Bureaucracy is the force in direct opposition to emergent intelligence. Fostering creative flow means constantly battling bureaucratic “creep.” Bureaucracy begins because a manager feels he or she has to exert control over something. So a “checkpoint” is installed to monitor the quality of a particular decision – say a customer service decision that has minor …
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From the board of directors, CEO, and the executive team on down, it is essential for every person within an organization to have clearly defined roles. That sounds like a basic concept, doesn’t it? So why do so many businesses or organizations get bogged down in bureaucracy when it comes to decision making? It’s because …
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Many managers think they’re doing the right thing by building controls, metrics, checkpoints, and redundancies. In their view, rules are needed to control human behavior and reduce risk. But let’s take a lesson from ant colonies. One rule of ants is that everyone but the queen is a multi-tasker. A second rule is: “Do what …
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This tool lists five keys to organizational strategy based on research into what successful leaders do. Leaders can use this as a checklist to make sure they have considered all the crucial questions in building and managing their business. The Five Keys 1. The business domain is clearly defined – in terms of the customer’s …
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This tool shows how to define a competitive strategy that will distinguish you from your competitors and enable your company to win and maintain market share. It employs a multi-step process that asks leaders to answer a logical series of questions related to the competition. Among other things, it results in an analysis of potential …
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This article describes the characteristics of strategic thinking and planning. It lays out a series of strategic questions, recommendations, and strategic options. It shows the traps to avoid. We recommend this as an excellent guide to all strategic planning processes. Introduction to Strategic Thinking If you want to think strategically, we advise that you start …
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The Nine Types of Strategy is an excellent tool I developed 25 years ago that remains as true today as it was then in describing the different ways organizations can conceive of business strategy. When tipping points or catalytic moments arise in an industry, or a competitor has gained significant advantage by being first to …
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Here’s the text of an email I sent today to the president of the Board of Directors of a non-profit. I think it speaks to how to do streamlined strategic planning for a non-profit. “Hi, Meg – The best way to make this process go expeditiously is to prepare a draft plan for the Board …
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