Strategic planning involves the development of actions that support the achievement of a corporate goal. The corporate goals must be defined first, and the strategic plan becomes the "how to" manual to achieve the goals. Business schools make strategic planning more complicated than it is. If you understand these 8 tools, you've mostly mastered the subject: PEST … [Read more...]
When I was a middle manager, I saw many goals that ended up as roadkill on the business superhighway. Whatever the flavor of the year was, that's what was reflected in the business goals. Things like: reducing dependence on one client, diversifying our service offerings, and others made the rounds through our business units. One year our vice president even said … [Read more...]
In this article, we will take a leisurely stroll through the strategic planning process. This includes the model most used in textbooks and courses on corporate strategy. The strategic planning process consists of the following steps: Vision Statement Mission Statement Corporate Goals Corporate Strategy Metrics Vision Statement A vision statement is a … [Read more...]
Value Chain analysis is a process improvement methodology developed by Michael Porter of Harvard Business School in the 1980's. It is a part of the field of strategic analysis. The "value chain" refers to the process of creating value throughout each step of of the business chain. For example, An exploration company creates value by discovering iron ore in a mound … [Read more...]
The Balanced Scorecard is a system for the implementation of corporate strategy. It is a performance measurement tool that helps an organization execute its strategies and turn them into measurable results "on the ground." In its practical form, a balanced scorecard is a 4-quadrant itemized list of key performance indicators (KPI's) that the organization strives to … [Read more...]
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are clear, specific metrics that measure an organization's progress toward a corporate goal. They generally have a time component, because they track the execution of a corporate strategy. They are the "scorecard" part of a balanced scorecard. To develop KPI's, it helps to divide them into three … [Read more...]
Corporate Strategy refers to the methods with which an organization achieves its goals. In the world of corporate strategy, the development of strategy is the third in a three step process, in this order: Corporate vision defines the state the organization wants to be in over the long term. Corporate goals define the metrics to which the company wishes to strive, … [Read more...]
DMAIC (pronouned "Demayik") is an acronym from Six Sigma methodology that stands for: Define Measure Analyze Improve Control It is the road map for project managers to improve existing work processes. If there are any methods or practices that could use improvement at your company, DMAIC is the ticket to superstardom at your organization. Define When a … [Read more...]
A force field analysis is a decision making tool which clarifies the advantages and disadvantages of making a decision. It is an important tool for project managers and executives, and basically anyone who needs to get a firm grasp of the underlying issues before making a big decision. It's pretty basic. In fact, it's so simple you might wonder why it has a … [Read more...]
Six Sigma is the latest buzzword in project quality management circles. If you're not quite sure what it all means, or what the result is, here are 10 facts about Six Sigma: Six Sigma can be implemented in individual business units, rather than the whole firm. Ideally Six Sigma is company wide and integrated into existing systems. The quantitative, metric driven … [Read more...]
