Present success is no guarantee of future success. If your organization hasn't developed the capacity for industry, market and competitive foresight, there is a danger you are relying on prescriptions which are rapidly becoming ineffective. Cultivate a "strategic thinking" discipline in your organization to define the parameters of future business pursuits and, more importantly, the investment priorities which will enable your company to exert a disproportionate influence on its chosen markets.

1. quot;Change anything that gets in the way with effective-
ness, no matter how long it has been in place. Methods
are for today, not tomorrow; you can change them
without impacting company progress.quot;
-- Built To Last, by James Collins and Jerry Porras
Counselor
WISCONSIN SMALL BUSINESS
JULY 1996
Number 103
Your Wisconsin Workforce Management & Employment Law Authority
Strategic Thinking: It's Your Future
By Paul Woerpel, Transformation Consulting Group, Milwaukee the quot;right thingsquot; is accomplished via a process called Strategic
P
resent success is no guarantee of future suc- Thinking.
! cess. Indeed, if your organization hasn't
developed the capacity for industry, market
What is Strategic Thinking?
Many business leaders think of strategic planning as no
P
and competitive foresight, there is a danger
you are relying on prescriptions which are rapidly more than conducting a SWOT Analysis (an evaluation of
becoming ineffective. When you become complacent, you fail Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and writing a
to clarify how you will compete and succeed in the future. Mission Statement. Too often these
A prosperous and sustainable future is predicated not only efforts lead to a perfunctory re-
on quot;doing things rightquot; (the operational excellence imperative), examination and reaffirmation of
but on quot;doing the right thingsquot; (developing a clear, competitive quot;what is,quot; rather than what could • An importer of pri-
be, or should be. The critical vate label footwear
positioning: product, market and customer focus). Determining struggles as its cus-
questions are simply not
addressed. tomers
Inside… Strategic thinking is a
dynamic, exploratory process—
increasingly order
factory-direct.
Taxes and Benefits: Keeping Control with Stock more qualitative than quan-
Gifts; Deducting Business Interest; How the titative—used to develop • An inspirational
IRS Defines Repairs, Page 2 the insight and foresight nec- catalog products
essary to effectively focus and firm focuses on
Employment Law: Review Your Employee leverage the organization's innovation, gener-
Handbook Today to Avoid Costly Errors; resources. The process defines ating several new
the parameters of future business spin-off opportuni-
Develop Severance Packages Before You ties … but fails to
pursuits and, more importantly,
Downsize, Pages 3-5 the investment priorities which exploit its name
Total Quality: How to Build Teams That will enable the company to exert recognition and
a disproportionate influence in unique gift market
Succeed, Page 6 niche.
the markets it chooses to serve.
ISO 9000: Should You Certify Your Small By systematically probing a
Service Business?, Page 8 range of external issues and
trends, your management team develops a collective perspective
Comment: Political Positives, Negatives, Page 11 about the future. This understanding becomes the basis for a
__________________________ conceptual model (strategic framework) which outlines what the
Review WISCONSIN UPDATE business will do to achieve market leadership and control its
own destiny. (That framework must be continually re-visited,
Today in Pullout Section !
________________________ tested, expanded and adjusted.)
Continued on Page 2

2. !
MANAGEMENT!
cess redesign? Meeting the Challenge
Strategic Thinking, ! How much can you gain in
As a business leader, how much of
cont. from Page 1 resource leverage and strategic advan-
your time and energy is spent focused on
tage through merger or acquisition?
internal issues… versus external
What new technologies, products or
Strategic Thinking businesses can you acquire that will
opportunities, on present realities… ver-
sus future
Questions catapult your company forward and
possibilities, on
These questions should stimulate a leapfrog the competition?
doing…versus • A small
dialog among your senior managers that ! What will be the scope of your
learning? insurance
facilitates exploration of individual per- company's product/service offering in
To what company fails to
spectives, tests assumptions, and synthe- the future? What will be the extent and
extent do you consider
sizes shared understanding. the limits of your abilities to serve your
struggle to play merger/acquisi-
! What trends… economic, social, chosen markets?
by today's rules tion alternatives
political, regulatory and technological… ! Which new markets or market
… as opposed to expand its
will shape your company's future? What segments will your company serve in
to writing the volume rapidly
will their impact be? the future? Have you defined niches
rules by which enough to
! What opportunities, challenges where you can create customer value
the game will leverage
and threats will impact your current cus- and competitive differentiation?
be played required MIS
tomers? How will these then impact ! Which channels of distribution
tomorrow? investment.
you? will be utilized to reach chosen future • A screen printer
Have you
! Answer the above question as it markets and customers? Can you reacts slower
and your key
applies to your Competitors. And then improve quot;speed to marketquot;? than the
people developed
to your Suppliers. How can you test/val- competitors to
idate your conclusions? Requires Discipline a deeply shared,
The answers to these strategic well tested view digital
! Who will be your company's com- technology that
thinking questions help you determine of the future?
petitors in the future? What will be the is transforming
how to position the company, and What is your
new forms of competition (replacement the printing
where to focus resources to create both vulnerability to a
technologies or products)? industry.
short and long term success. Caution: competitor who
! What is the opportunity to rewrite
Once having established a direction for better under-
the rules of competition in your industry?
the business, the challenge is to stick to stands industry, market and competitive
Can you create additional leverage
the chosen path. dynamics?
through alliances with suppliers, cus-
There can be a temptation to force Perhaps it's time to make strategic
tomers, or
fit opportunities to the strategy, or to thinking and planning a discipline in your
even com-
• A manufacturer petitors? abandon the strategy altogether. organization.
of cast and ! What Certainly, even the quot;best laid plansquot;
machined should be re-tooled from time to time… --Paul Woerpel, Transformation
will be the Consulting Group, Milwaukee assists leaders in
replacement parts unique skills but the place shouldn't be the weekly
for the pulp and the formulation and implementation of strategic
or capabilities operations review meeting.
vision and organizational change. Phone: (262)
paper industry on which you 691-4540.
underestimates will compete?
the impact of Are you
paper recycling. investing to de-
• A magazine velop these
distribution competencies
business foresees before your
its customers' competitors?
desire for a ! What
single, regional opportunities
source of supply, are there to
but fails to satisfy cus-
respond quickly tomer needs
enough. (or customers)
currently un-
served? How are you anticipating their
needs?
! What assets are underperforming
and should be sold to create capital to
invest in a new, more opportune thrust?
Can you reduce cycle time through pro-
2 Wisconsin Small Business Counselor Reprinted With Permission