What Would We Do If…

Aug 22, 2023 | Leadership Development

I recently had the opportunity to co-facilitate a client’s exercise on stress testing their business continuity plan. It was also an opportunity for me to reiterate the importance of strong Stage 1 and Stage 2 leadership skills with these leaders. This client’s business continuity plan is in draft, so the exercise was important to not only identify gaps in the draft plan, but to also test the various teams’ ability to jump to the proposed course of action or to develop another solution if the...

Stop Boring Strategic Plan Updates

Nov 22, 2022 | Strategic Planning

An association executive director asked during a recent coaching conversation, “Am I doing something wrong, or why are the strategic plan review meetings I hold with my senior staff so boring? My Director of Operations said yesterday, ‘It feels as if all we’re doing is tracking stuff so we can mark it off this master plan.’ You know what? She’s right. That’s exactly what it feels like.” Well I wish I could say I was stunned by his revelation, but I wasn’t. Because, tracking strategic plans...

Create a Better Work Environment – Redeploy Your Talent

Feb 22, 2022 | Leadership Development, Strategic Planning

I try to notice trends in what my clients are facing. Last week presented a trend I couldn’t help but notice: Three of my clients were tired, frustrated, and struggling to please customers’ shifting and very challenging demands. My clients weren’t happy. Their team members weren’t happy. Their customers weren’t happy. No matter what my clients tried to do to please their challenging customers, it wasn’t enough. My clients’ team members were burning out. Team members were starting to...

Buying a Business? Don’t Overlook the Soft-Skills

May 18, 2021 | Strategic Planning

Because of the ‘shake-out’ that’s occurred with our economy over the past year, there are more companies than ever looking to sell, and therefore, more opportunities to buy. If you’re like a few of my clients, smart acquisitions are part of your strategic plan. However, as you identify criteria your ideal targeted acquisition candidates need to have (i.e., revenues, margins, location, equipment, staff, etc.), consider two 'soft-skills' items that can make or break a successful...

Are Your Customers Outgrowing You?

Apr 16, 2019 | Strategic Planning

Hmmm. Another customer just selected a competitor for their next project. That’s the third time that’s happened this quarter. Like the others, you thought you’d worked well with the customer. So why didn’t this customer choose you again? It must be the new CFO that joined their company last year. She’s probably forcing them to use new vendors. She obviously doesn’t care about maintaining successful working relationships. It’s obvious she only cares about saving money and not the value of...