Tag Archives: strategic planning

An Innovation Lesson: How a Snarling Dog Saved American Airlines Money

A story about Robert Crandall, the legendary former chairman of American Airlines, demonstrates how creative thinking can simplify operations and reduce costs.

Crandall visited each AA location annually and discovered that a low-traffic Caribbean cargo warehouse employed an expensive night watchman to deter theft.  Crandall suggested reducing the watchman to just three nights a week (the thieves wouldn’t know). A year later, with no theft, Crandall suggested further cost savings.

Crandall ordered that “Vicious Dog” signs are prominently placed around the facility, and they found the meanest and scariest dog to patrol inside the facility.  Months later, after no theft attempts, they put the dog on part-time duty.

But times were tough for the airline, and more budget cuts were needed. Crandall then instructed that the dog not is fed for a day to make him mean, then had staff tape-record the snarling animal. The dog was laid off after the recording was hooked to speakers and put on a random timer so that thieves would be fooled into thinking a vicious dog was still patrolling the warehouse.

And it worked!

How can you adapt this concept to your own situation?

Start by asking “what is the purpose of any system or process”, then look for better, cheaper, simpler ways to accomplish that objective.

In Crandall’s case, there were superior ways to deter potential robbers.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of habit, and continue doing things the current way, without periodically searching for better ways to achieve the essential purpose the process is designed to achieve.

Give this a whirl:  First, make a list of the top three time-consuming or resource-intensive processes in your business. Second, pinpoint the essential purpose of each, the “why” we are doing this. Third, identify at least three alternative approaches or simplifications to achieve the purpose in a better way. And finally, put the best ideas into action.

But please, reject any approaches that require you to starve and snarl your dog.

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Terry Schmidt is a business strategist and author of Strategic Project Management Made Simple, and chief honcho at ManagementPro.com. He helps people of all backgrounds to develop Project Super Hero skills that transform their ability to get great results faster and smoother. Learn how here.

How would YOU have managed the risky project to rescue the Thai soccer team trapped deep in a cold dark cave?

The amazingly good news is that it’s over…. 12 “Wild Boar” Thai children and their coach were all rescued alive after being trapped two weeks in a cold dark cave 6 kilometers deep.

It was a mission feared impossible, as divers navigated tight passages of sharp rocks, weighed down by bulky equipment and guiding weak kids who had never swum before.

Now imagine that you were given this project to manage (along with a translator) . How would you pull off such a complex, urgent, risky, life-or-death project for which there was no advance preparation or warning?

What systems and structures would you set up to coordinate the multiple agencies and over 1000 people from 7 countries who were eventually involved — Thai Seals, cave experts, doctors, cooks, military, and others?

In the comments, identify the top 5 steps you would take to initiate and plan this critical, never-been-done before project.

18 Transformational Questions for your Mid-Year Career and Life Review

The great Mark Twain reminds us that we should take our brains out once in a while and stomp on them because they get all caked up. Let’s stomp!

I’m a firm believer in the value of asking brain-shaking questions at least twice a year.  Since the first half of 2018 is history, now is a great time to ponder the following 18 questions… half reflect back on the months past, and half look ahead.

Relish these questions, add more, journal answers to them on your own, or share with others.

Reviewing the past six months….

  1. What has been the very best thing about this year so far for you?
  2. What new skills or talents did you discover in yourself?
  3. What projects made you feel most alive and why?
  4. What are the greatest family experiences you enjoyed?
  5. What work contributions do you feel most proud of?
  6. What did you do that most contribute to your personal mission and vision?
  7. What’s the most meaningful thing you did for the three people you love the most?
  8. What was the biggest risk you took and how did it turn out?
  9. What obsolete goals are you willing to let go of now?

Fast-forwarding the next six months…

  1. If you could write one news headline about you and make it come true, what would it be?
  2. What will be your number one focus during these next six months?
  3. What would you have to believe about yourself to make the coming months your best ever?
  4. What limiting beliefs would be useful to drop?
  5. What new or neglected old hobby would you like to experience?
  6. What are three ways you can work more productively while reducing frustration and stress?
  7. How will you help others to be more successful?
  8. What BHAP (“Big Hairy Audacious Project”) could you create that would transform your team or company?
  9. What “Super Hero skills” would accelerate your success?

Now, with fresh insights bubbling in your brain, identify some transformative action items. Get moving, so that the last half of 2018 is your most enjoyable, productive, and loving season of your life.

To learn the 4 Cornerstone Questions that result in transformational projects in work and life, click here to register for my one hour Project Super Power System training at no cost.

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Terry Schmidt is a business strategist, keynoter, author of Strategic Project Management Made Simple, and chief honcho at ManagementPro.com. He helps leaders at all levels to develop the skill set and mindset to accomplish outstanding results.

The #1 Preventable Reason Projects Fail Before they even Begin is…

Hopefully, something like this has never happened to you.

The big boss assigns you what could be a career make or break a project and asks for a plan on her desk in three days. The project is bigger than those you’ve done before and outside your mainstream expertise. You begin by jotting down some action items, then you walk the halls getting input from colleagues and put together a big task list.

You crank up your project software, put in the tasks, add a timeline, hit PRINT and voila, out comes a beautifully formatted Gantt chart. Mission accomplished!

You send it to the boss and get back an email saying “see me in ten minutes.” You walk into her office, expecting praise for producing such excellent work so quickly. But the look on her face spells trouble.

“What the heck is this? I asked for a PLAN, what you gave me is a SCHEDULE. This is just a big FAT to-do list. I don’t need glorified list makers, I need strategic thinkers!”

Guess what — you’ve just fallen into the dreaded FATTrap.

The impact of falling into the FATTrap is predictable — your project gets FRIED. Maybe your career gets fried as well.

Here are some indicators your plan suffers from the FATTrap syndrome:

  • Lots of tasks, but no clear connection between tasks and the deliverables they should produce.
  • Fuzzy deliverables – no clarity on what “done good enough” looks like
  • No distinction between the project being COMPLETE (deliverables in place) and the project being SUCCESSFUL (changed conditions resulting from deliverables)
  • Confusion in implementation, fingerpointing, delay, and wasted resources.

Look, it’s easy to fall into the FATTrap. It’s our default planning approach due to time pressure and lack of a simple planning language that gets everyone on the same page quickly. We want to get the plan done ASAP, get it off our plates, move onto something else.

And there is nothing wrong with task lists and Gantt charts – we need them for implementation. The problem is when they are developed out of sequence – before we have a clear understanding of the causal connections from activities to deliverables to the goals.

Gantt charts and other action plans answer the question How Do We Get There?, but skip over the 3 Cornerstone questions that MUST be answered first.

Give your projects a fighting chance for success. Become a Project Super Hero with a reputation for delivering project results, not excuses. Plan them right – from the start.

To learn the 4 Cornerstone Questions that eliminate the FATTrap and result in bullet-proof project plans, click here to register for my one hour Project Super Power System training at no cost.

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Terry Schmidt is a business strategist, keynoter, author of Strategic Project Management Made Simple, and chief honcho at ManagementPro.com. He helps leaders at all levels to develop the skill set and mindset to accomplish outstanding results.

A to Z Tips for Strategic Thinkers and Planners

I just finished teaching Strategic Thinking and Planning for Leaders at UCLA Extension’s Technical Management Program. I’ve now taught this esteemed one-week program twice a year for over 30 years. This time around, the smart geeks and leaders in my course challenged me to capture my key teaching points using the alphabet.

These tips will serve anyone engaged in developing or updating strategic and annual business plans.

Remember that the purpose of planning is to take Action. Turn your analysis and insights into actionable recommendations.

Take a fresh look at your Business Model and adjust as necessary to remain relevant.  Avoid disruption by reinventing or refinishing how you create value.

Decide how to Communicate the results to others with a need to know. My clients most frequent complaint share is that the strategies are not communicated or clear.

Strategic thinking requires making Decisions about resources priorities, and ways to achieve the vision and goals. But deciding what not to do is equally important.

Conduct an Environmental Scan to inform the team of what’s changing in the world that affects you. Don’t get blindsided by a predictable trend or change factor that could have been anticipated.

Focus your strategy on what the organization does well. Avoid getting distracted by bright shiny objects that steer away from core competencies.

Set meaningful and measurable Goals. Follow this sequence: goals, first strategies to achieve them next, followed by projects.

Keep things Honest. Don’t let anyone highjack the process for political gain.

Work from an Issues list. Engage leaders by addressing the hot button concerns that keep them up at night.

Be able to Justify the major decisions. Use objective criteria for deciding among alternatives, not force of personality.

Establish a common base of Knowledge on strategic planning best practices. Getting all key players to use the same planning language and model boosts effectiveness.

Explore Learnings during the former period. Identify the good, the bad, and the ugly and apply those lessons learned.

Refine Measures and monitor the handful of indicators that move the needle toward goals.  Keep the dashboard simple.

Look at the Numbers and understand what they mean. If you grow by 10% but the market increase by 20%, you are slipping behind.

Search for unexploited Opportunities that are ripe for the picking.   Low-hanging fruit often hides behind leaves due for pruning.

Turn decisions into executable PROJECTS and build teams around them. The Logical Framework Approach works wonders for.

Ask fresh Questions, those that barrier provoke busting answers like. Here are the questions must-ask.

Reviews past results. Evaluate both how well the strategies worked, as well as the planning/execution process, itself so there is continuous system improvement.

Get buy-in from key Stakeholders. Get key stakeholders, those people involved with, concerned about, or affected by the results. Solicit their input because people support what they help create.

Identify emerging Threats as part of the SWOT analysis. Surface them with a well-done environmental scan and develop counter measures.

Aim for shared Understanding of the plan and what it means. Find ways to communicate it to others in a way they comprehend.

Revisit the Vision statement and tweak as needed. Turn fluffy statements into management tools by establishing indicators and measures that reflect progress.

Tap into the greater Wisdom of the organization by engaging front-line and mid-level folks provide input. You’ll need their support to implement.

To keep folks entertained, bring lots of Xylophones to play during breaks. (OK – just kidding, X’s are hard. Okay, got one) Use X-Ray vision to delve deeply into topics that matter and discover patterns and solutions.

Maintain a Yearly planning calendar, with periodic updates scheduled in advance. Roll your plan forward in a continuing cadence.

Sprinkle Zest into the process.  Make your live planning workshops engaging, and stimulating through active facilitation, boundary-stretching and surprises.


Need help customizing your strategic planning approach?   Give me a shout and we will discuss how to make it soar.

 

Strategies Gone Stale? Keep Yours Forever Fresh and Get Great Results!

Like home-baked bread, strategies deteriorate with time. Since they aren’t labeled with expiration dates, astute managers periodically review and update their strategies and plans to keep them fresh.

To help you get started, I’ll share a simple model I’ve developed for my clients that reflect the -THINK-PLAN-ACT themes of the Association for Strategic Planning. Each theme features several steps, broken down in a way that makes it flexible and modular. This process scales to work at an enterprise level, business unit, department, group, or other entity.

Getting the right answers requires asking the right questions. Below you’ll find provocative questions for each step that are often ignored, taken for granted, or assumed without verification.  Give your team the gift of organization clarity and performance excellence, starting with these trigger questions.

1. Assess the Situation

  • What’s motivating this plan now?
  • What are the important issues to include?
  • Do we have the right conditions to proceed now?
  • What’s the downside of not planning now?
  • Who do we need to get started?
  • Who owns the project and who else cares?

2. Organize and Guide the Initiative.

  • What is the scope and time frame of this initiative?
  • What’s our system of interest (team, department, business unit)?
  • Who should be involved?
  • What does success look like and who/how will measure it?
  • What methodology should we use?
  • What information do we need to proceed?
  • What obstacles might we face and how would we overcome them?
  • What’s our overall game plan and next steps?

3. Conduct an External Assessment.

  • What’s changing that affects us?
  • What environmental events, trends, and dynamics do we need to pay particular attention to?
  • What potential business model disruptors might emerge?
  • What is the structure of our industry and how is it changing?
  • How can we prepare for different alternative futures?
  • What specific environmental information do we need to make informed choices and how do we get it?

4. Position for the Future.

  • Where do we want to be in the future (3, 5 and 10 years)?
  • What are our customer value proposition and competitive positioning?
  • What’s our desired positioning in the customers mind?
  • What’s better or different about us, compared with the competition, in the eyes of the customer?
  • How do we anticipate that our company will be different then?
  • What are our current vision/mission statements and how should they evolve?

5. Conduct an Internal Assessment.

  • What limitations would our competitors or detractors point to?
  • How can we leverage our strengths and reduce weaknesses?
  • What do our core competencies equip us to do exceptionally well?
  • What is working and what isn’t?
  • What is the current state of the work environment (culture)?
  • How satisfied are our employees and other stakeholders?
  • What are our core values and how well do we “walk the talk”?

6. Assess Current & Potential Customers.

  • Who are our current key customers and how well do we serve them?
  • What do our primary customers value, need and expect from us?
  • Why do these customers do business with us?
  • Are these the right customers?
  • Should we drop certain segments and go after others?
  • How are our customers’ business environments changing, and what are the implications for serving them well?

7. Develop the Strategy & Plans

  • What’s our current business strategy and how well is it working?
  • What are our major goals and how will we get there?
  • Does our current structure align with the strategy?
  • What are the constraints and limitations as we consider strategic alternatives?
  • How should we measure success and what should we track?
  • What are the resource implications of the selected strategies?
  • What initiatives, programs, and projects does our strategy translate into?

8. Turn Strategy into Action Initiatives

  • How do we get projects these off the ground smoothly and effectively?
  • What resources will be needed/are available to execute the strategy?
  • How do we time-phase these new initiatives?
  • What change management structures/processes are needed to support execution?
  • How should strategy progress be measured and performance progress reported?

9. Monitor & Evaluate

  • What’s the best way to track progress and who does this?
  • What processes do we need?
  • What additional temporary structures (e.g., task forces and review boards) need to be put in place to guide implementation?
  • How and when will we conduct periodic reviews?

10. Learn & Improve

  • What have we learned over the last period regarding progress in achieving our goals?
  • How well is the strategy being executed?
  • What happened compared to expectations?
  • What worked well and what didn’t work so well?
  • What have we learned about our strategic planning process/structure and how can it be improved in the next time cycle?

 If you’ve to see the value in this model,  connect with me for a free video describing these steps.