New Growth Strategies - Beyond Downsizing, TQM and Reengineering
by Dave Leis

As organizations shift from the initiatives of the 90's of downsizing, reengineering and quality to growth strategies in order to boost share holder value and address the growing competitive threats, there is an increasing focus on the leadership provided by the management team in guiding these new growth strategies. In fact, much has been written about what some view as an oxymoron in using the term "management team". While the organization chart may look like a team, the theory of teamwork is often not connected to the reality of daily activities of the management team.

The Succession Planning Governance Issue
by David A. Leis

Succession planning as a significant business issue has seen more press both currently and in the last several years than ever before. CEO’s, Boards and senior management of organizations, both for profit and not-for-profit are being confronted with the reality that while it can be a process that can be easily shorted, it is one of the most important strategic functions and fiduciary responsibilities of the Board and CEO in any corporation.

Succession Planning – A Reflection of Compassionate Leadership
The company is strong financially. The market is stable. There is every reason to believe the company has a bright future. From astute boards and managing partners you should hear rumblings of planning for the next leader in the organization. It*s not a plan to overthrow the current CEO, just sound succession planning. While many companies do not think about replacement when all is going well, waiting for a crisis is a reflection of poor leadership, and a lack of strategic planning.

Mergers and Acquisitions – Strategies for Managing Change
by David Leis
Published in Cheese Market News Mar. 31, 2000

Cheesemakers and dairy industry veterans are not strangers to merger and acquisition or “M & A” activity. From 1975 to 1998, the number of U.S. plants making cheese declined from 839 to 398, due to increasing consolidation of dairy operations. Employee attrition, decreased productivity, dissatisfied customers and communication problems – the most distressing aspect of managing a merger or acquisition is that by the time warning signs are spotted, it’s often too late. At this stage, companies are in damage control mode and are unable to spare resources to properly address the problem. For this reason, the solution to managing these transactions depends largely on planning and prevention.

The Real Cost of Management Team Inefficiency
by Kent Allen
The Cost of Management Inefficiency article is designed for Presidents, CEOs, Human Resources executives, and other senior managers to provide an insight into the extent to which the executive team’s inefficient, or “dysfunctional,” interactions cost your organization real dollars. Designed to be used with the spreadsheet with the same name in the Client Tools section.

Prepare Now - to "Re-Hire" Your Workforce
by Neil Drobny
Published in Business First, Oct. 31,2003

One of the next big challenges facing corporate America is "re-hiring" of its current workforce. From the vantage point of employers, one of the evolving economic recovery's dark sides is new options for a tired and alienated workforce, and the risk that key employees will be lost. In this "problem" are the seeds of a huge opportunity for companies willing to create superior career options for the restless workforce. This article discusses five steps you can take to get out ahead of the competition on this issue.

Management Team Alignment: A Growth Strategy for Accelerating Performance
by Chas Gilmore
Today’s competitive, complex, and high-speed business environment demands superior knowledge, skills and expertise within the management team. Executives go to great lengths to attract, develop, and retain the best talent to build a highly effective management team. Unfortunately, specific action to improve management team effectiveness is often overlooked as prerequisite for successful achievement of growth strategies.

Is Your Firm Strategically-challenged or Strategically-enabled?
by Neil Drobny, P.E.
Accepted for publication in Ohio Engineer, publication of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers

Consulting firms vary a lot when it comes to their ability to operate strategically. Most firms and their leaders believe intellectually that some form of strategic plan is needed to assure good performance, and a majority would probably argue they have one that is good enough for their particular business. Reality suggests, however, that most firms would benefit from an upgrade to the strategic capacity of their organizations. This article offers suggestions for upgrading your firm’s strategic capacity – and your growth prospects.

Work from the Inside Out to Eliminate Barriers to Growth
by Neil Drobny
Published Nov. 21, 2003 by Business First, entitled"The Real Barriers are Inside".

More often than not, strategic success differentiators are internal. This is good news since internal factors are controllable, while external ones are not. This article discusses five things you can do now to improve the internal dynamics of your organization, thereby improving your competitive position and your chances for growth.

Capturing the e-Business Opportunity
by Neil Drobny, P.E.
Published in Ohio Engineer, Vol. 61, No.2, 2001.

This article provides engineering consulting firms and construction firms with industry insight into how they can use technology to enhance their business. The stages in developing a web site are discussed as are some recent developments in Internet marketing. A snapshot of Central Ohio firms’ use of technology is also provided.

Strategic Planning - One More Time
by Neil Drobny

Organizations vary a lot when it comes to their ability to operate strategically. Most organizations and their leaders believe intellectually that some form of strategic plan is needed to assure good performance. A majority would probably argue they have a plan “good enough” for their particular business. Reality suggests, however, that most organizations would benefit from an upgrade to their strategic capacity.

Strategies are born in many different ways. Classical strategic planning employs an “analyze and report” approach. Strategy specialists working largely in isolation collect and decipher large amounts of data, from which they produce thick, complex plans that are handed off to managers and employees for implementation.

A more enlightened model is the “facilitate and enable” approach. In this instance, the individuals charged with developing the plan and those who will implement it work as a team to create the strategy; often they are the same people.

Achieving Growth Through Consensus-driven Strategic Planning
Achieving a company’s growth strategy requires:

• powerful tactics,
• a pragmatic path,and
• alignment of the management team

Cross Enterprise Collaboration - An Enabler for Growth
“Ultimately, what is in the best interests of all will be in the best interests of each” Michael Hammer, The Agenda
Today’s business environment makes it crucial for separate organizations to work together to achieve growth. Many executives will accept the premise that multiple organizations working toward a common objective will achieve higher performance than organizations working alone. However, buyer-seller relationships, traditional business practices, and a lack of knowledge of collaboration’s characteristics impede progress. Rather than focusing on a common objective, time is spent on individual issues not common challenges.

Creative Strategies for Growing Your Business In a Fragile, Uncertain Market
by Neil Drobny
Published by Columbus CEO, Feb. 2004

The current no-growth economy, with significant air pockets, creates a need for new growth strategies. Further, the era of routine, almost reflexive, growth seen in recent decades is likely gone forever. To prosper, not just survive, companies need new ways of doing business. This article outlines a few “outside the box” possibilities.

Poor Execution can Kill a Company
by Neil Drobny
Published by the Cincinnati Business Courier, Jan. 30, 2004

Contrary to popular belief all companies have a strategy. For companies who have not thought through their mission and how that will be translated into outcomes with value, their strategy boils down to reacting to opportunities and responding to crises as they occur. Such organizations rarely achieve their full potential and often do not survive. Other companies – most companies – believe intellectually that some form of strategic plan is needed to guide operations and to assure good performance. Yet the majority of these companies will admit that strategic planning efforts have failed to live up to expectations and to deliver promised results. That is what execution is all about and as Lou Gerstner, who turned around IBM, said, “Fixing IBM was all about execution”.

Making Strategy Deliver Results
by Chas Gilmore and Neil Drobny

Contrary to popular belief, all companies have a strategy. For companies who have not thought through their mission and how that will be translated into outcomes with value, their strategy boils down to reacting to opportunities and responding to crises as they occur. Such organizations rarely achieve their full potential and often do not survive.

Other companies – most companies – believe intellectually that some form of strategic plan is needed to guide operations and to assure good performance. Yet the majority of these companies will admit that strategic planning efforts have failed to live up to expectations and to deliver promised results.

Strategy as a Governance Issue
by Neil Drobny
Published in Directors Monthly, Feb. 2004.

Directors have a lot on their plates these days. With the high-level corporate abuses and scandals that have surfaced in recent months and years, Board members, in public companies in particular, are re-examining their roles and responsibilities. As corporate decision making becomes more transparent, Directors must anticipate the new ways that investors and perhaps other stakeholders will challenge decision making in the executive suite.

One area that has not attracted a lot of attention yet, but seems ready to emerge in the next wave of governance concerns, as evidenced by recent events at Kodak, is Board involvement with strategy. This is not to say that Directors should second guess the strategic decisions of top management. Rather the role of the Board is to verify the presence of a culture and processes that will allow for the germination of an executable and sustainable strategy. A few of the major areas that Boards should consider are discussed in this paper.

Proactive Approach When Going Green
by Neil Drobny
Published March 19, 2004 by Business First

This article discusses how a company’s actions that impact the environment have become a strategic variable all across the supply chain – even those in soft industries such as retailing.

Strategic Change? Think ROI
by Neil Drobny
Published Jan. 2, 2004 by Business First

The rapidly changing, competitive global business environment forces companies to consider potential strategic changes as their businesses and industries evolve. When implementing strategic change, it is unavoidable that expenses will be involved. However, exclusive pre-occupation with the expense side of the equation will lead to incomplete and erroneous assessments as to the merits and feasibility of the expenses being considered as part of the planned strategic change. This article points out that In order to arrive at the right conclusion an ROI (Return-on-Investment) perspective must drive decision-making.

Local business execs join up to open N.Y. firm
Published in Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh, NC June 20, 2003