Why do your customers choose you over your competitors? What is it that makes you stand out in your industry? Let’s look at sustainable competitive advantage – understanding what yours is and how it positions your business in the marketplace. “A firm is said to have a...
Founded by David Norton and Robert Kaplan, The Balanced Scorecard Management System has been heralded as a transformational business tool for the past 20 years. The short version? The Balanced Scorecard management system essentially ties day-to-day activities or short-term actions to long-term strategic objectives. The approach...
[read time: 3 mins] Motivation and inspiration are closely connected to doing meaningful work. For most people, doing meaningful work translates into achieving something either on a personal, local or global level that makes a difference. As business leaders, part of our job is to provide...
This is the time of year when many businesses are deep into strategic planning. It’s the perfect time to talk about the missing piece of the strategy puzzle: execution. The more time you spend focused on strategic planning the more you will start to notice a...
As you start to develop your business strategy for the new year, look at all of the factors that can support it, one of which you might not have linked directly to your strategic initiatives in past years: your company culture. Strategy and culture both affect...
There is no “right” strategic planning methodology that works for every company or organization. In fact, using a blended approach to create a customized methodology will likely yield the best planning framework for you and your company. The question becomes, “Where do I start?” There have...
In the last two decades, efforts to meet the challenge of reducing the complexity of strategic planning brought about two new approaches: The Balanced Scorecard by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish in 2002. Both approaches simplify complex plans...
The conversation normally begins like this, “We’ve tried strategic planning in the past but somehow it allows seems to fall by the way side. No matter what method we try, the same result occurs. What are we missing?” From it's military genesis to strategic planning as...
Ten tips for leading businesses in turbulent times There’s no denying these are turbulent times. But there are things that you can do to lead your team and your company to success against the odds. Here are the top 10 things that you can start doing today...
At ViRTUS our Wildly Courageous Decision (WCD) is to become the Apple of the consulting world. I've been asked numerous times to go into more detail about the process of defining a WCD. First off, the Wildly Courageous Decision is actually a blend of two different...