What’s the Real Reason Nine out of Ten Companies Fail to Execute Their Strategies?
by Timothy Swords
After hiring consultants and spending corporate resources developing a new strategy, why do 90% of companies throw it all away by failing to execute their plans? It’s because senior management doesn’t really take ownership and champion the cause. This article discusses the foolproof ways to get senior management to stay passionate and accountable throughout the implementation stage.

New Perspectives on Important Strategic Choices
by Helene Mazur
Constantly challenged to help my clients work through strategic dilemmas, I started to think more about the ancient Chinese concept of Yin and Yang. Attracted to the concept in the area of work/life balance, I set out to see how the philosophy might be beneficial to business planning. The more I have been able to learn, looking through a Yin and Yang lens has proven to not only be useful, but in some situations, eye opening.

How Good is Your Strategy Execution?
by Paul G. Ward, Ph.D.
Strategy needs Focus, Balance and Stretch before it can be successfully executed. And for execution to deliver sustained results, Alignment, Engagement and Discipline are essential. Apply these six elements well and your strategy execution can be as good as the world's best.

Cutting Through the Clutter- Personal and Business Strategic Planning
by Helene Mazur
Despite a lot of talk about the desire to simplify and focus, many professionals fall far short of their longing. With all of life's daily demands and seemingly pressing priorities, what is the best use of your time and money? The answer lies in having a framework for decision making.

Invent Your Future with Strategic Planning
by Abhay Padgaonkar
Organizations have to think clearly, focus sharply, and communicate eloquently. The first step is to create a succinct, adaptive, and thoughtful strategic plan that, regardless of the size of the organization, fits on one page.

A Vision of Failure
by Peter Wright
Sometimes we need to envision the complete breakdown and failure of a business to understand how to prevent it, and find the next level of success.

The World of Strategic Thinking - It’s Not About Time
by Marie Kane
Strategic Thinking is about the “What” and the “Why”, that is what should we be doing and why, otherwise known as strategy. Strategic Planning considers the “How” and “When”, but at a very high level.

Successful Strategic Planning
by Robert Silverman
When done right, the integrated strategic planning process can take a business to the next level or, at a minimum, protect it from running off a cliff.

Building the Bridge from Vision to Results: Ten Pillars of Successful Strategic Planning
by Robert Silverman
When approached correctly, an integrated strategic planning process can become the critical driver of sustained success for companies at all levels of maturity. Here are the ten pillars of successful integrated strategic planning.

Strategic Planning and Project Management: The Key to Successful Implementation
by Herb Rubenstein and Bruce McGraw
The goal must be to make strategic plans implementable, not just readable. Project management professionals working with strategic planners can go a long way to making this a reality.

Business Planning and Strategic Planning Revisited
by Herb Rubenstein
What is most important in drafting both strategic and business plans for the writer or team assigned to the project is that they understand all of the knowledge, expertise, capacity, objectives and needs of the company or organization, and feed these properly into the plan.

The What's Next? Process for Developing Your Strategy
by Dan Herman Ph.D.
The approach I am professing reads: strategy in motion, strategy in constant development that stems from the tension between the need of continuity, and the accommodation to the changing environment and opportunities.

Bombarded by Market Change? Use Fresh Information to Compete and Win
by Mary Adams and Michael Oleksak
To be successful in the coming years, you must reacquaint yourself with your marketplace and recast your business to fit the new reality. The key starting point for future success is fresh information.

Achieving Strategic Focus - The Book of Five Certainties
by Tim Gregory
Traditional, tried and true business methods have returned, newly glamorized and openly espoused. Much of the latest business buzz seems to focus on achieving credible and lasting strategic focus, by harnessing, in part, the expertise and experience of your workforce.

Why Planning Fails in Middle-sized Enterprises
by Walter Adamson
Most strategic plans fail to deliver their goals because there is insufficient focus on implementation. In particular, insufficient attention by the leadership team on the management of strategic change.

Planning in the Real World
by Helene Mazur
How do you know you are thinking BIG enough? Are you leveraging the full strengths, interests and talents on your team? Will you wind up in a place that will make you happy? Do you have a game plan?

Is Your Financial Situation Holding You Hostage?
by Helene Mazur
Financial planning can help you take steps toward addressing fears and demystifying the unknown by systematically identifying the risks, and evaluating the alternatives.

The Art of Strategic Conversation
by Skip Corsini
A business slowdown is actually the best time for initiating a strategic conversation because it is a natural point at which to pause and reflect.

Time for a Tune Up
by Helene Mazur
If you aren't getting to your desired destination quickly enough, it might be time to check the engine. When was the last time you evaluated your strategic direction and alignment?

Creating an Environment for Innovation
by M. Dana Baldwin
Once your company has made a conscious decision to encourage innovation, where and how should you start? It’s worthwhile to develop the skills and atmosphere in which effective innovation becomes a part of your ongoing strategic planning.

The Success Zone: Aligning Your Business Model and Risk Profile
by Stephen A. Rutan
Steve Rutan presents an approach to identifying the Risk Matrix that applies to your selected markets. He explains how to integrate it with your risk tolerance to refine your business model for selecting opportunities. He concludes that firms succeed by developing their business models in ways that focus on tightly characterized classes of opportunities.

Put Yourself out of Business!
by J. Peter Duncan
Innovation is the lifeblood of any organization. Without it, companies stagnate and fail. CSSP Vice President Peter Duncan explores the topic of innovation, looking at the places it can be used in a strategy process to breathe new vitality into your organization.

March to a Different Drummer
by Denise A. Harrison
Denise Harrison proposes that by not joining the crowd, but developing and following a strategy that is the best road for your company, you can succeed even when others think you are missing the big opportunity of the moment.

Here Comes the Old Economy!
by Denise A. Harrison
Denise Harrison looks at the contrast between bad news headlines and economists' optimistic outlook for continued recovery.

Strategic Visioning
by Helene Mazur
The process of developing a vivid picture of the future is an important step in creating a future that is better than today. A clear, motivating image can inspire us to reach higher and overcome challenges.

It's True - Lead and They Will Follow
by Barry J. Wolfson
Leadership has sometimes been described as taking people to a place that they would not normally go to on their own. Once a sound strategic planning process has determined what that place should be it is the leader's prime and fundamental responsibility to assure that the full resources of the organization are effectively brought to bear to achieve that destination.

Exploring New Paths
by Helene Mazur
Change happens outside of our control on a regular basis. Sometimes it is predictable, sometimes not. Whether or not we can anticipate and plan for change, there are always a new set of opportunities to explore.

What Does Your Company Mean?
by Robert W. Bradford
The vital importance of meaning, the attributes of valuable meaning and how can we apply the understanding of meaning to make your company more successful?

The Strategic Value of Values
by Thomas E. Ambler
Seldom do we see headlines that highlight those companies and organizations that consistently live out positive values. Our guts tell us that these businesses must benefit from their positive, Values-centered approach. But how much?

Making Your Ideas Come To Life
by Helene Mazur
Whether you are masterminding an organizational change initiative, steering your business in a new direction, or planning a career transition, the distinction between success and failure is often found in the follow-through.

How Do YOU Treat Your BEST Customers?
by Paul A.S. Minton
When you think of your best customers, how do you define 'best'? Explore the benefits of long term strategic relationships where both vendor and customer benefit.

When is it Time to Rewrite Your Mission Statement?
by Jeffrey Jones
A mission statement should be a source of inspiration for companies and should not be a barrier to new opportunities. Companies which remain steadfast to their mission statement that was written years ago when their external and internal environments were different from the present ones run the risk of forgoing opportunities to grow.

Wishes for Strategic Collaboration
by Helene Mazur
Many of you are rethinking strategies in the current business environment. As you take a new look at the external factors (market conditions, competition, trends, demographics, and target markets) consider the benefits of collaboration.

Looking Beyond The Short Term
by Helene Mazur
By understanding the changes that are developing in the marketplace, you become less vulnerable to external events and forces. By positioning in alignment with the trends in your industry, in your customers' industries, and in the world in general, you have a much better chance of success.

A New View
by Helene Mazur
As the year begins it is the perfect time to acknowledge the uncertainty that we are currently experiencing in the business environment, and in our lives. While a lot seems to be on hold, now is the perfect time to move forward.

Terrorism Requires Reflective Response - Economic Implications for your Business
by Denise A. Harrison
The terrorist attacks sent shock waves through the global economy. While hurricanes, tornados, and other acts of nature often cause economic disruptions, few events will impact the way we do business as the recent terrorist attacks have. What has changed?

Building Support for the Strategic Plan: Aligning Employees with Strategy
by Robert W. Bradford
One of the most common difficulties companies face in strategic planning is turning their vision into a reality. To transform your organization into the one you envision takes more than great strategy and implementation, you also need to make the strategy an integral part of the very fiber of your organization.

Developing Value Statements: Lessons From War
by Scott Valentine
The search for better strategic models for business has crossed many academic borders.

Strategies and Processes for a Changing Economy
by Dana Baldwin
The sky is falling! Batten down the hatches! Cut back on everything. The economy is coming to a complete stop! HOLD IT! Do you really want to throw all of the good things you have been doing out the window because conditions have changed and the economy is slowing down?

Country Club … or Prison?
by Joe Daquino
A practical analysis of the steps needed to reorganize a divisional structure, with particular attention paid to the depth of planning needed to ensure a smooth and cohesive transition.

Planning is Dead? ... Long Live Planning!
by J. Peter Duncan
Whether formal and written or merely a well understood sense of destination with thoughtful plans to achieve that vision, a strategic plan is a critical tool for effective management.

Bottom-Up Strategic Planning
by Bernard DeKoven
Start with the people who are closest to the customer, then alphabetize, organize, summarize, save time and tempers, finalize, publish, sign and celebrate.

Running a Strategic Planning Session
by Estelle Métayer
How to prepare for the workshop, run the session -  the tools, the style, the rhythm and the aspects to cover, and follow up to ensure action gets taken and that the benefits last.

Prepare for Maximum Impact!
by Mark W. Sickles
Impact Systems is brain food for executives - the distinctions - here and now - and then and there.

Impact Systems
by Mark W. Sickles
Business planning models - the issue of procedural interdependencies - more on strategy.

A Little Preventive Medicine Goes a Long Way
by Richard Gooding
Uncover potential risks and challenges through strategic risk analysis.

A Recipe for Mission and Vision Statements
by Eugen Tarnow
How to construct a 'Unifying Action Declaration' that works.

Related Topics: Competitive Strategy | Competitive Intelligence

Return to top