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Strategy
A business’s overall strategy defines its purpose for being, what it will do to achieve that purpose, and how it will perform these tasks. The long-term strategy begins with the organization’s vision, mission, and goals as codified within a long-range (5 – 10 year) strategic plan. Annual business plans translate the long-term strategy into projects, initiatives, and milestone goals that are more tangible to employees and for which distinct daily activities can be planned.
Developing a business strategy requires a measure of both art and science. Organization leaders must understand the various marketplace environments within which their business operates and balance the often competing factors of each to achieve an optimal solution representing a viable economic opportunity. As the marketplace changes, the balance achieved will become upset; presenting leaders with both opportunities and obstacles to future success and necessitating adjustment and possibly replacement of the business’s strategy.
Materials in the Strategy Topical Area are dedicated to discussing the principles of successful strategy formulation within the following forums:
- Strategic Planning
- Strategic Analysis
- Alternative Development
- Alternative Selection
- Resource Management
- Resource Projection
- Succession & Succession Planning
Execution
Operational execution represents the day-to-day realization of the organization’s business strategy; the physical manifestation of leadership’s decisions regarding what the organization will do and how those activities will be performed. To achieve real success, however, these activities must be implemented efficiently and effectively.
Efficient, effective execution minimizes operational costs thereby enhancing bottom line results. Efficient execution occurs when activities performed use the least amount of financial, personnel, material, equipment, and time resources possible. Effective execution occurs when the activities performed most directly support achievement of the organization’s goals and those activities not directly supporting goal achievement are minimized and, when possible, eliminated.
Based on materials developed by StrategyDriven’s business strategy execution consulting group, the Execution Topical Area is dedicated to discussing the principles of effective and efficient day-to-day implementation of the business’s strategy within the following forums:
- Tactical Execution
- Portfolio Management
- Project Management
- Human Performance Management
Monitoring
Surviving and thriving in today’s rapidly changing market requires organizational agility and the means to make rapid and sound decisions. Both of these activities require high quality and timely information on the performance of the internal organization and the many factors of its external market environment.
Performance monitoring involves the acquisition of important data followed by its consolidation and interpretation into useful information. It is from this information that leaders can identify internal performance improvement opportunities, monitor progress toward achieving goals, and identify marketplace shifts providing opportunities and threats to the organization.
Materials in the Monitoring Topical Area are dedicated to discussing the principles, best practices, and warning flags associated with effective internal and external monitoring programs within the following forums:
- Evaluation & Control Program
- Organizational Performance Measures
- Management Observation Program
- Business Performance Assessment Program
- Corrective Action Program
Management
The terms management and leadership are often used interchangeably and managers are frequently assumed to be leaders. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The function of the manager, and therefore the definition of management, is to direct or supervise the resources under his or her charge to the accomplishment of managed group’s assigned work. This occurs through assigning individual tasks, allocating non-personnel resources, setting performance standards, monitoring performance, providing reinforcing and corrective feedback, and making ongoing adjustments as needed to ensure the on-time and on-budget completion of the managed group’s work.
Leaders are individuals of impeccable character, unquestioned integrity, and unwavering selflessness that endear followers and inspire trust. They possess a clear and vivid vision that they communicate to others who subsequently choose to support achievement of the vision. Leaders motivate and inspire followers to achieve more individually and collectively. Leadership is a quality of the person and not a right of the position – anyone can be a leader.
Therefore, while a manager can also be a leader, a manager is not necessarily a leader. Likewise, leaders do not necessarily hold management positions.
Materials in the Management Topical Area are dedicated to discussing the principles of successful management and leadership within the following forums:
- Risk Management
- Change Management
- Business Communications
- Decision-Making
- Standards & Expectations
Values
Organizational values establish the boundaries of decision-making and the norms of individual behavior; profoundly impacting the way an organization conducts business. When admirable and commonly shared, values bind together the organization’s executives, managers, and employees; creating an engaging environment that outsiders will seek to join.
Successful organizations are replete with executives, managers, and employees that embody an honorable set of core beliefs in their decisions, actions, and words on a day-to-day, week-to-week, and year-to-year basis. They are uncompromising in their faithfulness to the organization’s values even at the risk of personal and financial cost. Within these organizations, values become self reinforcing between all employees.
The strength of the organization’s values are often evident by the codification of commonly held values within corporate policies and procedures, the superseding of corporate policies and procedures conflicting with ingrained values, the determining of rewards and recognition based on the corporate values, and the shaping of interactions between employees and with customers as defined by these beliefs. For better or for worse, values define the organization’s character and its behavior.
Materials in the Values Topical Area are dedicated to examining the principles, best practices, and warning flags associated with infusing the organization with praise-worthy beliefs that are reflected in executive and managerial decision-making and employee actions within the following forums:
- Organizational Accountability
- Corporate Cultures
- Diversity & Inclusion
Talent
When highly skilled and knowledgeable people give the full measure of their creativity, intellect, and effort to achieving the organization’s goals, truly remarkable organizational performance results. Thus, talented personnel are the lifeblood of every organization and it becomes imperative that these individuals be valued and respected, inspired and motivated while at the same time being managed effectively and efficiently.
Effectively managing personnel resources is both strategic and tactical. Strategically, leaders must ensure their organization employs a sufficient number of personnel with the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to perform the organization’s work. Tactically, executives and managers must continually motivate and develop their employees to ensure the organization is realizing the full measure of each contributors creativity, intellect, and talent while simultaneously preparing these individuals for the challenges of tomorrow.
StrategyDriven’s Talent articles focus on the programmatic methods that ensure the organization is properly staffed now and in the future as well as the leadership practices make employees feel valued and remain motivated to achieving the organization’s mission goals. These programmatic and leadership practices are divided into six topics:
Programmatic Topics
- Resource Management
- Resource Projection
- Succession & Succession Planning
- Talent Management
Leadership Practices
- Business Communications
- Diversity and Inclusion
Career
The StrategyDriven Professional establishes a clear personal vision, embodies inspiring values, and aggressively strives to achieve his or her goals. This commitment to excellence is reflected in the professional’s every decision and action; enabling him or her to outperform those others not so committed.
Today’s highly competitive marketplace demands continued personal performance improvement in order for professionals to remain viable and accelerated improvement to move ahead. Add in the exponential growth in available data and the vast number of global newcomers and it becomes easy to understand why all professionals feel overwhelmed.
StrategyDriven’s personal performance improvement materials help relieve some of this stress by providing field tested methods and hard won insights that are immediately actionable to help improve individual performance effectiveness. These behavioral and mechanical performance improvement tools are divided into three forums:
- Professional Development
- Leadership Lessons from the United States Naval Academy
- Practices for Professionals
Business Programs