, organizations can avoid business myopia and blind spots that mask the slow erosion of competitive advantage they may have enjoyed in the past. This article addresses the key challenge of keeping the customer in mind when setting strategic and operational goals and offers concrete approaches to accomplishing customer-centric planning from the business and technology leader’s perspective.

So You’ve Finished Your Strategic Plan, Now What?

 Every year companies go through the ritualistic planning process.  You know the one.  It’s comprised of long weekend leadership meetings and tedious reviews of the previous year’s plan.  Included in the mix are marathon workshops where arguments unfold about which initiatives to carry over from last year’s unmet plan goals and debates are held to decide which new goals and objectives get added to the plan for the upcoming year.  Then everything has to be reconciled against the new year’s financial budget.  It is an annual ritual, and once it is complete, there is a huge sense of relief and accomplishment … but is the job really done?  

What's Wrong With Your Corporate Planning Process?

Does your corporate planning process consistently deliver the outcomes you expect or has strategic planning been devalued (literally or figuratively) within your organization due to its declining efficacy?

Corporate planning in today’s rapidly-changing and uncertain business environment requires a process that empowers organizations to achieve operational excellence on a day-to-day basis while also planning for the future. If your corporate planning process has lost its luster, consider what may be wrong.

The 2010 Twelve-step Checklist to Help You Evaluate Your Strategic Business Planning Process

Have you given much consideration to the possibility that your strategic and operational plans may be far less effective than they could be?  How would you begin to measure the effectiveness of your current plan?  This article should help you to objectively evaluate your own process and self-diagnosis potential issues that may exist in your organization's current planning world.  As you read this article, answer along as we ask the questions to help you honestly evaluate your current business planning process.

The CEO Conundrum – Balancing Strategic and Tactical Responsibilities

We call it the CEO conundrum. Corporate executive officers strike a delicate balance between business visionary, big-deal closer and operations manager. The challenges now facing CEOs is certainly changing and becoming far more difficult to pull-off successfully. The New Year has ushered the global business community into a new decade full of promise and teeming with opportunity, yet still fraught with perilous economic challenges and ever increasing regulatory complexities. It is no longer enough to have a sound strategy. CEOs must shape their companies to be highly agile, run lean, and have highly empowered employees at all levels of the organization. This article defines the CEO conundrum, explores the opportunity it provides us and offers three pieces of advice that CEO’s will want to read.