Strategic Planning – With Real Meaning!

The 10 Keys to Planning for Success in your Business

By Wayne H. Ottum

“A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.”  Brian Tracy

It’s that time of year again when businesses begin talking about planning for the new year while dusting off their old Strategic Plans.  You may have heard the expression, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”  Yes, we try to plan.  We set business goals.  We make project plans and “To Do” lists.  We might even create a business plan.  These are all good things, for sure.  Many of us, however, find that after only a few short weeks we steer off course, experience frustration, and fall back into the rut we were in before – stuck. We discover these half-hearted efforts are, well, half-hearted and can even be demotivating to management and staff, particularly if last year’s plan was simply filed and forgotten, and never materialized.

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The Three Components of a Leadership Situation

The following is an excerpt from: Lead from Strength – Mastering the 9 Components of Extraordinary Leadership, our new book on leadership excellence.  In our book we define leadership using the quote from Dwight David Eisenhower who said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to get something done, as if he wants to do it.”  Thus, given this definition, it is critical that leaders understand the leadership situation so they can clearly define just what they need done.

The excerpt that follows outlines the factors that must be understood about any business situation so leaders can effectively communicate what needs doing to those they lead.

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