“Ann, I love your Clear Thoughts newsletter. I read every edition. They’re all fantastic, and highly relevant to Medtronic.”
Paul Franson, Clinical IT Development Manager, Medtronic
more...
“I’ve never been to a retreat that was so focused, so fast paced, and with such clear progress throughout.”
Jay Primack, Managing Partner, Moriarty & Primack P.C.
more...
“I wish everyone read this book. Ann Latham’s “Uncommon Meetings” is a quick read, packed with substantive ideas on how to get more out of meetings in less time. Everyone who runs meetings should read it!”
Janet Warren, President, MarCom Capital
more...
“Ann Latham is one of the best business speakers I have heard. She is very experienced, the quality of her thinking is extremely high, and she knows how to deliver her message in an entertaining, concise, and convincing way.”
Dr. Alan G. Robinson, Isenberg School of Management, Author - "Ideas Are Free"
more...
“On a collaborative project with Boeing Phantom Works, Ann did a tremendous job in identifying the cost drivers, producibility issues, and productivity barriers of a supplier organization, all of which were impeding the success of our project.”
Ed Gerding, Chief Engineer C-17 St. Louis, The Boeing Company
more...
“Ann can help you identify the crux of a problem and solutions that will work for you. While others may be good, my 35 years of experience tells me that no one is better.”
Perry Walraven, President and CEO, Performance Controls, Inc. a Subsidiary of Hitachi Medical Corporation
more...
“Ann’s ability to simplify complex issues such that everyone understood their respective roles was a key part of her success. She truly helped us achieve profitable and predictable growth while improving the quality of our methods and processes.”
S. W. Emery, Jr., Chairman and CEO, MTS Systems Corporation
more...
“I would recommend Ann to anyone who wants to make better plans and decisions in less time and with better confidence in the outcomes.”
W. Lowell Putnam, Chairman/CSO, VCI (Video Communications, Inc.)
more...
“’Wow’ sums it up nicely. The way Ann works is impressive: she has a great handle on people, makes everyone want to work together, ensures meetings are focused and valuable, and simplifies the challenges and options so all can reach shared conclusions.”
John Heaps, President, Florence Savings Bank
more...
“You are clearly a gifted facilitator and helped us achieve some important outcomes. The ROI was there.”
Bob Fazzi, President & CEO, Fazzi Associates
more...
“Ann listens, understands, simplifies, reframes, and provides clear advice. I inevitably leave with a new perspective, better decisions, 3 - 4 specific action items, and the resolve and focus I need to get the right things done. If you are looking for a great coach, call Ann.”
Michael Niedenfuehr, Financial Planner, Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
more...
“Ann’s book, Clear Thoughts, is the fresh, grounding breath of perspective that every executive needs in order to see clearly despite the daily chaos”
Jane Lansing, VP Marketing, Emerson Process Management
more...
“Ann uncovers common ground, creates opportunity, and guides the group to new shared conclusions in remarkably little time.”
Laurie Fenlason, Vice President for Public Affairs, Smith College
more...
“Working with a diverse group of manufacturing and design team members, Ann was able to gain consensus for improvement initiatives, win over even the skeptical, and move the team forward toward production-readiness.”
Dana Badgerow, General Manager, AeroMet Corporation
more...
“After working with Ann, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone in need of a strategy, plan, arbitration, facilitation, etc.”
Chuck McCullagh, CFO, The Williston Northampton School
more...
“Ann Latham transformed our thinking about how our organization works. This discovery led us to a strategic model that solves our pain and opens new opportunities. She truly lives up to her brand of ‘uncommon clarity.’”
Suzanne Beck, Executive Director, Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
more...
“Ann is a captivating speaker, providing important principles in an approachable, common-sense way. Our audience enjoyed her depth and breadth of knowledge.”
Aimee Griffin Munnings, Esq., Director, Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship
more...
“The process that our committee engaged in was outstanding and the outcome of our work is truly exceptional.”
Russell Peotter, General Manager, WGBY - Public Television for Western New England
more...
“Ann’s work with us helped change the direction of three units very set in their ways and has opened up a myriad of possibilities for growth in the future.”
Joan Schuman, Executive Director, Hampshire Educational Collaborative
more...
“The time and stress saved by one phone call with Ann was astounding.”
Rev. Johanna McCune Wagner, Director of Religious Life, The Culver Academies
more...
Every organization would benefit from the material found in Ann’s audio seminar, “Meeting Mastery.”
Chuck Hatch, General Manager, Packaging Corporation of America
more...
Receive Our Complimentary Newsletter
Strategy - Do You Have One?
While many organizations fall down trying to translate their strategy into action, almost as many don’t have a strategy to begin with. They think they do, but what they have are lots of plans and ideas for activity.
Don’t feel bad if you aren't sure. You aren’t alone.
At the simplest level, the strategy is what and the plans are how. What you want to be vs. how you will get there and how you will deliver the goods until you get there. Defining your future, determining your approach, positioning yourself for success vs. determining who needs to do what and when in order to get there. Think of strategy as determining what you want your organization to become.
Driving Force
The first step in developing a strategy is to establish your overall driving force. The singularity is important. This does not mean narrow; it does mean focused. The singularity provides the tie-breaker when faced with conflicting alternatives. The singularity can also open doors. Are you driven to serve a particular market? To deliver a family of products? To exploit a specific technology? To leverage a capability? These aren’t the only choices but should help you see the impact of your choice. If you are clear about wanting to exploit a capability, you will follow it beyond existing products and beyond current markets. If you are driven by the market, you will develop additional products or services to meet the needs of that market. A clear decision about driving force makes it easier to establish your mission and to relay that mission and its significance throughout your organization.
Strategic Framework
Your driving force must be supported by a strategic framework. There are three general perspectives to consider: customer, internal and financial.
CUSTOMER’S PERSPECTIVE
- What will the customers see?
- What products and services will you offer?
- What is the market for these?
INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE
- What processes will you need to be really good at?
- What capabilities will your employees need?
- What facilities, equipment, information systems, etc., will you need?
FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE
- What will success look like to your shareholders or donors?
- What will your profit, revenue, size, etc., be?
- What kind of investment would be expected?
Once you answer these and similar questions, especially the interdependencies among them, you will have a strategic framework for planning and making decisions. And inevitably, you will uncover a host of issues because what you want to be able to do and what you currently are capable of doing are not likely to be the same, nor should they be if you are constantly raising the bar and preparing for the future. Addressing these issues is usually the difference between success and struggle.
Common Pitfalls
Organizations that try to strategize often fall down in one of three areas. The first involves not completing the strategic process, in particular, not determining what the organization needs to look like internally in order to deliver the products and services suggested by a new vision and constrained by reality. The second involves ignoring strategic issues and not creating plans to become the organization defined by the strategic framework, and third, not communicating the strategy sufficiently to align the organization in support.
AN INCOMPLETE FRAMEWORK
Organizations that don’t flesh out the strategic framework often skip the internal perspective entirely or may ignore many of the interdependencies among the three perspectives. It isn’t uncommon to decide on products or services, figure out the finances, and leave the organization scrambling to deliver. Do you know what capabilities your organization needs to develop?
IGNORING STRATEGIC ISSUES
Formulating a strategy is about looking into the future and defining the organization that you want to become. As a result, by definition, your plans need to include efforts to become that organization simultaneously with delivering the goods today. Ignoring this developmental component has the same impact as never ferreting out the gap between current state and future state to begin with: your organization will scramble to deliver. Do you know how your organization is going to develop the capabilities it needs?
NOT COMMUNICATING STRATEGY
People think of strategy as high level stuff and often fail to communicate these important decisions to the organization. The reality is that strategic decisions are being made throughout your organization all of the time. These decisions involve customer management, product direction, resource allocation, employee development, hiring decisions, facility maintenance, supplier relationships, contracts, and much more. A coherent strategy can be communicated effectively and it must be if employees are to make informed decisions.
Last But Not Least
A strategy needs to be alive - monitored and tweaked. While one of the attributes of a strategic goal or initiative versus an operational goal or initiative is usually its stability, a strategy is only as stable as its underlying assumptions. Given the fast pace of change these days, organizations must develop pretty straight-forward strategies and strategy management techniques that will allow them to adapt without upsetting the apple cart and yanking the organization around mercilessly.
© 2006 Ann Latham. All Rights Reserved.