Common SenseStrategic Planning

Greg W. GilstrapRegional President & Publisher

Madden Preprint Media

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Common Sense?“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and

doing things as they ought to be done.”- Josh Billings

“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.”

- Robert Green Ingersoll

“Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.”- George Bernard Shaw

“Common sense is genius dressed in working clothes.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Some People Are Just Born With Common Sense

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Strategy?

“Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy, it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of

close things.”- Miyamoto Musashi (legendary 1600’s Japanese swordsman)

“The goal is not to develop ‘perfect’ strategies, but to develop strategies that take us in the right direction, and then progressively

refine them through rapid experimentation and adjustment.”- Gary Hamel

“Our business strategy is not to compete.” - Eric Schmidt

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”

- Winston Churchill

Discussion Overview• Why everyone needs a Strategy• Who should lead it• Tips to developing and implementing a

winning strategy• Q and A

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Why?

• Private Sector– Create and/or maintain a profitable, competitive

advantage that can be sustained– Create organizational focus– Make critical choices

• Public sector (CVBs, State Tourism Office, etc.)

– All of the above– Make tough decisions– Defend tough decisions– Manage relationships

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Making Tough Decisions

Number of good ideas facing typical DMO

Number of good ideas typical DMO can effectively implement given current resource level

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Who Should Be On The Strategy Team?• Those who have the most to win and/or lose• Those whose support will be needed• Those who play the most critical implementation roles• Those who best understand the competitive environment• Those who are willing to check self-serving interests at

the door• Someone who can distance themselves from the emotion

of the issue and isn’t afraid to call things as they see it• Strategic thinkers

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Who Should Lead?

Respected &Trusted Insider Non-Biased Strategic Outsider

• When times are good• The future is bright• Competition is non-existent or

easily defeated• Support is in order, and• The team has demonstrated an

extended history of working well together

• When times are challenging• The future is uncertain• Competitive threats are

rampant• Support is in jeopardy, and/or• The team has not

demonstrated a significant history of working well together

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Who Should Make Final Decisions?• Those who have the most to win and/or lose• Those whose support will be needed• Those who play the most critical implementation roles• Those who best understand the competitive environment• Those who are willing to check self-serving interests at

the door• Someone who can distance themselves from the emotion

of the issue and isn’t afraid to call things as they see it• Strategic thinkers

Today’s Strategy Special:A Baker’s Dozen

Common Sense Strategic Planning Tips

• Disclaimers– Not intended to be an exhaustive list– Not in rank order, but if you follow this advice you

will dramatically enhance the chances that you end up with a winning strategy

– Lots of bias built in – don’t hesitate to ask me where it comes from

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Tip 1

Remember that none of us are created equal – at least

when it comes to strategic planning

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One Person

=

One Vote

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Tip 2

Focus on pro-active consensus over re-active

consensus

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Bottom Up

Top Down

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Tip 4

Rome wasn’t built in a day – so why would you try to do something as important as a strategy in a single session

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Tip 5

K I S S

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Simple and brief

Detailed

Vision & mission

Goals Objectives Strategies & Tactics

Implementation Plan

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Tip 6

Don’t remove or eliminate the ability, of those charged with implementation, to be

creative or innovative

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Simple and brief

Detailed

Vision and mission

Goals Objectives Strategies & Tactics

Implementation Plan

Strategic Planning Team

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Tip 7

Never let HOW TO to supersede WHAT

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Work From Top To Bottom1. Vision and mission

2. Goals

3. Objectives

4. Strategies & Tactics

5. Implementation Plan

But, Make Sure Everything Reports Up

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Tip 8

Attempting to be all things to all people is a recipe for disaster

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20 / 80

80 / 20Pareto or Juran Principle

“Vital few and trivial many –

1940s”

“A mathematical formula to describe

the unequal distribution of wealth

in Italy in 1906.”

http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm

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Tip 9

See things as they are, how they soon will be

and how they are likely to remain for an

extended period

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Better Strategic Building Block?

Fads

or

Trends

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Tip 10

Focus on causes not on symptoms

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What Sinks Ships?

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Tip 11

Focus on essence of good strategy

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Principles Of Good Strategy

• Competitive advantage

• Profitability

• Sustainability

• Significant barriers to entry

• Ability to beat new competitive threats

• Differentiation

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Avoid Differentiation For Differentiation’s Sake

“Many people may be interested in visiting a farm as a tourist, and they

may be interested in staying in unique places, but that doesn’t mean many want to sleep with pigs and sheep.”

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Tip 12

Don’t let a focus on measurable results,

which are good, eliminate an emphasis

on intangibles

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Measurable Studies And Disney

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Tip 13

Start with the strategy, be hesitant (yet willing)

to change it and practice continuous improvement

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Develop, retain and grow forms of competitive advantage that result in desirable and sustainable levels of profitability.

Research and

Planning

Sales and Marketing Product development and positioning

Product delivery and customer service

Accomplished through the successful management of the of

the virtuous business cycle

Customer targeting and segment prioritization

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Final Conclusion

“I need to practice what I preach, particularly in reference to tip #10.”

Common SenseStrategic Planning

Greg W. GilstrapRegional President & Publisher

Madden Preprint Media