Strategic Planning Made Easy

by Fry, Fred

• ISBN13: 9781932531367
• ISBN10: 193253136X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-31
• Publisher: Entrepreneur Press

Author Biography

Fred Fry, Ph.D. and Laurence G. Weinzimmer Ph.D. are both Professors of Management at Bradley University (Peoria, IL) and Charles R. Stoner, Ph.D. is the McCord Professor of Executive Management Development at Bradley. All have authored or co-authored numerous books on business growth, management and leadership and are sought-after consultants and corporate speakers in the field.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
From Ordinary to Extraordinary	1	(8)
The Ordinary	2	(1)
The Extraordinary: What Makes Businesses Successful	2	(1)
The Few, The Proud	3	(1)
Why Every Business Needs to Plan	4	(2)
Planning for Growth	6	(1)
Why You Need This Book	6	(2)
A Preview of What's to Come	8	(1)
The Road to Success	9	(13)
What Is Success?	10	(1)
Gimme a ``G''! Why Growth Is Hot	10	(1)
Building the Bottom Line	10	(1)
Realizing the Economies of Size	11	(1)
Attracting the Best and the Brightest	12	(1)
Energizing the Best and the Brightest	12	(1)
Strengthening Company Value	12	(1)
You Have to Make It Happen	13	(1)
The Strategic Planning Buzz	13	(2)
What's in It for You?	15	(3)
The Roadmap to Strategic Planning	18	(2)
Help Is Good, But It's Your Game	20	(2)
The Plan to Plan: Let's Begin	22	(9)
Do You Have What It Takes?	23	(1)
How Fast Should You Grow?	24	(1)
Setting the Stage for Planning	25	(1)
Who Will Be Involved?	25	(2)
Consultants: Worth the Money?	27	(1)
How Often Should the Team Meet?	28	(1)
Where to Meet?	28	(1)
Explaining the Model	29	(1)
Behind the Scenes	29	(2)
Defining the Future	31	(10)
It's Like Pulling Teeth	31	(1)
Growing Up	32	(1)
The Age-Old Debate: Vision Statement or Mission Statement?	32	(1)
Focus, Focus, Focus	33	(1)
Mission Statement Basics	34	(1)
What Should It Look Like?	35	(3)
Guidelines for Mission Statements	38	(2)
Putting It into Practice	40	(1)
Digging for Gold: Where to Look for Opportunity Information	41	(10)
Why You Need to Do It	42	(1)
Proactive Thinking	43	(1)
Sketching the Environmental Landscape	44	(1)
An Ongoing Commitment	44	(1)
Where to Go for Information	45	(6)
The Six Forces of Opportunity	51	(10)
Understanding Broad-Based Environmental Forces	52	(1)
Economic Forces	53	(1)
Governmental Forces	53	(1)
Technological Forces	54	(1)
Demographic Forces	55	(3)
Social Forces	58	(1)
Global Forces	59	(1)
Putting It into Practice	60	(1)
The Playing Field: Assessing the Market	61	(12)
Defining the Playing Field	62	(1)
Industry Basics	62	(1)
Incremental vs. Radical Changes	62	(2)
Sizing Up the Competition	64	(2)
Knowing Your Customers	66	(2)
Don't Forget About Suppliers	68	(1)
Putting It All Together	69	(1)
Deciding What to Consider	70	(1)
At the End of the Day	71	(2)
Taking a Hard Look at Yourself	73	(10)
The Value of Looking Inward	74	(1)
What Does It Take for a Self-Evaluation?	74	(1)
Company Strengths and Weaknesses	75	(2)
Painting with Broad Strokes First	77	(1)
Using the Broad Brush	77	(4)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly	81	(1)
Moving to a Finer Brush	82	(1)
Running the Numbers	83	(15)
Financial Resource Analysis	84	(1)
Reading the Numbers and Between the Lines	85	(5)
Cash Flow Statement	90	(1)
Income Statement	90	(1)
Balance Sheet	91	(1)
Financial Ratios	91	(4)
Drawing Strategic Growth Conclusions	95	(3)
Can You Get There from Here?	98	(17)
Evaluating Marketing Resources	99	(8)
Evaluating Operational Resources	107	(4)
Evaluating Human Resources	111	(2)
So, Can You Get There from Here?	113	(2)
Yesssll We're Better Than They Are!	115	(12)
Apparent Opportunities and Real Opportunities	116	(1)
The Role of Distinctive Competencies	117	(1)
Identifying and Developing Areas of Distinctive Competence	118	(3)
Relating Distinctive Competencies to Business Opportunities	121	(1)
Sustainable Competencies	122	(1)
Distinctive Competencies and Planning for Growth	123	(1)
Competitive Weaknesses	124	(1)
Putting It All Together	125	(2)
Growth Strategies That Work	127	(17)
Before You Set a Strategy ...	128	(1)
Going for Growth: The Big Picture	129	(1)
Doing What We Do Best: Focus Strategies	130	(2)
Let's Stretch a Bit: Market Development Strategies	132	(5)
Make It Better: Product Development Strategies	137	(1)
Busting Out: Diversification Strategies	138	(2)
Which Way Do You Go to Grow? Selecting the Right Growth Strategy	140	(1)
High-Growth Industries	140	(1)
Low-Growth Industries	141	(1)
Putting It into Practice	142	(2)
Setting the ``Right'' Goals to Make Things Happen	144	(15)
Why You Need the Right Goals	145	(1)
Smart Goals	146	(1)
Creating the ``Right'' Goals	147	(1)
A Balancing Act	147	(1)
Levels and Time Frames	148	(4)
The Goal Segmentation Process	152	(4)
Bringing It All Together	156	(1)
Putting It into Practice	156	(3)
Championing Change	159	(10)
The Drive for Change	160	(1)
It Doesn't Come Easy	161	(1)
The Four Pillars of Change	162	(5)
What Now?	167	(2)
Get It in Writing	169	(8)
Why Write the Plan?	169	(1)
The Strategic Plan Format	170	(3)
Sharing the Plan	173	(1)
Putting It into Action	174	(1)
A Final Caveat	175	(2)
Index	177