How you can build acceptance and credibility as a strategic planner As a corporate strategist in a central function your success depends on the organizations cooperation. The key is that everybody slightly involved in strategy making has to accept you as the central instance. You have to build trust and credibility. In part 1 of […]
How to position yourself as the central corporate strategic planner – Part 1
Why credibility, trust and acceptance are the key success factors for the corporate strategic planner and why they are so hard to gain You’ve got the job of your dreams. Or: You’ve been assigned the task. Or: You’ve been struggling with this task for some time without any progress. You are responsible for your company’s […]
Why strategic plans fail
It is almost common sense that many strategic plans fail to deliver the expected results. Richard Marker, who has worked as a strategic planner in private and non-profit sectors, shares his own observations about this problem in his article Why Strategic Plans Fail.
Financial Modelling for strategic planning – Use these proven best practices to improve results and credibility!
For many strategists, self-developed Excel sheets are the tool of choice to support strategic planning. Despite its popularity, Excel and other spreadsheet programs have their downsides. I have discussed the pros and cons as well as some alternatives in an earlier article. However, by following a set of proven best practices, you can minimize these […]
Excel spreadsheets for strategic planning – use with care!
Are you one of those strategic planners who rely on Excel spreadsheets? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Excel is and remains fairly popular in strategic planning. However, there is no denying – Excel is not the perfect solution for this purpose. There are some significant risks and downsides. In this article, I discuss the […]
Management models and tools – what they can do and what they cannot do
Management models and tools – as the SWOT or the 7s-Model – are discussed controversially. Some people use them as important tools for analyzing businesses and developing strategies. Others call them “buzzwords”, used by consultants to boost their profile. The truth about the value of management models probably lies somewhere in between. So what should […]
Two ideas for improving strategic planning
This article has the objective to analyze and to discuss selected problems and barriers related to the strategic planning process. Those problems and barriers for a sound strategic planning process have been indentified in both the academic and the business literature.
When to develop strategic measures
Strategic measures serve to realize strategic objectives on corporate level or business unit level. They may comprise actions, projects, programs, and initiatives. As such, they have a medium to long-term impact on the business. Often they go hand in hand with significant investments and thus, bear significant risks. Hence, strategic measures should be based on […]