StrategyDriven

Welcome to StrategyDriven, the website dedicated to providing executives and managers with the planning and execution tools needed to create greater organizational alignment and accountability for achievement of superior results.

We believe creation of a clear, forward-looking strategy, translatable to the day-to-day activities of all organization members, is critical to realizing success in today’s fast paced market environment.  Not only does a compelling, well executed strategy align individuals to a common purpose, it ensures that purpose best serves the company’s mission.

On the StrategyDriven website, you’ll find whitepapers, models, templates, process flows, and discussion forums related to the programs and activities necessary to create and execute your organization’s vision of success.  Complementing these resources is The Accountable Organization Podcast, focused on the subset of programs and activities directed at shaping the organization’s behavior toward the continuous pursuit of excellence and mission accomplishment.

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“A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”

Project Management Body of Knowledge
Third Edition
Project Management Institute

To many, project management represents their worst nightmare. The mere mention of the term conjures images of bloated bureaucracies, large consultant-laden teams, and endless meetings where decisions are seldom made and status is often reported as being behind. Executed properly, project management can be an effective tool for aligning the organization to the successful implementation of simple and complex initiatives.

An art and a science, project management is most effective when implemented with a rigor correlated to the scope and complexity of the work to be performed. Regardless of intensity, the management of projects consists of five phases:

• Initiate - initial, high-level project definition and authorization
• Plan - project scope refinement and approval; task identification and sequencing; resource to task allocation; schedule development; project cost estimation and budget development; project plan creation and baselining
• Execute - project plan execution
• Evaluate and Control - project plan execution performance monitoring and reporting; project scope and plan change control; project risk management
• Close - final project activity documentation; financial closeout; overall project performance assessment and lessons learned development; product evaluation; project administrative closure

Posts in this category are dedicated to discussing the leading practices of companies effectively managing projects for the efficient achievement of mission goals. Additionally, all project management information presented will be aligned with, compliment, and expound on the project management processes described by the Project Management Institute’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge.

Additional Resources

To supplement the project management information found on the StrategyDriven website, our contributors recommend the Project Management Institute’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides). This book is a complete process reference covering all aspects of project management including:

• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Quality Management
• Project Human Resource Management
• Project Communications Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement management

Popularity: 34% [?]

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank our listeners for helping us achieve the third place ranking from among the over 2100 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley in July! Your support propelled us, for the second time in as many months, into the Top 100 of the over 44,000 podcasts representing all categories listed on Podcast Alley.

Each week, co-hosts Nathan Ives and Howard Dickens present a richer and deeper exploration of the principle, best practice, and warning flag posts found on the StrategyDriven website. Their discussions identify benefits, define implementation methods, and provide examples to help leaders increase alignment and heighten accountability within their organizations.

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. With your support, our community of listeners and readers has grown tremendously in the past several months. Please help us continue to grow by recommending the StrategyDriven Podcast to family, friends, and colleagues who you believe will benefit from listening.

Additionally, please consider voting for us monthly on Podcast Alley by clicking here. Casting your vote for the StrategyDriven Podcast improves our monthly ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, grows our community.

Thank you again for listening to and voting for the StrategyDriven Podcast !

Popularity: 30% [?]

The StrategyDriven family is proud to introduce Lucas D. Ives as our newest contributing author!

Lucas is a dynamic facilitator and training consultant who excels at creating and delivering captivating training material geared to the business professional. He currently serves as a Consultant for Verizon Wireless where he designs curricula used by specialized wireless technicians as well as thousands of customer-facing service professionals. His experience ranges from highly technical operations and troubleshooting manuals to trainings on customer service skills and professionalism.

As a Consultant, Lucas has drawn on his exceptional skills of negotiation, collaborating with project leaders, vendors, and manufacturers to design exceptional training curricula. He has built and maintained constructive relationships with company leadership, resource management and quality teams to ensure productivity of the development and training teams to which he belongs.

Prior to consulting, Lucas served the Wireless Data Technical Support department as Senior Trainer. In this role he earned the 2006 Training Team Leadership Award, as well as the highest possible level of every certification offered, some of which include:

• Achieve Global, Stellar Service
• The GIFTed Trainer, Customer Focus Inc.
• WDTS Foundation Training
• Initial Wireless

Lucas graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree and has earned several certifications in training and adult learning theory. He is a member of the American Society of Training and Development.

Popularity: 35% [?]

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank our listeners for helping us achieve the second place ranking from among the over 2000 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley in June!  Your support also propelled us, for the first time, into the Top 100 of the over 42,000 podcasts representing all categories listed on Podcast Alley.

Each week, co-hosts Nathan Ives and Howard Dickens present a richer and deeper exploration of the principle, best practice, and warning flag posts found on the StrategyDriven website. Their discussions identify benefits, define implementation methods, and provide examples to help leaders increase alignment and heighten accountability within their organizations.

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. With your support, our community of listeners and readers has grown tremendously in the past several months. Please help us continue to grow by recommending the StrategyDriven Podcast to family, friends, and colleagues who you believe will benefit from listening.

Additionally, please consider voting for us monthly on Podcast Alley by clicking here. Casting your vote for the StrategyDriven Podcast improves our monthly ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, grows our community.

Thank you again for listening to and voting for the StrategyDriven Podcast !

Popularity: 41% [?]