Advice and Insights From A Practitioner

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Why Does Your Organization Need A Mission Statement?

Well, first of all, a mission statement can be pretty effective at establishing guidelines for people to follow in an effort to achieve a certain loftier, longer term mission.  In fact, mission statements have been used throughout history and many have indeed withstood the pressures and tests of time. Think religion and the book of… Read More ›

Making Critical Decisions the R.A.P.I.D. Way

I believe it is increasingly important, no matter what the size and complexity of your organization is, to have a defined decision-making process.  Having been a leader of extensive global and regional underwriting and marketing business units that require many fast and accurate decisions, my teams had no choice but to establish formal decision-making roles and responsibilities.  In retrospect,… Read More ›

Using the Balanced Scorecard Approach for Better Strategy Execution

Back in the early 1990s, when I worked at CIGNA International and just returned from an assignment in Hong Kong, I learned that a new strategic initiative was underway in the domestic Property and Casualty division.  In fact, this was the first time I had ever heard of the Balanced Scorecard approach and was about… Read More ›

Innovation and Growth: Where do we go from here?

“So, the point here is that the innovation and growth of a company, line of business or strategic business unit doesn’t happen casually or by chance…it must be organized, follow a few simple guidelines and be part and partial of any company’s offensive strategy.”

Need an Execution–based Culture? Start By Improving Your Organizational Effectiveness

Conducting a thorough look inward at your company’s organizational effectiveness is a necessary step before you begin a full blown strategic development effort.

Strategic Planning ~ Needs and Requirements

Once everyone on the strategic planning team agrees on what the definitions are (and the differences between) strategy, an objective, a goal and a tactic, then energy can be directed towards strategic plan development.  There is a fine line between success and failure in planning and like any business endeavor there are basic needs and… Read More ›

So, What is Strategy Anyway? Here are a Few Different Perspectives

Given the relevance and timeliness of Michael Porter’s advice on strategy during tumultuous times, I began my first blog post (which was originally entitled “Strategy in Action”) with that material because it really hit home for those of us working day-to-day in one of the most distressed industries – insurance. At this juncture, I think… Read More ›

The Importance of Strategy in Tumultuous Times

The economic upheaval over the past several years has caused a few of the more successful companies from the past to lose momentum making them vulnerable to the competition. This is particularly true in the financial services sector where several of the large, “too big to fail” companies and TARP fund recipients have been over reacting in the short term by retrenching, selling off assets and in many ways stumbling forward without a very cohesive long term strategy.

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