Facilitating countless strategic planning meetings for businesses large and small has taught me many positive lessons. Among them is the power of starting out with an agreed upon set of meeting ground rules. Getting agreement on how the meeting will be...
Joy at Work is not only an idea, but the title of a best-selling business written by the co-founder and former CEO of AES, Dennis W. Bakke. I first read the book some years ago expecting to find some interesting ideas about employee engagement. What I...
The current operating environment is seeing the rate and pace of change accelerate. Customer choices, fueled by emerging technology is forcing businesses to create new ways of connecting with customers, engaging and retaining employees and sourcing...
On a routine basis, I meet with clients during annual budget time. You know what that means. Operating managers dust off last year’s numbers, increase their revenue targets slightly and do the same for operating expenses. They’ll set a goal...
The strategic planning process includes time dedicated to discussing and capturing planning assumptions. These often consist of thoughts, opinions, observations, and predictions of what the future may hold for our business and the stakeholders who depend on...
A necessary but often overlooked element of sound strategic planning is the time spent identifying and understanding obstacles. In many respects, this may well be the most important part of the planning process. Planners invest considerable time and energy creating...