Strategic thinking, strategic talking: Strategy as a position

Strategic thinking strategic talking

 

Strategy as a position

 What choices are you making and what are you leaving as implicit choices?

 

Sometimes people will ask an explicit question about your choices: They might ask,

·           "What is your strategic position,

·           "What differentiates you?"

·           "What is your USP?" or

·           "What is your market positioning?"

 

When they do, they are asking about strategy as a position or difference. 

Positioning in a market

This sort of thinking comes from an expectation of what a strategy should contain.  You see this alot in marketing and in the work of Michael Porter's work on strategic positioning.  He suggests that you have one of:

·           customer intimacy,

·           low cost, or

·           product differentiation.

 

These people believe that unless you differentiate yourself from your competition and in the eyes of your customers along one of these lines, you are bound to fail.  You must stand out from the rest of the market in some way in order to make money.

 

For many years Dell have differentiated themselves in the market with low cost PCs that are delivered without a traditional sales channel.  At the same time other brands such as IBM have a reputation for ruggedness whereas Sony and Toshiba seem to differentiate themselves with style, lightness and reliability, but at a premium cost.  There are many examples.

The role of industry structure

This approach emphasises the importance of markets and industry structure.  It is a very analytical approach to strategy.  You will often see this sort of analysis alongside Porter's five competitive forces that determine the structure of an industry, namely:

 

·           What are my product substitutes, from the customer's perspective?

·           What is the bargaining power of my suppliers?

·           What is the bargaining power of those that buy from me (customers)?

·           What is the threat from new entrants?  What are the barriers to entry?

·           How strong is the rivalry amongst existing firms in the industry?

 

So for instance, there are strong barriers to entry in the PC micro-chip development industry with Intel and AMD having a large part of the market, strong brands and well established R&D.  Capital investment is high as is the need for R&D.  Rivalry, whilst strong, is limited to two main players, though others are on the edge of the scene. 

 

On the other hand, the mobile phone market is extremely competitive, with companies competing amongst themselves very strongly.  New entrants with consumer electronics experience or technology experience can enter easily.  There are threats as the technologies of phones, cameras and organisers converge. 

Positioning products and services

A similar approach is taken by those people who are fans of the Boston matrix.  This traditionally plots a company's products or services against two dimensions of market growth and market share. 

 

Products with high growth and high share are the stars. Products with high market share and low growth are the cash cows and should be milked.  Products with low market share in a low growth market are dogs and should be ditched.  Products that have low market share in a high growth market are problematic.  They have the potential to become future stars or dogs.  However, they won't become such if they stay as they are.  Therefore, these need to be repositioned in some way or they will be a drain on the organisation.

 

There are many variations to this approach of making choices about the positioning of products, services as a position in a market.  These are just a couple of the more popular approaches.

The changing nature of positioning

This approach has been given a lot of credence over the past 15-20 years.  However there are some that argue we are entering a new phase where this is no longer valid.  Porter's view was that you must focus on one of these positions.  It was impossible to succeed at more than one or straddle positions, without incurring excessive costs or being out positioned by a competitor. 

 

However, more and more we are finding organisations that must have a high degree of customer intimacy and service, as well as cost management, to even differentiate themselves in a market.  Porter always recognised that a minimum was necessary.  Nowadays, that minimum is rising rapidly.

 

Conclusion

 

We have looked as strategy as a plan.  We have looked at strategy as importance.  In this newsletter we have seen that there are some people who use various positioning tools to determine what is important and what plans should be put in place. 

 

These positioning tools act as guides to strategic options.  The danger is that people believe they are always true and follow them as if they were the only approaches.  If that were the case, we would not have organisations differentiating themselves on supply chain capabilities (Amazon and Dell), intellectual capital (many medical research companies) or their ability to acquire new technology by merging with fast developing research and development companies (Cisco).

 

But they do help us to differentiate "strategic" choices from "tactical" ones.  If everyone else in the airline industry is using a particular supplier or outsourcing its security at airports, then it may be expedient to do it the same way.  That is a tactical choice.  Choosing aircraft that can be adapted and modified to offer massages and other premium services, in flight, may be a strategic choice that other competitors cannot easily follow.

 

So far, we have looked at strategy as a position we take and the choices we make.  We have looked at what is important and how important it is to have a perspective on the organisation.  In this case the perspective has been about the organisation's role in the industry and the positioning of its products and services.

 

While you are waiting for the next newsletter, have a look around at how you are positioned as a company. 

 

a)       What positioning does your organisation believe it has taken

 

b)       What do your customers think is your position in the market?

 

c)       What choices could you make for the future?

 

Next newsletter we shall look more explicitly at how strategy sometimes involves deception. 

 

More soon

 

Phil Jones

Excitant Ltd

http://www.excitant.co.uk/?awt_l=InVjw&awt_m=9buqpBl.tLstL

Excitant Ltd, Excitant House, 15 Robin's Field, Wansford, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE8 6JW, UNITED KINGDOM
Registered in England and Wales. Company No 4562075

9 Bad KPI Habits to Change

9 Bad KPI Habits to Change

Well this is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a list of the bad habits I see the majority of my clients consistently practicing when it comes to choosing, creating and using performance measures or KPIs. We reap what we sow, and that's why it can be a useful exercise to see if you do have any bad KPI habits and start developing some better ones.

Bad Habit #1: Brainstorming to come up with KPIs

When you brainstorm KPIs, you end up with too many, not enough, things that aren't really KPIs and a very shallow understanding of exactly how you will measure them. Instead, you need to design KPIs deliberately so that they are convincing evidence of the goal or result you want to measure.

Bad Habit #2: Measuring because you can, or already are

The reason to measure something isn't that you have the data and can measure it easily. The reason to measure is that you need to know something very specific about how well, or to what degree, you are achieving a particular goal or performance result. Only measure what you should, can and will do something about.

Bad Habit #3: Trying to measure effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, etc...

Embarking on the task of finding the right KPI to measure effectiveness will be a frustrating journey into Weasel World, that place where words lack meaning, or mean 17 different things to five different people. Don't try measuring any goal or performance result that is written with weasel words until you talk about what those words specifically mean in the Real World.

Bad Habit #4: Saying "that's not measurable"

If you think a goal or performance result isn't measurable, then there's a good chance it also isn't observable. If you can't observe in some manner or form whether or not a goal has been reached, then you don't have a goal. Goals are about changing the world in some way, and if you can't define that change in observable and measurable ways, your goals need more work before you should bother about measures.

Bad Habit #5: Not measuring something because you don't have the data

How will you ever get the data you really need, the data about the goals and performance results that matter most, if you keep refusing to measure something because that data doesn't already exist? When you separate the act of designing the right measures from the act of deciding how feasible those measures are to implement, you give yourself the chance to see that often the data is easier to get than you first thought, or at least worth the effort.

Bad Habit #6: Setting milestones as KPIs

Milestones are statements about having completed something by a particular time. They're very appropriate in project management, but next to useless in performance management. Just getting something done isn't evidence that it produced the desired result or that performance is improving. Just because you implemented a new inventory management system doesn't guarantee that inventory management costs have reduced.

Bad Habit #7: Measuring to monitor people's performance rather than process performance

More people complain about being measured than rejoice. And it's either because the measurement is being done poorly or the real purpose of measurement is poorly understand. Until you have a culture where performance measures are used to improve performance without blame - and using measures to improve process performance is a great way to establish this culture - measuring people will always cause more problems than it solves.

Bad Habit #8: Measuring too many things

If you have too much of anything, it overwhelms you. Too many things to do and you're exhausted and don't do any of them particularly well. Too much to think or worry about and you're stressed and emotionally burned out. Too many KPIs or performance measures, and your attention is fractured and no area of performance will improve significantly, if at all. Once more, only measure what you should, can and will do something about.

Bad Habit #9: Ignoring measures that aren't perfect

While it is important that your KPIs don't mislead you, most people still tend to err on the side of caution and not use any measures that are based on data that isn't perfect, or measures that don't tell the full story. As long as the measures aren't severely biased, their reliability can be far less than perfect and still provide you with actionable information, particlarly information about trends or shifts in performance.

TAKE ACTION: Do you know how to change a bad habit? You find a habit to replace it with, and you practice that new habit everyday for at least 30 days. By then, the new habit will replace the old one. You might like to choose one of your bad KPI habits and decide on something simple and practical you can do everyday to break it and establish a far better one.

COMMENT on this article... to mbustaman@iab.edu.my/0199890524

Thanks Stacy Barr. (Main sources and references)

Balanced Scorecard: How to cascade meaningfully

 Balanced Scorecard: How to cascade meaningfully

August 11th, 2011 | edited by: Muhamad Bustaman bin Abdul Manaf (IAB, MOE) (0199890524) (mbustaman@iab.edu.my)

We have to applaud the Balanced Scorecard for the evolution it triggered in organisational performance measurement and strategy execution. But no model is without its limitations.

Certainly, on account of the Balanced Scorecard, we’re now seeing the measurement of non-financial results rather than just the financial, and we’re seeing strategies laid out in logical and cause-effect linked plans designed for execution rather than shelving.

But a few challenges continue to baffle those that embrace the Balanced Scorecard way. One of the challenges is easy and quick to remedy within the current Balanced Scorecard theory. But the other two, I believe, require a more radical re-think.

In this first part of a three part series, we’ll look at one of those challenges that does indeed need a more radical re-think.

CHALLENGE 1: The Balanced Scorecard is hard to cascade meaningfully.

You might argue with me on this point, because part of the Balanced Scorecard’s claim to fame is it’s focus on strategy execution and cascading strategy to operational levels. But those famous four perspectives that were the revelation of this framework are also the limitation on meaningfully cascading strategy.

What Happens Is “Mini-me” Syndrome.

I call it the “Mini-me” syndrome (inspired by the Austin Powers movies), where what ends up being cascaded are localised scaled-down copies of the corporate scorecard. Each department or team has the same perspectives as the corporate scorecard, almost the same strategy map, but tailored to the scope of their work.

If injury reduction is in the corporate scorecard, then every department and team has injury reduction in their scorecard: even those departments where injury risk is infinitesimal. If cost reduction is in the corporate scorecard, then every department or team has cost reduction in their scorecard: even those departments (like Human Resources or Process Improvement, whose costs must increase in order for other areas’ costs to decrease.

That’s not true cause-effect thinking, and it leaves many managers and employees bemused and cynical about having to measure things that don’t really matter to them, and that don’t really focus on their specific and unique contribution to the corporate direction.

Additive Thinking Is Not Cause-Effect Thinking.

When the focus is on maintaining the four perspectives in everyone’s scorecard to link up to the corporate scorecard, the attention has moved away from where it needs to be: focusing on the performance results and process improvements that have the highest leverage to achieve the corporate strategy.

What happens instead is a collection of additive scorecards, where you can add up or combine the metrics from scorecards across the departmental tier, and end up with the values for the corporate scorecard. Likewise, you could add up the add up or combine the metrics from scorecards across teams within a department, and end up with the values for the departmental scorecard. This isn’t cause-effect thinking. It’s additive thinking.

Cascade True Cause-Effect, Not The Scorecard.

To apply true cause-effect thinking, we have to let go of structure. We have to openly explore and analyse how the performance of a part truly does impact on the performance of the whole. The four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard don’t encourage that open exploration and analysis, and that’s why we have the Mini-me problem.

I haven’t found a sensible and easy way to help departments and teams cascade the Balanced Scorecard in a way that’s sensible for them and truly aligned to the corporate direction. Instead, we use a more open approach called Results Mapping, which encourages them to start with a conversation about the corporate direction (or scorecard) and explore the question “How and where do our results and our processes most impact on the corporate direction?”

Two More Challenges…

In parts two and three of this series, I’ll discuss two more things I don’t like about the Balanced Scorecard, and suggest some tips for compensating for these challenges also.

TAKING ACTION:

Where are you trying to cascade the Balanced Scorecard? Is it making sense to the teams it is cascading to? Is there anything in their scorecard that isn’t really that important, or anything missing that actually is important? What questions are you asking to guide the way that strategy is cascaded in your organisation or company?

Thanks Stacy Barr.

pemikiran strategik (strategic thinking) skills for strategic leaders

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mbustaman-1078126-strategic-thinking-for-leaders/

GARIS PANDUAN MEMBINA PETUNJUK-PETUNJUK PRESTASI UTAMA / KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR (KPI) UNTUK SEKTOR AWAM

Introduction to strategic planning

INTRODUCTION TO

STRATEGIC PLANNING

INTRODUCTION

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. Warren Bennis

Your future begins with whatever is in your hands today. Mike Murdock

Stop looking at where you have been and start looking at where you are going. Mike Murdock

The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare. Bobby Knight

Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver. Mark Clement

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led. Warren Bennis

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Kenneth Blanchard

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. John Maxwell

The man who gets the most satisfactory results is not always the man with the most brilliant single mind, but rather the man who can best coordinate the brains and talents of his associates. W. Alton Jones

Luck is the residue of design. Branch Rickey

A leader takes people where they want to go.  A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. Rosalynn Carter

It isn't the incompetent who destroys an organization.  The incompetent never gets in a position to destroy it.  It is those who have achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up. F. M. Young

People and rubber bands have one thing in common: they must be stretched to be effective. John Maxwell

Too many people in leadership positions prepare to answer questions that nobody is asking. John Maxwell

The successful leader is the one who makes the right move at the right moment with the right motive.

INTRODUCTION STRATEGIC PLANNING

WHAT IS STRATEGIC PLANNING

Strategic planning is the process of operating the business education program by rationally determining where we are, describing our preferred future, and planning how and when we will get there together.  Strategic planning provides the means to monitor progress, track conditions, alter direction, modify processes, and respond to opportunities and challenges.  This tool is designed to guide business education program leaders through an efficient, effective process of program planning.  The desired result is to generate observable evidence that demonstrates the program is on-target, effective, and meets the needs of identified customers.

BUSINESS EDUCATION DIVISION POSITION STATEMENT

We recommend all business education instructors engage in an on-going program planning process.  Often it is easy to believe one is too busy to plan, there is no time in one's hectic schedule for quality planning, or there is little need for planning since everything is OK.  We must not let such meager excuses or unrealistic statements determine our actions.

We believe the opportunity for a program to exist in the future will directly correlate to the instructor's commitment to strategically plan for program success.  Because the stakes are high, the instructor cannot afford to avoid an organized planning process.  We encourage all business education instructors to use the following pages for this purpose.  Any staff member is available upon request to serve as process facilitator and to assist in the program planning process.

REASONS FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING

1)         Define the nature and direction of the business education program.

2)         Ensure decisions and activities necessary to operate the business education program are proactive and not reactive.

3)         Initiate and direct business education program performance toward achieving desired results.

4)         Improve the probability the business education program will achieve desired results and create a collaborative commitment to the plan for the business education program and joint responsibility for its successful execution.

BASIC STEPS IN STRATEGIC PLANNING

1)         Define the need for and the commitment to strategic planning for the business education program.

2)         Define the core values, the vision, and the mission for the business education program.

3)         Conduct a situation analysis of the current business education program.

4)         Establish goals, objectives, strategies, and action plans for the business education program.

5)         Implement action plans and facilitate achievement of the business education program.

BENEFITS OF A WRITTEN PLAN

1)         A written plan is a visual reminder for business education program partners of their commitment to the program.

2)         A written plan documents the efforts and ownership of the program partners.

3)         A written plan provides a common vocabulary and reference points in the program for the program partners.

4)         A written plan serves as a tool for communicating and implementing the business education program with partners and customers.

5)         A written plan shows all business education program partners are responsible for the program.

6)         A written plan provides a process for evaluating the performance of the program.

7)         A written plan establishes action steps to guide program implementation.

8)         A written plan opportunity to define and measure success.

9)         A written plan assists in setting funding and budget priorities.

HOW CAN STRATEGIC PLANNING IMPROVE THE SCHOOL.

1.)   It can become an effective way to look at the business education program as an integral part of the total school program.

2)         It can stimulate the development of appropriate program goals.

3)         It can be a powerful motivator of business education program partners.

4)         It can provide a framework for decision making.

5)         It can be used to establish performance measures to determine the effectiveness of the business education program.

6)         It can be used to identify opportunities for program partners and customers to contribute their talents and resources and give them a greater sense of participation and service in the business education program.

MISSION STATEMENT WORKSHEET

MISSION STATEMENT is a broad statement that answers three questions: 1) What products or services does the program provide?  2) Which customers does the program seek to satisfy?  3) Where does the program provide these products and services?

CHARACTERISTICS: A mission statement is concise (60 words or less).  A mission statement is unique.  A mission statement is broad but directed.  A mission statement must be supported by all program partners.  A mission statement establishes guidelines for reaching desired results.  A mission statement is consistent with the program core values.

 

1)         What does the business education program have to offer?

2)         Who does the business education program serve?

3)         What geographic areas do you want to impact with the business education program?

4)         List key words or phrases that should be included in the mission statement for the business education program.

5)         Write the mission statement.

6)         Test the mission statement written in Step 5.

A.        Does the mission statement describe what products and services are provided by the program?

B.        Does the mission statement describe the customers the program seeks to satisfy?

C.        Does the mission statement describe where the program provides the products and services?

D.        Is the mission statement concise?  (60 words or less)

E.         Does the mission statement establish useful limits for setting specific goals and objectives?

F.         Does implementing the mission statement, based on living the core values, lead to the fulfillment of the vision for the program?

                                             VISION STATEMENT WORKSHEET

VISION describes the preferred future for the program with respect to its structure, purpose, partners, customers, and its role in the total school program.

CHARACTERISTICS: A vision statement is imaginative and futuristic.  A vision statement preserves the best of what the program is today.  A vision statement is desirable and attainable and inspires performance.

1)         What would you want the business education program to be if you knew there were no constraints or limitations on available resources?

2)         How do you define success for the business education program?

3)         What difference should the business education program make?

4)         List key words or phrases that should be included in the vision statement for the business education program.

5)         Write the vision statement.

6)         Test the vision statement written in Step 5.

A.        Does the vision statement describe what the future will be like in the program?

B.        Does the vision statement create the preferred future for the program, regardless of the current reality?

C.        Does the vision statement preserves the best of what the program is today?

D.        Does the vision statement describe the ideal program?

E.         Does the vision statement inspire pride and the drive in program partners to realize the preferred future?

CORE VALUE STATEMENTS WORKSHEET

CORE VALUES are fundamental ethical, moral, and professional business beliefs.  These beliefs should guide business decisions.

CHARACTERISTICS: Core value statements describe the program's desired culture, management style, and methods of operation.  Core value statements are clear and meaningful to all program partners.  Core values are visible and can be demonstrated.  Core value statements are complementary.

1)         From the viewpoint of someone outside the business education program, what would they say are our core values?

2)         If you overheard people talking about the business education program, what would you want them to say?

3)         CORE VALUES and DEMONSTRATING ACTIONS

(Make two columns.  In the left column, identify existing core values you want to keep.  In the right column, identify actions that provide evidence of each core value.)

4)         Write core value statements.

5)         Test the core value statements written in Step 4.

A.        Do the core value statements describe the program's desired culture, management style, and methods of operation?

B.        Are the core value statements clear and meaningful to all program partners?

C.        Are the core values visible and can they be demonstrated?

D.        Are the core value statements complementary?  (Do not conflict with each other)

                                            SITUATION ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

SITUATION ANALYSIS is the process of determining where the program has been and where it is today.  It is the first step to identify the gap between the program's current situation and its preferred future.

CHARACTERISTICS: Situation analysis describes the program's past and present performance.  Situation analysis identifies factors critical to future success.  Situation analysis is a resource for making strategic decisions.

 1)        Describe the program niche. (What makes the program unique?  What makes the program a better value than its competition?)

 2)        What do students say about the program?  (How do you know?)

 3)        What do partners say about the program?   (How do you know?)

 4)        What do employers say about the program?  (How do you know?)

 5)        Provide evidence the program is meeting marketplace expectations.  (Does the program align with an industry credential or certification program?)

 6)        List program strengths.

 7)        List program weaknesses.

 8)        List program opportunities.

A.        Opportunities with instructional strategies.

B.        Opportunities with technology.

C.        Opportunities with school-based enterprises.

D.        Opportunities with business and industry partnerships.

E.         Opportunities with educational partnerships.

 9)        List program problems.

10)       List enrollment/follow up data.

A.        Number of students enrolled.

B.        Number of program completers.

C.        Number of students leaving the program prior to completing the program.

11)       Determine program results.

A.        What are the program completers doing?

B.        Are they successful?

C.        Did the business education program contribute to their success?

D.        In what ways did the business education program contribute to their success?

E.         What can be done to increase opportunities for student success in the business education program?

F.         Why do students leave prior to completing the business education program?

G.        What can be done to increase the probability they will stay to complete the business education program?

12)       List program partners.

A.        Who are the present partners in the business education program?

B.        Which necessary partners are not presently involved in the business education program?

C.        Why are they not involved?

D.        What strategies can be used to cause greater involvement by necessary partners in the business education program?

13)       Methods for marketing the business education program.

A.        What methods of marketing are presently being used to communicate with customers?

B.        Are those methods successful?

C.                                                                                                        How can they be improved?                                                           

                                                          GOALS WORKSHEET

GOALS are broadly-defined strategic positions or conditions which the business education program desires to reach to accomplish its mission.

CHARACTERISTICS: Goals begin the process of charting the course for the business education program to realize its vision in harmony with its mission.  Goals close the gap between the business education programs current reality and its preferred future.  Goals establish a framework for identifying objectives.  Goals are consistent with the business education program's mission.

1)         Describe the gap between the business education program current situation and its preferred future.

2)         Goals should address the most crucial, highest priority aspects of the business education program.  Identify the key result areas (niche) for the business education program.

___ customer satisfaction                                                      ___ instruction diversification

___ program innovation                                                         ___ acquisition of technology

___ program planning                                                            ___ enterprise development

___ partnership development                                                 ___ curriculum alignment

___ student recruitment                                                         ___ business involvement

___ articulation agreement                                                    ___ portfolio development

___ professional development                                   ___ industry endorsements

___ program marketing                                                          ___ parental involvement

___ student organizations                                                      ___ others

3)         Refer to the key result areas identified in Step 2.  How can the goals addressing the key result areas (niche) close the gap between the business education program's current reality and its preferred future (vision)?

4)         Write goals for the business education program.

5)         Test each goal written in Step 4 by answering the questions below.

A.        Is the goal consistent with the business education program core values?

B.        Will the goal contribute to realizing the preferred future (vision) for the business education program?

C.        Is the goal consistent with the mission?

D.        Was the goal determined in response to the situation analysis?

E.         Does the goal respond to an identified key result area (niche)?

F.         Does the goal build upon any of the business education program's strengths?

G.        Can the goal help to eliminate any of the business education program's weaknesses?

H.        Can the goal be accomplished in spite of any of the business education program's weaknesses?

I.          Will the goal help to realize any identified opportunities?

J.         Is the goal in response to any identified problems?

K.        Is the goal in response to any identified threats?

PLEASE NOTE: If the answer to any of the questions is No, then reconsider that goal and repeat Step 4 and Step 5.  If the answers are Yes, then accept the goal.

 

6)         What assumptions must be made to reach the goals?

                                                    OBJECTIVES WORKSHEET

OBJECTIVES are measurable statements of achievement that will lead to the accomplishment of a goal by explaining 1) what must be done and 2) when it must be done.

CHARACTERISTICS: Objectives direct the business education program toward the achievement of specific goals.  Objectives help to build ownership and accountability into the planning process.  Objectives define how the business education program's vision will be realized.  Well-written objectives demonstrate exactly how the business education program will reach its preferred future (vision) when communicated effectively.

1)         Write objectives for each of the goals for the business education program.

2)         Do the objectives meet the characteristics outlined below?

A.        Does this objective support a specific goal?

B.        Does it explain what must be done?

C.        Does it explain when it must be done?

D.        Is it measurable?

E.         Is the goal quantifiable? (dollars, quantities, quality, time, student success, customer satisfaction)

F.         Is the objective practical and achievable?

G.        Is the objective clear?

H.        Is the objective compatible with other organizational objectives?

                                                    STRATEGIES WORKSHEET

STRATEGIES are statements of how the business education program will deploy resources to accomplish the specific objectives.

CHARACTERISTICS: Strategies chart the new course of action, the new direction for the business education program.  Strategies focus resources on the greatest opportunity leading to accomplishment of the business education program's objectives.  Strategies ensure the business education program's future by leapfrogging competition, moving in new directions, and adapting to changing outside forces.

1)         Write strategies for each of the objectives for the business education program.

2)         Does the strategies meet the characteristics outlined below?

A.        Does the strategy upset the competitive relationship and reestablish it on a more favorable basis?

B.        Does the strategy involve the deliberate organized abandonment of certain activities in order to allocate resources to new, more significant opportunities?

C.        Does the strategy account for the strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities of the total program environment?

D.        Does the strategy maximize opportunities?

E.         Is the strategy identifiable to the persons who must carry it out?

PLEASE NOTE: Consider the following thoughts.  Starve yesterday's breadwinners, hold position on today's breadwinners, and push tomorrow's breadwinners.  Beware of specialities.  Watch for opportunities in the form of sleepers and push them when you find them.  Be objective and firm, let the chips fall where they may.  Run fast with success.  Build on strengths.  Repairing basic weaknesses can be extremely costly.  Strive to maximize opportunity rather than to minimize risk.

                                                  ACTION PLANS WORKSHEET

1)         Identify what must be done, by when, by whom, and what possible roadblocks are for each strategy.

2)         Review the action plans and consider the questions below.

A.        Are the steps in the appropriate sequence?

B.        Who is responsible for completing specific steps?

C.        Are the skills and other qualifications of the persons responsible appropriate for the strategy?

D.        Are they committed to the strategy?

E.         What resources are available for each action plan?

F.         Are the target dates realistic and achievable in view of day-to-day operations and other demands on time?

G.        Are there anticipated roadblocks, resistance, or negative side-effects to the action plan?  Can they be overcome or their impact minimized?

H.        How will results be measured?

I.          Who will evaluate results?

J.         What training is necessary to implement the action plan?

                          IMPLEMENTATION AND ACHIEVEMENT WORKSHEET

1)         Is the mission appropriate?

2)         Can the plan be implemented?

3)         Is the plan supported by everyone?

4)         Are the goals and objectives in order of priority?

5)         Do the action plans implement the strategies and assure the achievement of goals and objectives?

6)         Do we have benchmarks for checking progress?

7)         Are the relationships, authority, and accountability clear?

8)         Are communications and cooperation within the partnerships working well?

9)         Prepare an instructional plan.

10)       Develop an operating budget.

11)       Prepare a list of authorized expenditures and expenses to implement the action plans for the year.

12)       What meetings should be held to track the progress of the plan?

13)       Build commitment and accountability for the business education program.

A.        Communicate with business education program partners about the program.

B.        Educate business education program customers about the business education program.

C.        Plan to re plan.