I got a call from an organization that was (as they said) “desperate to finally do good strategic planning.” A Far Too-Common Approach to “Strategic Planning” The previous two times they did “planning,” the organization hired a facilitator and: 1. Got Board members together for one retreat. 2. Word-smithed the words on their mission statement. …
Starting a Business/
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Legal Structures of Organizations Legal Forms and Traditional Structures of Organizations Market Research — Inbound Marketing Planning Your Research Market Research Find and Feed the Feeling Strategizing Understanding Strategy and Strategic Thinking Competitor Analysis Porter’s Five Competitive Forces (Part I) Porter’s Five Competitive Forces (Part 2) Competitive Intelligence Product Planning Product Management E-Commerce Sales and …
Here are five tricks from business planning expert Tim Berry. Excellent advice to follow to avoid getting spooked by your business: 1. Keep the planning simple and practical. Your plan should be measurable, and include strategy, dates, deadlines, metrics, and basic projections, plus a review schedule. This is critical: when will we review and revise? …
What is a strategic decision, and how is it different from an operational or tactical decision? Strategic decisions determine the grand direction upon which an entity will embark. Always, strategy precedes action. The object of strategy is to bring about advantageous conditions within which action will occur. In the military context, this means positioning forces …
To err is human. To do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results is insanity. And to learn from the mistakes of others is a good way to improve your odds. Here are ten major mistakes, inspired by a recent Wall Street Journal article (link below): 1. Going it Alone. Forget the solo entrepreneur …
Simply put, strategic planning is clarifying the overall purpose and desired results of an organization, and how those results will be achieved. There are different ways to do that planning, depending on the purpose(s) of the planning, the life cycle or stage of development of the organization, the culture of people in the organization, types …
Many startup businesses set up incentive or commission-based compensation systems for their initial employees. This is often done because they can’t afford to pay staff what they’re worth. As an enticement they offer the opportunity to earn much more than a smallish base salary if these early staff achieve great success. This is common in …
Lately I’ve been rethinking business plans. On the one hand, in the consulting and academic world, what is meant by a business plan is a fairly comprehensive research project with thorough analysis of issues including customers, markets, competitors, pricing, marketing strategies, risks – always followed with detailed multi-paged financial projections looking three to five years …
