“Five Steps to Build a Winning Strategy.”
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014 Steps to Build a Winning Strategy 5 1
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Are you ready to develop a strategy that doesn't end up in a binder on a shelf and, instead, truly transforms your organization? Then please check out this presentation based on my 20+ plus years as a CEO. It works and it doesn't have all the wasted steps and wasted time. It works for large and small organizations. Public or Private. Profit or Non-Profit. Marketplace or Christian. Try it.
Transcript of “Five Steps to Build a Winning Strategy.”
Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
Steps to Build a Winning Strategy 5
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
All day every day internet headlines stream across our screen with a beckoning allure. All of them offering to produce great results in a “few easy steps.”
“5 Easy Steps for this . . . ”
“10 Secrets to that . . . ”
That begs this question:
Do these “lists” really work?
Internet Headlines Scream!
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
T h e “ E a s y - S t e p s ” L i s t That’s the question…
Can the “Easy Steps” approach be successfully applied to the complexities of
developing STRATEGY for an organization or managing a career in this tumultuous
“ChangeAge”?
Maybe not…but, WAIT!
CONSIDER THIS: These lists are NOT designed to “answer everything” and “solve your problems.”
They are designed to make us
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
Not only does the “Easy-Step” approach make us think, it makes us challenge our most cherished assumptions, too. It makes us explore by drilling down beyond our comfort level to where the confrontation with reality awaits.
As a CEO Leader and Strategist for 25 years, I’ve been considering how the “easy steps” method could be used to convey the essence of strategy. What follows are my:
“Five Steps to Build a Winning Strategy.”
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
1 2 3 4 5
Detail for each of the five filters follows on the pages ahead.
The goal behind using the “Easy Steps” approach for developing strategy is NOT to tell the entire story about strategy.
The goal is to prompt you to think, challenge, and explore. To start, here’s the first question:
T H E G O A L
Do you have a strategy?
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
Do you know who you are and where
you’ve been? Even more important,
do you know WHERE YOU’RE HEADED?
Those questions MUST be answered before anything else happens with your strategy.
The goal of Step 1 is to make sure your organization’s VISION END STATE is crystallized, accepted and embraced by the entire team. IS IT?
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IDENTITY IDENTITY
Structure ALWAYS follows Strategy. And Strategy is ALWAYS preceded by identifying the vision goal.
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
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ISSUES ISSUES STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination.
The first step--IDENTITY--says a church must know where it has been and crystallize its Vision End-State Destination for the future. With that complete, the next task in Step 2 is to identify and prioritize the church’s KEY ISSUES and YELLOW CHAIRS.
Strategies should never launch before investigating the organization’s KEY ISSUES and YELLOW CHAIRS. Almost always, there is too much emphasis placed in planning based on the past.
Strategy is always about the FUTURE.
If an organization denies reality blinking on the radar, the risk
of FALLING SHORT of its potential increases exponentially.
Take a look at your radar screen now.
R a d a rR a d a r
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
Yes…watching the radar screen is important, but it’s not enough by itself. There must also be an interruptive and strategic RESPONSE to the threats and opportunities blinking on the radar screen. That response isn’t a “good idea,” it’s IMPERATIVE.
The organization’s Strategic Imperatives–no more than five—are the bold moves that must be made to reach the end-state vision destination.
In healthy organizations, an “indomitability swagger” behind the Strategic Imperatives produces a powerful vibe permeating the team’s CULTURE COMPASS. It’s a sense that the team cannot be vanquished…an esprit de corps fire that cannot be doused. Identifying and completing Strategic Imperatives produces just that.
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IMPERATIVES IMPERATIVES STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination. STEP #2 Strategies should never be developed before identifying Key Issues and Yellow Chairs.
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
The antidote to INACTION is to break the Strategic Frame into ACTION INCREMENTS. Everything must be turned into a project with a distinct beginning and end; clear milestones; and uncompromising individual and team accountability.
“Where do we start?”
4 INCREMENTALISM INCREMENTALISM
STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination. STEP #2 Strategies should never be developed before identifying Key Issues and Yellow Chairs. STEP #3 Strategic IMPERATIVES are the bold moves that must be made to make the vision a reality.
Successfully completing STEPS 1-3 will establish a STRONG BASE for developing an effective strategy. But it will fall apart without a swift and strong ACTION RESPONSE. And when it comes to taking action, many strategies fail because they are imprisoned by a GRAND VISION. Ambitious visions are essential, of course, but they often freeze teams behind this question:
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
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What makes US Different? What makes US Distinctive? Will they choose US?
INSPIRATION INSPIRATION
STEP #1 Crystallize the organization’s IDENTITY and vision end-state destination. STEP #2 Strategies should never be developed before identifying Key Issues and Yellow Chairs. STEP #3 Strategic IMPERATIVES are the bold moves that must be made to make the vision a reality. STEP #4 The antidote to inaction is to break the Strategic Frame into phases of Action INCREMENTS.
Even if an organization successfully completes Steps 1-4 and begins to make incremental progress forward, the strategy won’t fully blast off without being propelled by INSPIRATION. This is a common place to stumble because every organization and every team is “competent.” Just ask them or visit their website. But we all know that’s not the measure of competence. Here’s why…
Since competence is a mandatory fee for entry, organizations must have a CORE DISTINCTIVE that will differentiate them from others. In the end, the target audience has a CHOICE and that should prompt every leader to ask:
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Mark Affleck http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com February 2014
CEO Change Leader Strategist Issues & Crisis Manager As CEO of YellowChair Strategy, Mark helps leaders transform their organizations to “survive today and win tomorrow.”
MARK AFFLECK
Are you inspiring? For more information… Call 949 351-4112 Or go to http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Are you inspiring?
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