Is Michael Porter the End-All Be-All of Strategic Planning?

Posted by on December 29, 2009

One of our recent posts about strategic planning process led some readers to believe we were contradicting one of strategic planning’s most beloved practitioners, Michael Porter. Porter’s ideas about competition and company strategy are taught in virtually every business school in the world and his work drives the approach of most consultants in the field. We have great respect for Porter’s work and have drawn upon his ideas and research in the development of our planning approach.

Yet, while Porters work no doubt sets the standard in strategic planning worldwide, the majority of his groundbreaking work in strategy was created three decades ago. To say that there is no room to build on that body of work and modernize it for today’s economy is missing the opportunity to create dynamic approaches that enable organizations to respond quickly and effectively in an ever-changing and uncertain environment.

Our planning approach draws from a foundation most all can agree on (namely, Porter’s) then it goes further to build on new intelligence that has been gathered over the past 30 years. The resulting approach, called Plan4, is a process specifically geared toward generating measurable organizational results for the “new normal” economy.

Among other benefits, Plan4 reduces risk by:

• eliminating variability and ambiguity in language, outcomes, and process,
• creating a hard link between planning and execution,
• empowering organizations with “business truth,
• and providing repeatable, predictable, and measurable results.

A key component of Plan4 is the way in which the business ecosystem is analyzed and accounted for within the process. In the end, while Porter’s work serves as a strong foundation for strategic planning consultants, it doesn’t have to stop there. Let’s look at what has changed and build new ways to address new problems. That’s what we’ve done with Plan4 and the results speak for themselves.

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For permission to use or reprint any portions of this copyrighted article, contact Method Frameworks at articles@methodframeworks.com.

About the Author:

Joe Evans is the President and CEO of Method Frameworks.  Joe is a published author, frequent speaker and recognized expert in corporate strategic planning. To contact Method Frameworks about scheduling Mr. Evans about an upcoming speaking engagement, visit www.methodframeworks.com/business-speaker or email requests to media_relations@methodframeworks.com.

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Method Frameworks is a leading business strategy and management consulting company, based in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and serving clients nationally and internationally.

Discover our capabilities and learn why Method Frameworks is the strategic planning partner chosen by Fortune-500 companies and small businesses alike. Let us show you how to realize 140%+ ROI on your strategic planning efforts through our unique Plan4^SM process that brings together strategy and execution into a powerful plan.   Plan4 is our proprietary business planning process that involves an integrated set of actions designed to help companies gain sustainable advantage. Download our brochure to learn more about Method Frameworks and our services or download our Plan4 Planning Process Overview.

You can contact Method Frameworks at 877-317-5264 (877-31PLAN4) or follow this link to request a meeting with a planning consultant. Check our articles and blog often at www.methodframeworks.com to get many more planning tips and information about our Plan4 process.

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