Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Actual for You - DIY-Strategic Planning
When you are being interviewed it is very important that you give out the right signals. These can be provided by your positive body language.Body language is a very important part of any communication. Body or non-verbal language might be defined as "what we say without saying anything". Much of the impact you create at interview is based on your non-verbal presentation. While words can deceive -- many people don't mean what they say or say what they mean -- body language is subconscious. Since it's less controlled and more spontaneous, it shows our true feelings and attitudes.Here are some interview body language tips:Handshake: Shake hands firmly, but not too powerfully and look straight at the other person. Make sure your palms are clean and dry. Through your handshake, face, eyes and body at the same time, consciously try to communicate to the interviewer that you are glad to meet them.Hands: Don't over use your hand gestures when you are talking. Try answering an interview question in front of a mirror to help you understand how much you move your hands while talking. Don’t cross your arms as it can make you appear defensive. Let your hands lie loosely on your lap or place them on the armrests of your chair.Eye Contact: Good eye contact is essential and is an excellent way of conveying your interest in the job. Maintain natural eye contact with the interviewer - but don't stare or look away too much. If you are uncomfortable with this kind of body language, look at the interviewer's nose as it has the same effect. With panel interviews, look at and answer the person asking the questions, with a glance from time to time at the other interviewers.Facial Expres
Step Nine --- Developing the presentation for approval
The strategy team will provide the strategy document to ownership at least one week in advance of the formal presentation. Representatives of the strategy team will present the plan and defend it from a considered corporate challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to ensure that the plan is well thought out and based on a realistic assessment of the company’s risks and constraints. The presentation will also demonstrate the degree of commitment and ownership by the team. The objective of the meeting is to formally endorse the strategy for the company. If necessary, the team will revise and re-present the plan to obtain ownership approval.
Step Ten ---- The Roll Out Process
After formal acceptance, the President and two to three strategy team members should schedule meetings to introduce the strategy to the entire management team and all other employees, thus formally launching the strategy. This should be a big deal and should be completed as quickly as possible. In person presentations by executive management and strategy team members is highly recommended.
Strategy Development Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Discipline is a prerequisite to this process because it requires laser like persistence to result in a productive strategic planning initiative. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine current reality, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present and perform trend analysis on the future industry environment. The prioritization of initiatives and SIPs is an essential step. Although your strategic plan will cover a five to seven year period prioritized SIPs are worked on during the first twelve to eighteen month period based on bandwidth and resources while other CCIs and SIPs are deferred. It is much more effective to completely
Why does anybody start a business?It may seem like a very simple question, but the answer will reveal much about the business person, and more importantly how the business will ultimately evolve. When you peel back the layers of the manifold answers you'll hear, even if they say they do it for 'love', the underlying reason is to be successful and the only measure of success that business knows is growth, and growth is measured by money.So, how can a new business stack things in their favor in order to make the most of their time and money to make success a foregone conclusion rather than a pot-luck, pie-in-the-sky, suck-it-and-see, let's hope it works dream...? In short, how can a business start off from Day One making money?For expediency's sake and the limitations of the word count of this article, I'm assuming the reader/ potential business owner has already undertaken the investment of market research to know their is actually a need for their product or service. Likewise the assumption is made that they are in a geographical market conducive to their company's offering, and similar restrictions. What this article deals with is how to make opening the doors to a new venture the most successful on a continued basis.As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and trusting companies to be truthful with the information they supply) I very much doubt that there are more than 2% of the world's companies working at 100% efficiency.Shocking. 98% of all companies do not run at 100% efficiency. And yet we feel bad if our weight-loss diet doesn't work. Shockin
Defining objectives and developing initiatives and action plans to meet those objectives is the basis of strategic planning. However, it all starts with an end game, a “Vision for the Future.”
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Fundamental decisions, actions and choices must be made in order to develop a plan that provides a Roadmap on “How to get there from Here.”.” The plan is ultimately no more, and no less, than a set of decisions about what to do, why to do it, and when and how to do it.
The scope of the strategy development process for any company is dependent upon individual business needs. The strategic planning process is a time and resource-consuming endeavor that involves many people in the organization. This process includes both tactical and strategic application. The DIY process assumes that you have a good handle on both your internal and external environment. If you don’t you may want to consider hiring a consultant to do an internal assessment and survey your customers and vendors to analyze your external environment.
Hiring a consulting firm can cost as little as $10,000 for a simple two day facilitation to upwards of $100,000 for comprehensive involvement by the consulting firm during the entire process.
So, if you are not inclined to hire an outside consultant, you may want to follow this ten step process for DIY (Do It Yourself) Strategic Planning. Although it isn’t possible to describe in great detail the entire process in an article (it would require 50 pages) the following is an overview of the process.
The Ten Step Process
Let’s identify the steps first and then we’ll discuss each one in a little more detail . I cannot emphasize enough that the true value of a strategic plan is not in the document itself. It is in the process of creating it, involving many of your employees from the bottom up. This empowers them to be more effective and better-informed leaders, managers and decision makers.
1. Select the strategy team and send a company wide communication
2. Create a Vision for the Future (End Game)
3. Preparation -----Secure an off site location for the kick off meeting which includes training the team on the strategic planning process. Purchase a strategic planning template, download one from the web or e-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a generic sample.
4. Complete a SWOT analysis. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats)
5. Identify the critical core initiatives that are necessary to support the vision for the future and to achieve its objectives
6. Develop strategic implementation plans (SIPs) that support the identified critical core initiatives
7. Prioritize the CCI’s and SIP’s based on the biggest impact on the bottom line in the shortest period of time. Modify and complete the document template to fit your company strategy
8. Develop an accountability process based on a structured monthly strategic review
9. Develop a presentation of the strategy for approval by the CEO, owners or Board of Directors.
10. Develop a Roll Out Strategy to explain the strategic plan to the entire company
Step One --------- Selection and Communication
It all starts with communication. The very first piece of information should be the announcement to all employees that the company is embarking on a planning process for the future. This memo should be sent from the President asking for everyone’s support. (A sample memo is available from rick@ceostrategist.com) The memo will likely announce who the strategy team members are and ask for everyone to congratulate them and provide input at every opportunity. CAUTION: Make sure that you have talked to any employee in advance that was not picked for the strategy team that may feel that they should have been.
Once the team is announced and the process starts make sure you continue to keep employees aware of the progress and solicit their input. A minimum of a monthly memo should be issued. The strategic planning process can take from 6 weeks to 12 weeks so it is important to keep everyone informed without releasing too much detail.
The strategy team should include a senior accountant, and should consist of between seven and ten members. Team selection should be based on competence, integrity, work ethic, leadership skills, and future growth potential within the Company. The team will formulate and present the strategic document to the President/CEO and the Board of Directors. It is critical that all employees are empowered and encouraged to communicate their ideas and issues with any member of the strategy team. This process ensures accountability and ownership of the strategy at every level in the organization.
Step Two --- A Vision for the Future (The End Game)
The Vision for the Future (End Game) in business is simply defining what winning the game in your business is really about. What does winning mean. Just exactly what do you want your company to be when it grows up? Ask yourself the following questions from the perspective of looking five to seven years into the future.
1. What markets should your company be serving five years from now?
2. What products should you be distributing?
3. Who are your primary competitors?
4. What are your strengths?
5. What are your competitors’ strengths?
6. How has your marketing strategy changed?
7. What are your core competencies?
8. What is the size of your revenue stream?
9. How is your revenue stream segmented?
10. Do you have a Human Resource Development plan?
The CEO/Owners should create the “Vision for the Future” (End Game) for presentation to the strategy team.
Step Three --- Preparation
Running a strategic planning process is not just designing a template and having the team members fill in the gaps. On the contrary, it means carefully coaching the management team through a thinking process. Often, the actual strategic plan is even less important than the development and growth of the team members participating in the process. The strategy team should be trained on the process you intend to follow in developing the strategic plan. Once that is competed the CEO/President should present the vision of the future with copies for everyone and then excuse himself from the meeting to allow the strategy team to tear the end game apart and put it back together. The President will have explained that they have the right and the obligation to challenge the end game if they do not agree with any part of it. However, any challenge to any portion must be accompanied by alternative recommendations. The concept is to finalize a “Vision for the Future” that everyone owns.
Step Four---- The SWOT analysis
The team will conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to identify critical constraints and potential opportunities for growth.
Step Five --- Developing the Critical Core Initiatives from the Vision for the Future
Critical core initiatives are over arching initiatives that are found within the Vision for the Future. An example may be defined as a human resource initiative for becoming employer of choice. There are many independent action steps (Strategic Implementation Plans – SIPs) that will be required to accomplish the Critical Core Initiative (CCI). They may include training, education, leadership development, compensation and benefits etc.
Identifying the CCI’s first is necessary to move on to the next step which is creating SIPs for each CCI.
Step Six--- Prioritize the CCI’s and identify individual SIPs for each CCI
A Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) is a set of tasks that supports a Critical Core Initiative and therefore creates fundamental change in the way you do things. SIP work deals with long-term improvement and change, balancing concern for today with concern for the future and is a fundamental task of managerial decision-making. Work against SIPs deals with improving things for tomorrow.
Each Critical Core Initiative is supported by a set of SIPs that contain a sequenced set of tasks, schedules, and named responsible individuals. The creation of SIPs indicates that the chosen area is one that provides a high payoff in terms of innovation and managed change.
Step Seven --- Assign sections of the strategy template to be completed by different team members
Developing the strategy document from team homework assignments completed over the previous weeks is a matter of following the template that has been modified to meet your specific company needs.
Step Eight --- The accountability process
The key managerial tool to ensure steady, consistent progress on SIP tasks is the formal Operational Review Meeting (ORM). This is the foundation to insure that the strategic plan is successful. The ORM is held monthly. The purpose of the ORM is to:
• Clearly understand the status of your key initiatives.
• Keep executive focus on strategic, rather than just urgent, issues.
• Facilitate communication and support throughout the executive team and the company.
• Formulate emergency responses to company-wide threats or opportunities.
• Leverage all appropriate company resources while maintaining proper accountability for performance.
The ORM should be attended by members of the Strategy Team, executive management and other senior managers. It will follow a formal agenda and discussions will be driven by two objective measurements: performance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and progress of SIP task completion. SIP and action item owners will be held accountable for achieving the desired results by the due date indicated on the plan. The entire team will be held accountable for meeting SIP goals.
Step Nine --- Developing the presentation for approval
The strategy team will provide the strategy document to ownership at least one week in advance of the formal presentation. Representatives of the strategy team will present the plan and defend it from a considered corporate challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to ensure that the plan is well thought out and based on a realistic assessment of the company’s risks and constraints. The presentation will also demonstrate the degree of commitment and ownership by the team. The objective of the meeting is to formally endorse the strategy for the company. If necessary, the team will revise and re-present the plan to obtain ownership approval.
Step Ten ---- The Roll Out Process
After formal acceptance, the President and two to three strategy team members should schedule meetings to introduce the strategy to the entire management team and all other employees, thus formally launching the strategy. This should be a big deal and should be completed as quickly as possible. In person presentations by executive management and strategy team members is highly recommended.
Strategy Development Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Discipline is a prerequisite to this process because it requires laser like persistence to result in a productive strategic planning initiative. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine current reality, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present and perform trend analysis on the future industry environment. The prioritization of initiatives and SIPs is an essential step. Although your strategic plan will cover a five to seven year period prioritized SIPs are worked on during the first twelve to eighteen month period based on bandwidth and resources while other CCIs and SIPs are deferred. It is much more effective to completely
How many of you recall having your own piggy bank when you were a child? Even up till today, piggy banks are still a norm among the young, especially among children. Parents use them as a teaching tool to teach children about money and savings.With the traditional piggy bank which comes in many shapes & designs, one will need to deposit some money into it until it becomes full. After that, the amount is usually taken out to be invested and to grow it further.In other words, there is a time delay factor before your piggy bank becomes 'full'. The rate at which you can fill up the piggy bank will depend on how much and how fast you can put money into the said piggy bank. This means it will take longer for you to grow your wealth.The good news and amazing thing is that with the Internet, you can fast forward and overcome the time factor when it comes to growing your wealth.The Internet makes it easy for anyone who wishes to opearate an online business. There are many proven online business models such as affiliate marketing and Google adsense. There are real life stories of entrepreneurs, publishers and business owners who are making a full-time income from Google adsense and affiliate marketing.The online piggy bank model that I am referring to is actually a hybrid of affiliate marketing and Google Adsense, which combines the best of both worlds.With Google Adsense, you will get paid for every advertisement that the user clicks. For the affiliate programs, you will get paid if the person whom you refer makes a purchase. The amount of commission will depend on the vendor itself.Imagine if you can set up multiples of such sites. Each of these site in essence is your very own piggy bank, helping you to make money on complete autopilot and to grow your wealth faster.As mentioned
The Ten Step Process
Let’s identify the steps first and then we’ll discuss each one in a little more detail . I cannot emphasize enough that the true value of a strategic plan is not in the document itself. It is in the process of creating it, involving many of your employees from the bottom up. This empowers them to be more effective and better-informed leaders, managers and decision makers.
1. Select the strategy team and send a company wide communication
2. Create a Vision for the Future (End Game)
3. Preparation -----Secure an off site location for the kick off meeting which includes training the team on the strategic planning process. Purchase a strategic planning template, download one from the web or e-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a generic sample.
4. Complete a SWOT analysis. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats)
5. Identify the critical core initiatives that are necessary to support the vision for the future and to achieve its objectives
6. Develop strategic implementation plans (SIPs) that support the identified critical core initiatives
7. Prioritize the CCI’s and SIP’s based on the biggest impact on the bottom line in the shortest period of time. Modify and complete the document template to fit your company strategy
8. Develop an accountability process based on a structured monthly strategic review
9. Develop a presentation of the strategy for approval by the CEO, owners or Board of Directors.
10. Develop a Roll Out Strategy to explain the strategic plan to the entire company
Step One --------- Selection and Communication
It all starts with communication. The very first piece of information should be the announcement to all employees that the company is embarking on a planning process for the future. This memo should be sent from the President asking for everyone’s support. (A sample memo is available from rick@ceostrategist.com) The memo will likely announce who the strategy team members are and ask for everyone to congratulate them and provide input at every opportunity. CAUTION: Make sure that you have talked to any employee in advance that was not picked for the strategy team that may feel that they should have been.
Once the team is announced and the process starts make sure you continue to keep employees aware of the progress and solicit their input. A minimum of a monthly memo should be issued. The strategic planning process can take from 6 weeks to 12 weeks so it is important to keep everyone informed without releasing too much detail.
The strategy team should include a senior accountant, and should consist of between seven and ten members. Team selection should be based on competence, integrity, work ethic, leadership skills, and future growth potential within the Company. The team will formulate and present the strategic document to the President/CEO and the Board of Directors. It is critical that all employees are empowered and encouraged to communicate their ideas and issues with any member of the strategy team. This process ensures accountability and ownership of the strategy at every level in the organization.
Step Two --- A Vision for the Future (The End Game)
The Vision for the Future (End Game) in business is simply defining what winning the game in your business is really about. What does winning mean. Just exactly what do you want your company to be when it grows up? Ask yourself the following questions from the perspective of looking five to seven years into the future.
1. What markets should your company be serving five years from now?
2. What products should you be distributing?
3. Who are your primary competitors?
4. What are your strengths?
5. What are your competitors’ strengths?
6. How has your marketing strategy changed?
7. What are your core competencies?
8. What is the size of your revenue stream?
9. How is your revenue stream segmented?
10. Do you have a Human Resource Development plan?
The CEO/Owners should create the “Vision for the Future” (End Game) for presentation to the strategy team.
Step Three --- Preparation
Running a strategic planning process is not just designing a template and having the team members fill in the gaps. On the contrary, it means carefully coaching the management team through a thinking process. Often, the actual strategic plan is even less important than the development and growth of the team members participating in the process. The strategy team should be trained on the process you intend to follow in developing the strategic plan. Once that is competed the CEO/President should present the vision of the future with copies for everyone and then excuse himself from the meeting to allow the strategy team to tear the end game apart and put it back together. The President will have explained that they have the right and the obligation to challenge the end game if they do not agree with any part of it. However, any challenge to any portion must be accompanied by alternative recommendations. The concept is to finalize a “Vision for the Future” that everyone owns.
Step Four---- The SWOT analysis
The team will conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to identify critical constraints and potential opportunities for growth.
Step Five --- Developing the Critical Core Initiatives from the Vision for the Future
Critical core initiatives are over arching initiatives that are found within the Vision for the Future. An example may be defined as a human resource initiative for becoming employer of choice. There are many independent action steps (Strategic Implementation Plans – SIPs) that will be required to accomplish the Critical Core Initiative (CCI). They may include training, education, leadership development, compensation and benefits etc.
Identifying the CCI’s first is necessary to move on to the next step which is creating SIPs for each CCI.
Step Six--- Prioritize the CCI’s and identify individual SIPs for each CCI
A Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) is a set of tasks that supports a Critical Core Initiative and therefore creates fundamental change in the way you do things. SIP work deals with long-term improvement and change, balancing concern for today with concern for the future and is a fundamental task of managerial decision-making. Work against SIPs deals with improving things for tomorrow.
Each Critical Core Initiative is supported by a set of SIPs that contain a sequenced set of tasks, schedules, and named responsible individuals. The creation of SIPs indicates that the chosen area is one that provides a high payoff in terms of innovation and managed change.
Step Seven --- Assign sections of the strategy template to be completed by different team members
Developing the strategy document from team homework assignments completed over the previous weeks is a matter of following the template that has been modified to meet your specific company needs.
Step Eight --- The accountability process
The key managerial tool to ensure steady, consistent progress on SIP tasks is the formal Operational Review Meeting (ORM). This is the foundation to insure that the strategic plan is successful. The ORM is held monthly. The purpose of the ORM is to:
• Clearly understand the status of your key initiatives.
• Keep executive focus on strategic, rather than just urgent, issues.
• Facilitate communication and support throughout the executive team and the company.
• Formulate emergency responses to company-wide threats or opportunities.
• Leverage all appropriate company resources while maintaining proper accountability for performance.
The ORM should be attended by members of the Strategy Team, executive management and other senior managers. It will follow a formal agenda and discussions will be driven by two objective measurements: performance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and progress of SIP task completion. SIP and action item owners will be held accountable for achieving the desired results by the due date indicated on the plan. The entire team will be held accountable for meeting SIP goals.
Step Nine --- Developing the presentation for approval
The strategy team will provide the strategy document to ownership at least one week in advance of the formal presentation. Representatives of the strategy team will present the plan and defend it from a considered corporate challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to ensure that the plan is well thought out and based on a realistic assessment of the company’s risks and constraints. The presentation will also demonstrate the degree of commitment and ownership by the team. The objective of the meeting is to formally endorse the strategy for the company. If necessary, the team will revise and re-present the plan to obtain ownership approval.
Step Ten ---- The Roll Out Process
After formal acceptance, the President and two to three strategy team members should schedule meetings to introduce the strategy to the entire management team and all other employees, thus formally launching the strategy. This should be a big deal and should be completed as quickly as possible. In person presentations by executive management and strategy team members is highly recommended.
Strategy Development Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Discipline is a prerequisite to this process because it requires laser like persistence to result in a productive strategic planning initiative. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine current reality, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present and perform trend analysis on the future industry environment. The prioritization of initiatives and SIPs is an essential step. Although your strategic plan will cover a five to seven year period prioritized SIPs are worked on during the first twelve to eighteen month period based on bandwidth and resources while other CCIs and SIPs are deferred. It is much more effective to completely
Having the right equipment can make or break you. When we first started out we bought a commercial Embroidery machine and a Clam Shell Heat Press. Our thought process was that we would target companies and schools who needed Embroidery, and Heat Transfers. During our initial due diligence our dealer also showed us a revolutionary screen printing machine called, Direct-To-Garment Printers. We knew we could not compete with other companies with so few tools. With summer approaching, and many businesses gearing up for the summer, we either had to make an alliance with companies who offered the things we were on equipped for, or head back to the dealer and order a new machine.After we were armed with a full array of tools to compete against our competitors as we thought. we shortly found that there many other pieces of the puzzle, to operate our business properly. We had to have more to make sure we could cover every aspect of the business that others in our industry have.After watching a video about transfers, we discovered we could add another service by adding a printer. The printer could not be any printer, but one that could support sublimation ink. We were lucky enough to find an Epson 1280 printer on ebay for about half the cost else where. We also found a printer ink attachment that would increase the amount of ink the printer could hold, called a Bulk Ink Attachment.Even though we still needed more tools, we quickly learn to create strategic alliances, with similar business that offered tools and services we didn't have. If we could do this again, we'd probably do like many other companies do with a similar business, and contract the work out to an established business. This would have saved us a lot of money and time. Our alliances had the tools that we did not have, and in some cases, we had the too
The strategy team should include a senior accountant, and should consist of between seven and ten members. Team selection should be based on competence, integrity, work ethic, leadership skills, and future growth potential within the Company. The team will formulate and present the strategic document to the President/CEO and the Board of Directors. It is critical that all employees are empowered and encouraged to communicate their ideas and issues with any member of the strategy team. This process ensures accountability and ownership of the strategy at every level in the organization.
Step Two --- A Vision for the Future (The End Game)
The Vision for the Future (End Game) in business is simply defining what winning the game in your business is really about. What does winning mean. Just exactly what do you want your company to be when it grows up? Ask yourself the following questions from the perspective of looking five to seven years into the future.
1. What markets should your company be serving five years from now?
2. What products should you be distributing?
3. Who are your primary competitors?
4. What are your strengths?
5. What are your competitors’ strengths?
6. How has your marketing strategy changed?
7. What are your core competencies?
8. What is the size of your revenue stream?
9. How is your revenue stream segmented?
10. Do you have a Human Resource Development plan?
The CEO/Owners should create the “Vision for the Future” (End Game) for presentation to the strategy team.
Step Three --- Preparation
Running a strategic planning process is not just designing a template and having the team members fill in the gaps. On the contrary, it means carefully coaching the management team through a thinking process. Often, the actual strategic plan is even less important than the development and growth of the team members participating in the process. The strategy team should be trained on the process you intend to follow in developing the strategic plan. Once that is competed the CEO/President should present the vision of the future with copies for everyone and then excuse himself from the meeting to allow the strategy team to tear the end game apart and put it back together. The President will have explained that they have the right and the obligation to challenge the end game if they do not agree with any part of it. However, any challenge to any portion must be accompanied by alternative recommendations. The concept is to finalize a “Vision for the Future” that everyone owns.
Step Four---- The SWOT analysis
The team will conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to identify critical constraints and potential opportunities for growth.
Step Five --- Developing the Critical Core Initiatives from the Vision for the Future
Critical core initiatives are over arching initiatives that are found within the Vision for the Future. An example may be defined as a human resource initiative for becoming employer of choice. There are many independent action steps (Strategic Implementation Plans – SIPs) that will be required to accomplish the Critical Core Initiative (CCI). They may include training, education, leadership development, compensation and benefits etc.
Identifying the CCI’s first is necessary to move on to the next step which is creating SIPs for each CCI.
Step Six--- Prioritize the CCI’s and identify individual SIPs for each CCI
A Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) is a set of tasks that supports a Critical Core Initiative and therefore creates fundamental change in the way you do things. SIP work deals with long-term improvement and change, balancing concern for today with concern for the future and is a fundamental task of managerial decision-making. Work against SIPs deals with improving things for tomorrow.
Each Critical Core Initiative is supported by a set of SIPs that contain a sequenced set of tasks, schedules, and named responsible individuals. The creation of SIPs indicates that the chosen area is one that provides a high payoff in terms of innovation and managed change.
Step Seven --- Assign sections of the strategy template to be completed by different team members
Developing the strategy document from team homework assignments completed over the previous weeks is a matter of following the template that has been modified to meet your specific company needs.
Step Eight --- The accountability process
The key managerial tool to ensure steady, consistent progress on SIP tasks is the formal Operational Review Meeting (ORM). This is the foundation to insure that the strategic plan is successful. The ORM is held monthly. The purpose of the ORM is to:
• Clearly understand the status of your key initiatives.
• Keep executive focus on strategic, rather than just urgent, issues.
• Facilitate communication and support throughout the executive team and the company.
• Formulate emergency responses to company-wide threats or opportunities.
• Leverage all appropriate company resources while maintaining proper accountability for performance.
The ORM should be attended by members of the Strategy Team, executive management and other senior managers. It will follow a formal agenda and discussions will be driven by two objective measurements: performance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and progress of SIP task completion. SIP and action item owners will be held accountable for achieving the desired results by the due date indicated on the plan. The entire team will be held accountable for meeting SIP goals.
Step Nine --- Developing the presentation for approval
The strategy team will provide the strategy document to ownership at least one week in advance of the formal presentation. Representatives of the strategy team will present the plan and defend it from a considered corporate challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to ensure that the plan is well thought out and based on a realistic assessment of the company’s risks and constraints. The presentation will also demonstrate the degree of commitment and ownership by the team. The objective of the meeting is to formally endorse the strategy for the company. If necessary, the team will revise and re-present the plan to obtain ownership approval.
Step Ten ---- The Roll Out Process
After formal acceptance, the President and two to three strategy team members should schedule meetings to introduce the strategy to the entire management team and all other employees, thus formally launching the strategy. This should be a big deal and should be completed as quickly as possible. In person presentations by executive management and strategy team members is highly recommended.
Strategy Development Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Discipline is a prerequisite to this process because it requires laser like persistence to result in a productive strategic planning initiative. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine current reality, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present and perform trend analysis on the future industry environment. The prioritization of initiatives and SIPs is an essential step. Although your strategic plan will cover a five to seven year period prioritized SIPs are worked on during the first twelve to eighteen month period based on bandwidth and resources while other CCIs and SIPs are deferred. It is much more effective to completely
Questions asked on employment agency word processing testsWhat kinds of questions are asked on employment agency tests for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel? Well, from my 14 years experience of being a legal secretary/word processor in New York I have seen a wide variety of tests ranging from extremely easy to pull-your-own-hair out hard, even if you are bald! But seriously, there are two kinds of tests.Most given are automated computerized tests which are among the easiest. They ask basic questions for example, on a Microsoft Word test how to bold, or add a row to a table with usually the hardest question being how to merge. These are usually the tests that asks if you want to restart a question or skip to the next one.On harder tests, usually a custom test you are usually asked to create styles from stock Microsoft Word, how to work with section breaks, create a table of contents or an index or create a table with different types of tabs. I've even seen tests where they ask you to create a red herring which is text that is going at a 90 degree angle to the regular text on a page. It is usually put inside of a Microsoft text box.If you want more information and advice on taking word processing tests plus other information like rates of pay, registering at employment agencies, typing speed, 2 important books all word processors should have plus other important information on the word processing/legal secretarial market visit http://www.technorb.com or http://www.legalsecretaryinfo.com!Sincerely,
The team will conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to identify critical constraints and potential opportunities for growth.
Step Five --- Developing the Critical Core Initiatives from the Vision for the Future
Critical core initiatives are over arching initiatives that are found within the Vision for the Future. An example may be defined as a human resource initiative for becoming employer of choice. There are many independent action steps (Strategic Implementation Plans – SIPs) that will be required to accomplish the Critical Core Initiative (CCI). They may include training, education, leadership development, compensation and benefits etc.
Identifying the CCI’s first is necessary to move on to the next step which is creating SIPs for each CCI.
Step Six--- Prioritize the CCI’s and identify individual SIPs for each CCI
A Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) is a set of tasks that supports a Critical Core Initiative and therefore creates fundamental change in the way you do things. SIP work deals with long-term improvement and change, balancing concern for today with concern for the future and is a fundamental task of managerial decision-making. Work against SIPs deals with improving things for tomorrow.
Each Critical Core Initiative is supported by a set of SIPs that contain a sequenced set of tasks, schedules, and named responsible individuals. The creation of SIPs indicates that the chosen area is one that provides a high payoff in terms of innovation and managed change.
Step Seven --- Assign sections of the strategy template to be completed by different team members
Developing the strategy document from team homework assignments completed over the previous weeks is a matter of following the template that has been modified to meet your specific company needs.
Step Eight --- The accountability process
The key managerial tool to ensure steady, consistent progress on SIP tasks is the formal Operational Review Meeting (ORM). This is the foundation to insure that the strategic plan is successful. The ORM is held monthly. The purpose of the ORM is to:
• Clearly understand the status of your key initiatives.
• Keep executive focus on strategic, rather than just urgent, issues.
• Facilitate communication and support throughout the executive team and the company.
• Formulate emergency responses to company-wide threats or opportunities.
• Leverage all appropriate company resources while maintaining proper accountability for performance.
The ORM should be attended by members of the Strategy Team, executive management and other senior managers. It will follow a formal agenda and discussions will be driven by two objective measurements: performance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and progress of SIP task completion. SIP and action item owners will be held accountable for achieving the desired results by the due date indicated on the plan. The entire team will be held accountable for meeting SIP goals.
Step Nine --- Developing the presentation for approval
The strategy team will provide the strategy document to ownership at least one week in advance of the formal presentation. Representatives of the strategy team will present the plan and defend it from a considered corporate challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to ensure that the plan is well thought out and based on a realistic assessment of the company’s risks and constraints. The presentation will also demonstrate the degree of commitment and ownership by the team. The objective of the meeting is to formally endorse the strategy for the company. If necessary, the team will revise and re-present the plan to obtain ownership approval.
Step Ten ---- The Roll Out Process
After formal acceptance, the President and two to three strategy team members should schedule meetings to introduce the strategy to the entire management team and all other employees, thus formally launching the strategy. This should be a big deal and should be completed as quickly as possible. In person presentations by executive management and strategy team members is highly recommended.
Strategy Development Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Discipline is a prerequisite to this process because it requires laser like persistence to result in a productive strategic planning initiative. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine current reality, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present and perform trend analysis on the future industry environment. The prioritization of initiatives and SIPs is an essential step. Although your strategic plan will cover a five to seven year period prioritized SIPs are worked on during the first twelve to eighteen month period based on bandwidth and resources while other CCIs and SIPs are deferred. It is much more effective to completely
Taking a job is acceptance of conditions and responsibilities of the position for a specified wage. Recently, during a lull in my own business, I took on some part-time work in a retail environment serving pet-owners to create some structure and stability. It's not a high paying position, the work is very physical, and it's a bit of a dirty job at times. Nonetheless, the workplace is friendly, the customers are great, and I get to visit with many animals and animal lovers every day. The enjoyment of the position, customer relations, and the staff makes up for the lower pay and physical strain. After a week though, witnessing the lack of work-ethic of others on the team, I begin to feel disillusioned.Here's the thing: It's not a high paying job and it doesn't require a lot of skill. This job requires people who are willing to work, meet people, and keep shelves stocked and the store clean: Easy stuff. When one person on staff blows off the responsibilities, others who aren't thrilled with the work slack off too. This may not seem like a big deal but sooner or later, the work still has to be done and someone will have to do it. The person who will do it will be a colleague. So how does it feel to be someone who slacks off and has others do the bulk of the work? I honestly don't understand this lack of teamwork.Working together as a team, doing the little things -- again the little things make the big difference -- helps everyone keep on top of the job duties and makes the work lighter for everyone. Everyone complains about the troublesome aspects of the work, and yet, they do little to accommodate procedures that will make it easier for everyone. Instead, they brush off the importance of doing the little things and let the little things get out of hand until a big problem exists. Once it's out of hand, someone will
Step Nine --- Developing the presentation for approval
The strategy team will provide the strategy document to ownership at least one week in advance of the formal presentation. Representatives of the strategy team will present the plan and defend it from a considered corporate challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to ensure that the plan is well thought out and based on a realistic assessment of the company’s risks and constraints. The presentation will also demonstrate the degree of commitment and ownership by the team. The objective of the meeting is to formally endorse the strategy for the company. If necessary, the team will revise and re-present the plan to obtain ownership approval.
Step Ten ---- The Roll Out Process
After formal acceptance, the President and two to three strategy team members should schedule meetings to introduce the strategy to the entire management team and all other employees, thus formally launching the strategy. This should be a big deal and should be completed as quickly as possible. In person presentations by executive management and strategy team members is highly recommended.
Strategy Development Overview
Strategic planning is a management tool. It is used to help an organization clarify its future direction – to focus its energy, and to help members of the organization work toward the same goals. The planning process adjusts the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to support fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on where it wants to go and how it is going to get there.
Discipline is a prerequisite to this process because it requires laser like persistence to result in a productive strategic planning initiative. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine current reality, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present and perform trend analysis on the future industry environment. The prioritization of initiatives and SIPs is an essential step. Although your strategic plan will cover a five to seven year period prioritized SIPs are worked on during the first twelve to eighteen month period based on bandwidth and resources while other CCIs and SIPs are deferred. It is much more effective to completely finish three or four SIPs pertaining to one or two CCI’s than to work on ten or twelve SIPs and accomplish nothing.
Fundamental decisions, actions and choices must be made in order to develop a plan that provides the roadmap to the future. The plan is ultimately no more, and no less, than a set of decisions about what to do, why to do it, when and how to do it. CEO Strategist is in the process of producing a three CD set based on the strategic pyramid methodology for release by 1/1/2007 with a workbook that will walk you through every aspect of the DIY strategic planning process in great detail and provide all the forms and templates necessary for you to successfully complete a strategic plan with your team. E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com to reserve an advance copy of this program. In the mean time, you can request a copy of a generic template or get Rick’s recently published book “Leading the Pack” which has six “end game visions of the future examples” in the appendix.
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.actual4u.com/article/21926/actual4u-DIYStrategic-Planning.html">DIY-Strategic Planning</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.actual4u.com/article/21926/actual4u-DIYStrategic-Planning.html]DIY-Strategic Planning[/url]
Related Articles:
Bookmark it:
|