Strategic Framing » consultants

Strategic Planning during an Economic Downturn

admin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:12:28 +0000

It is difficult to put resources into strategic planning when faced with a difficult business environment. When everyone is running faster just to meet their end of year goals, it is hard to justify pulling senior decision-makers out of the game to spend time on long-term planning.

The strategic checkup with implementation follow through is a great option. This is the two minute drill of strategic planning. Find a single day (perhaps on a weekend) and gather your key decision makers together for a disciplined look at the next 1, 3, or 5 years. The trick is to keep it short but commit to the follow through. Too many off-site planning sessions become wasted time after the fact when nothing ever comes of the ideas. At DSI, we offer a process to keep the off-site meeting on task and interesting but we also have the expertise to help you design the implementation once the decision makers go back to their jobs putting out fires.

In the following video, John Austin describes how a strategic check-up can be an ideal approach to corporate planning during economic downturns.

Scenario Planning – Output from a strategic planning process

admin — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:30:18 +0000

Scenario planning has a number of outcomes. As a strategic planning process, it generates a level of creativity that can help a senior team get beyond the obvious, predictable, tired strategies being pursued by all their competitors.

Like any strategic planning process, scenario planning is only as good as the follow through. What is done with the strategy plannng outcome? How is the resultant strategy implemented?

We’ve found value in using an options-based implementation strategy as a path forward from the planning process. In addition, the options approach creates excellent opportunities for leadership development when combined with a change leadership cohort of key executives or high potential employees. I’ve always found my work coaching such cohorts immensely satisfying.

Scenario planning also creates rich insight that can be used as the basis for ‘conversation starter’ articles. Scenarios can spark new thinking by creating vivid stories of possible futures.

One example of such an output is the Scenarios for Credit Unions report DSI completed. This report is a great example of the kind of output our consultants can generate at the end of a scenario planning process.

For more on scenario planning see:

1. Scenario planning in finance
2. Implementing scenario planning in your organization
3. Interesting output from 1997 scenario planning exercise

About Decision Strategies International

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:46:35 +0000

Decision Strategies International provides services designed to improve organizational strategic aptitude. We do this through a unique combination of education, consulting, and monitoring.

DSI faculty and consultants are recognized thought leaders in the areas of adaptive strategic planning, managing in uncertain environments, innovation, scenario planning, decision making, leading change.

DSI clients include over 60 Fortune 500 companies and companies from all points on the globe. We have offices in the US and Europe and clients on six continents.

Our combination of services enables us to identify and improve strategic aptitude in the manner appropriate for the client.

Our executive development team combines deep academic experience with extensive industry experience.

Our consulting team combines deep process expertise with an impressive scope of industry experience.

In partnership with Strategic Radar, DSI helps companies continuously monitor their environment and stress test their strategic actions.

Contact us with your needs and we will be glad to help your organization prepare for, and thrive in, an uncertain future.

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