In our last newsletter, titled Turn The Page, we spoke about turning the page in our calendar and how each season represents a change, and, for us, a reminder that we must stop and evaluate
where we are, where we are in relation to our plan, and, more importantly, where we are going as we enter the 4th quarter.
The difference with this time of year is the balance we will need to strike as we assess our business health and results. If we are off plan, we will need to consistently deliver positive short-term results to end the year on plan. If we are on plan or over plan, we must maintain that momentum going into the new year.
It is also time to evaluate from a growth perspective: did we identify and successfully generate new products, market, and geographic growth opportunities? Especially if it was a strategic part
of the plan for the current year—and if it was not, do we need to add it to the upcoming plan?
This time of year adds the complexity of balance—balance in finishing the year strong tactically as we begin to build the 2025 plan strategically.
Here is a way of visualizing the strategic building process for your business plan. You can think of it as:
– What is the issue/opportunity that must be addressed? (Developing vision and purpose)
– How will I get my team aligned and committed? (Gaining organizational commitment)
– How do I turn intent into business results? (Achievement)
This process will help you build and define a profile for your leadership teams that describes the “right stuff” the leaders must have to get the job done. As you build the
numeric portion of the plan, you are also trying to determine the leadership behaviors, competencies, and characteristics associated with strong and effective performance in
organizational roles. These are the actual, delivered behaviors. When such behaviors are delivered, they result in good organizational outcomes. They are also the behaviors that distinguish superior performance from threshold performance.
As a case example, your company may have several challenges as it pertains to technology:
Challenges
* New technology, especially disruptive technology, was driving the industry to entirely new platforms for both products and service.
* Competitors with new and better products were eating the company’s market share by as much as 25% per year.
* Cost of sales was rising.
* Talent defection was becoming a serious issue.
* An employee survey revealed deteriorating morale across the company.
* Customer complaints doubled within a space of nine months.
Company Strengths
* Sitting on a substantial cash reserve
* High recurring revenue from a broad-based customer portfolio
* Brand strength — high
* Fixed costs — lowest in the industry
* Strong dealer network
As leaders, one of our most critical roles is to create the business solutions to deal with the serious threats faced by our organization. During the vision and strategy session, your
leadership will be critical and defined as one of the critical leadership responsibilities that you have.
During this strategic vision and planning process, one of the critical roles of the leadership team will be to identify and communicate the following:
– Strategic Perspective & Vision — Developing a compelling vision and strategy for the organization and its units.
– Understanding of Both the Short-Term and Long-Term View — Recognizing both the organization’s and the overall industry’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
This process is not a “sit in a conference room and bark out orders” process. It is a supportive “get involved” process, where your efforts to develop strategies that capitalize on the organization’s unique strengths and capabilities must be seen and realized. As you anticipate and identify short- and longer-term competitive trends that may affect key strategies, you communicate these with key members of your team.
If there are gaps that may hinder the organization’s ability to execute strategies (e.g., talent commitment issues, technology product shortfalls, engineering resources), you communicate
and develop plans for these potential pinch points that will hinder success. Done properly, you are positioning the company to respond quickly to perceived or defined threats through strategic agility and rapid results from employee teams.
Finally, as you begin and work the Business Planning Process to achieve your strategic goals in the coming year, this process will also help you to achieve organizational agility. You will be able to:
* Understand, respect, and leverage the company culture and assets.
* Lead integrated change within a business unit to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
* Utilize teams intentionally and appropriately to focus leaders on building an enterprise that creates profit and generates business with the ultimate objective of delivering an attractive return on shareholder investment.
* Develop leaders who can “see around corners” to anticipate changes in market conditions and proactively position the company for future competitive advantage.
* Reinforce that the company expects sound judgment from those in whom it places trust.
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Let’s work together. I am a practitioner as well as an educator and motivator, and an experienced senior leader and CEO with over 45 years of boots-on-the-ground experience. I led one of the largest rebranding initiatives in franchising history – The UPS Store, revolutionizing the $9 billion
retail shipping and business services market.
I believe that none of us can achieve success without some help along the way. For each of us, there is a person, a mentor, who we are grateful towards and who can help us get to where we aspire to be. Sharing stories and experiences as a speaker is a way of recognizing the value of these experiences and giving back to the next generation of leaders. It also is a way of demonstrating in words and deed the value I am placing in mentorship. As for me, I have been fortunate to have worked with and mentored by some incredibly special people, and none more incredible than Coach John Wooden.
“Rocky was the Keynote Speaker at our FragilePak Connect Conference. His presentation on Balanced Leadership was educational, informative, and delivered with great energy and enthusiasm. We especially appreciated Rocky attending the conference to learn more about who we are, what we stand for and what we are trying to accomplish as a team. He received a 4.9 score on our survey and the following comments best represent the overall comments.”
“He was the best speaker and had useful life tips”
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“Amazing”
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FragilePak
I have broad experiences to share that can help others as they grow and take on new challenges. During my time as president of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, I integrated over 20 acquisitions that became UPS Supply Chain Solutions. I steered UPS’s entry into the health care industry and created the mantra, “It’s a patient, not a package. ®” With the ability to see a clear vision of the changing business landscape, the passion to develop strategies, tactics, and metrics to drive desired results, and the passion to develop the Best, The Brightest, Most Informed, and Best People in the industries they serve.
Please give me a call today at 610-322-0720 or email at
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THE LEADERSHIP LIBRARY PODCAST SEASON 8
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Tighten The Lug Nuts, will also serve as a workbook for these important topics and discussions.
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TIGHTEN THE LUG NUTS: THE PRINCIPLES OF
BALANCED LEADERSHIP
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