Category: Strategy

The Annual Reset: Your Comprehensive Guide to Annual Planning

Avid sports fans start every season full of optimism about their team’s prospects, regardless of the previous season’s results. Cleveland Indians fans, despite a championship drought of 72 years, believe each baseball season brings an opportunity to win the World Series. And during their epic run of eight consecutive NBA titles from 1959 to 1966, the Boston Celtics were always working to one-up their previous season’s achievements. 

While business is not a game, it still has a “season” – the calendar year from January to December. Like a sports team, the beginning of each new year is a psychological reset for leaders and team members. It’s a time to reflect on past performance and plan adjustments to improve in the upcoming year. 

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What’s the Score? Is Your Organization Winning or Losing?

When we think about sports, we typically imagine feelings associated with fierce competition: the joy of winning and the agony of defeat. However, organized sports are a great case study to learn basic business principles. Many of these concepts apply to our organizations and they can dramatically contribute to achieving our goals.

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Actionable Strategies for a Remote Workforce Due to COVID-19

Leaders define themselves in difficult times, and we are experiencing difficult times like no other. COVID-19 is a severe threat, and I support public officials who are taking the necessary steps to avoid a catastrophic loss of life. Unfortunately, that means business leaders must manage the impacts of social-distancing – a new concept that is negatively impacting almost all businesses.

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Follow The Money – The Changing Demographics of the United States

“Follow the money” was made popular by the movie, “All The President’s Men.” The 1976 motion picture told the story of the Watergate scandal and President Nixon’s ultimate demise. Today, many investigations and political debates invoke this catchphrase. But the concept is also useful for thinking about your organization’s strategy. A crticial and often overlooked element of the target audience is their ability to purchase your product or service. Several imminent changes to the demographics of the U.S. may significantly impact your target audience.

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Recruiting Team Members During Full Employment

Business leaders enjoy the rising tide of a hot economy, but it also comes with unique challenges, including inflationary prices and a tight labor market. We are in the midst of the third-longest sustained expansion in the history of the U.S. economy. But we are also seeing dramatic demographic changes that are creating a shortage of skilled workers to hire.

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