Seven Things You Need to Know for Your Kick-Off Meeting Success

On November 22, 2018   /   business analysis, business leadership, business planning, strategic planning  

People giving a hand bump at completion of successful meeting.I was facilitating a Strategic Planning Kick-Off meeting. The meeting was a transition meeting. Therefore, the client was being transitioned to me from the set-up-team so I could take the Business Strategist Lead. As I reflect on the meeting and the dialogue we had, I started to think about what to include in a Kick-Off meeting. Creating kick-off meeting success for project management and strategic planning teams has its challenges. Here are seven things you need to know for Kick-Off Meeting success.

Kick-Off Meeting Purpose

First things first, get clear on your purpose and ensure everyone else is too. Remember, a kick-off meeting is used formally to tell all team members, the client, and key stakeholders the initiative has started, clarify the roles and ensure there is an understanding of the process, the approach. So clarity of purpose is important.

Transition the Team Members

On the strategic planning side, I work with a team who help move Canadian businesses from where they are to where they need to go and it does take a team to do that. You need to transition the team carefully, so the client (internal or external) understands the new dynamic. Often the key point person changes as the client are shifted into the planning execution process. This successful transition is critical as the client needs to be working with a single point person during the analysis and planning process.

Never work in isolation as it takes a team to build buy-in, motivate and create enthusiasm to move a team forward. Richard Lannon Share on X

Guiding with an Agenda and Presentation

This to me only makes sense, an agenda and presentation. It is important for the client should know what to expect. The agenda should outline the items covered. But the presentation should be high level and walk the clients through the phased strategic planning process, clearly identifying what will take place. Maybe in later blogs, I will cover the agenda and presentation requirements in more details. Surface to say, no agenda and a poorly laid out presentation create a disastrous kick-off meeting.

Building Enthusiasm and Motivation

I am fortunate to now work with business owners and professionals where enthusiasm and motivation are not an issue. The reason is simple; as they have an invested and vested interest in their success. They got to where they are because of a lot of work and motivation. But that is not always the way it is when you are attending a kick-off meeting. As a Planning Lead, you need to take some time ahead of the meeting and find out the motivations for the initiative. So you need to look beyond the standard business speak and see if you can dig deeper into motivation. As for the enthusiasm builder, you will know very quickly where everyone is when you start to set up the next steps.

Fielding and Answering Questions

A kick-off meeting should be a safe place where everyone can ask relevant questions. The key is relevant questions. As part of the transition applying an approach to engaging, relevant questions and deflecting some questions or issue or solution, the dialogue is important. Remember you are only walking through phased approach you will be taking to help the client solve their challenges and create an implementation plan for the future. Stay to the program.

Getting the Next Steps and Action Items

Getting to the next steps is important. But more important is getting to the next steps. In my world, the completed client questionnaires, getting the current state financials and booking the one-on-one interviews with key people, and the first current state workshop is imperative. I do not close the meeting until I have the key people in the room agreeing to and setting dates for the next steps. I suggest you do the same. Hint: Ensure you have a single point of contact with authority — someone who is responsive.

Book Cover, SET for Success (strategic planning approach) by Richard Lannon

Creating Your Credibility

In reading a topic on creating credibility I realized, it focused on professional credibility. Fair enough, the people you are working with should believe you are capable of doing the work. Having a great resume helps, being able to answer questions about your career helps. You should willingly volunteer your career information.

More important is the creating connection and relationships. I now openly do an AMA (ask me anything) at all my kick-off meetings, and clients do. This last week I had a CEO ask me about my childhood, another time I had a president ask me about my marriage and family, and yet another time, I had a CFO of a mining service company, ask me why they should work with me as opposed to someone else. The latter, I responded truthfully and told the client success comes down to relationship and connection. The decision they need to make is what relationship do they believe will best foster their success.

Creating credibility is about fostering relationships on a business, personal and life level. Rarely is it about just business.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In conclusion, with this blog, I wanted to address some of the items I experienced through my career with kick-off meetings beyond the standard linear approach and thinking. These meetings are a great opportunity to go beyond the standard business and professional format. The more I work with clients, the more I see real people, with real lives, looking to move forward beyond where they are today. They are dealing with real issues on a business, personal and life level. I am truly into supporting Canadian business success, whether it is from a fundamental or advanced level. The question is for you, when it comes to your work, your clients, your business, are you doing the same in your kick-off meetings?

Remember, do your best, invest in the success of others and make your journey count.

Richard Lannon

Author: SET for Success, a roadmap to transform your business

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Your Password Has Been Quoted in an Extortion Email. What do you do?

On October 15, 2018   /   risk management, security, strategy, technology  
Your Password Has Been Quoted in an Extortion Email. What do you do?

Your business and personal life could be at risk. You receive a spam email stating that unless you send money now, you will be exposed on the internet. Worst of all, they quoted a password that you use or have used for business and personal transactions. Your knee-jerk reaction is panic.

What Do You Do?

First, settle down. Tear yourself off the ceiling and pull your knuckles from the arms of your chair. Take a few deep breaths and breathe. #Relax just a little. Most of these emails have been determined to be false, and that is a high probability nothing will happen. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a problem.

Second, you need to fix your #security breach. One that you created because you lacked strategic and tactical thinking and planning on how to deal with this issue. Sorry, I know that hurts. But you have to accept responsibility and accountability for your mistake.

Understand the Strategic Connection

#Strategic #planning is not just about building your #business through revenue enhancement. It is also about understanding your business processes and technology. Often leveraging technology to grow the business. As we dig deeper into the tactical aspects of your strategic plans and #technology it is important you know that your business and you personally are secure. You need to have a security plan as part of your strategic plan and the ability to test your technology, especially your emails and passwords. Once you know if this information has been breached, then you can take action securing access to your business and personal life with a secure password system.

In working with clients on their strategic plans, I hear the stories of security breaches. The stories that never get told to their business world. Whether you are a busy executive, business owner, or professional, you need to know something about your security. It is your responsibility. Here are some handy information and sites that should be part of your overall strategic and tactical business and personal plans that include email and password security checks and tools to help you protect your life. When we talk technology security, we are talking about your life on a multitude of levels.

You might be surprised what you will find out. Once you have checked all your email accounts and passwords you might want to consider using secure password storage and generator software. If you are not sure which security option is right for you, I have added DottoTech from YouTube for you. I have been following his work since the mid-1990’s. He does an awesome job explaining how to use various technology tools.

Educate Yourself on Your Security

Check Your Passwords: https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords

Check Your Email Addresses: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Best Free Password Manager 2018: https://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/the-best-password-manager-1325845

DottoTech – Tech Made Easy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9BqPtCcSyHvQsbl2rumM4w

Final Thoughts

I hope this helps you secure your business and personal life. The best way to be #SETforSuccess in anything you do is to take #action. This is important. So take action, now.

Don’t forget to do your best, invest in the success of others and make your journey count. Be #SETforSuccess

Richard.

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6 Business Things I Learned from Taking a Blogging Break

On June 4, 2018   /   business, business analysis, business challenge, business decisions, business improvement  
6 Business Things I Learned from Taking a Blogging Break

I am back. 

If you are reading this blog it is because you are either following me or tripped on to this page. I started writing blogs in 2007. I took a 6-month writing break. I needed it.  Since that time I learned a few things. Here is what I learned.

My Business World Didn’t End. Yap, if anything I got busier doing more strategic plans for clients (6 in 12 months) than I have done in a while. But that does not mean it was a good idea to stop blogging business content. I discovered that there is a real need for good business content. Especially true for my clients and for people interested in developing themselves. There continues to be an opportunity for companies to provide valuable information.

Things Trended Downward. It’s a hard pill to swallow. While checking out my business website stats, I noticed there had been a downward trend. The reason is simple; I was not actively providing value-based content. That is fair enough as I did decide that I needed a break from writing weekly/bi-weekly. But I can’t help think about what this means to other businesses who do a haphazard job at their social media activities and blogging. I learned that the world forgets about you the moment you stop being consistent in providing value-based content. A good lesson for everyone. It is important for your business to be involved and engaged with your prospects. The rule to follow, provide the information they need.

Finding Clarity for Social Media Usage. During the time I have been away I started to watch social media a bit more. This time more with a discerning eye. As part of that process I was asking myself, where do my preferred clients hang out? They are busy people, just like you. It turns out my clients mostly use LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube (for quick educational videos). They keep Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit for personal stuff and don’t want to mix things. This told me that you don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be where your people are, your customers. I think this is something you should consider for your business.

Many Ways to Thinks about Clients. Since 2005 I have worked with a lot of companies, business leaders, and professionals. I have discovered that I have two types of clients that like to work with me for which I now have avatars and names, Dana Decider and Winner Wannabe. Dana Decider either owns a company or works for someone who owns a company, they are a decider or influencer and in a business leadership position. This person usually wants to focus on solving key challenges and finding opportunities. Often they are seeking strategic planning, business analysis or leadership development to move their company forward. Winner Wannabe is a real person (named changed) I met years ago who told me that they wanted to be like me. So I helped them. They generally are either an employed or independent professional who is seeking to build their business acumen through training and development or coaching and mentorship. If they are employed professionally, then it is about specific skill-based leadership coaching. If they are an independent professional, then they tend to want more business coaching so they can thrive in their business. My point in sharing is to say to you need to know your clients. Create a profile, define them and maybe you will see them wherever you go.

Things Change Fast. When you take a break from something that you have been doing for a long time, you notice that things change fast. Over the course of the last few months, I have had the opportunity to track people I respect and admire in business. When I look at what is happening business-wise a lot of things have changed in such a way that I think there is an opportunity for Canadian Business to think and buy Canadian products and professional services. Especially when using an online gig service for hiring professionals. As a Canadian entrepreneur, I have always taken issue with the fact we have to pay America dollars when using a gig-site to hire Canadian. This has to change. In the last 90s and early 00s, I was involved in some outsourcing projects for clients. Helping them decrease operational costs and improve productivity. Given the present business climate, the use of Canadian business platforms (if you can find them that charge in Canadian dollars) there is an opportunity for Canadian Source Services across our country. Technology is enabling a shared and gig economy where you can stay connected and work with people from anywhere in our own country. I know that this is nothing new. But my point is that situations are presenting themselves to work and buy Canadian while paying in Canadian dollars. As a business person, the exchange rate is killer. Look local, buy local, contribute to our economy and save money.

Crazy how things can change so fast, unknown Share on X

We Go International. One of the most incredible experiences I had in the last 24 months and most importantly the last six months is working with international business leaders, professionals and students. Canada is a great nation of diversity. It is our strength. It is interesting to apply Canadian business fundamentals, analysis and strategic planning practices with people from other parts of the world. You start to realize that as much as you are helping them, they are helping you see the world from another perspective. Interestingly, by 2026 Canadian businesses will have an estimated 3 million people resource shortage. Small business is already feeling the resource pinch. If anything, my work with international people has taught me that it is paramount we focus on building business brainpower of the people in Canada and coming to Canada. So I would encourage you to consider how you are developing the people around you. Especially given the changes taking place in our business landscape, economy, and community.

Final Thoughts: The biggest challenge of taking a break is in thinking the question, is it too late. I have wondered if by taking this time off from writing, from blogging has caused major business damage. I like to think not. When you need a break, you need a break, so you should take it. Right! Unfortunately, I am not sure the business world around us is as forgiving. We will see.

I am hopeful that you will continue to read my business blog, listen to my radio show and podcast and watch for the future things I plan to do in business that will benefit you.

As always, do remember

Do your best, invest in the success of others and make your journey count.

Richard.

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19 Financial Analysis Approaches Business Leaders, Managers, and Professionals Should Know

On January 3, 2018   /   analysis, business analysis, strategic planning  
19 Financial Analysis Approaches Business Leaders, Managers, and Professionals Should Know

It is not often that I write about numbers. Why, because some professionals find it boring and want to nod off at the mention of numbers, while others simply say, well my numbers are giving to me by someone else.

Here’s the thing, you may not create the numbers, but you need to know how to read them and understand what they mean. At least you need to be able to have a meaningful conversation with a financial analyst, accountant or chief financial officer.

Recently I have been working on three separate strategic planning and business analysis initiatives. We followed standard best practices. That is to say, identify the current state, define the future state, assess the risk and create the strategic plans and roadmap so the clients could implement. As part of these initiatives, we have had to gather the numbers, which essentially means ask for them, and use them to help assess the current state financially. Eventually, we used the number to do future state projections and budgeting. I am a big believer in the adages, the numbers don’t lie, and you need to know where you are to determine where you can and need to go. Numbers help in making better business decisions.

So I thought I would provide some of the more common financial analysis options used to help business leaders and professionals make better business decisions. The type of financials you require will be driven, in part, by the type of initiative. You can use the following as a checklist for the types of financials you may need to understand. You should ask your accountant, financial analyst or CFO what other numbers maybe be required as I can’t cover them all here but I do hope this blog on the numbers helps.

Vertical Analysis is used on financial statements where each entry of the major accounts, assets, liabilities, and equities in the balance sheet are represented as a proportion of the account totals. It shows the relative sizes of different accounts on a financial statement. When done on an income statement the top line of sales (100%) is broken down by percentage of product or service sold. It can be used on a project to understand top line spend (100%) against a category of spend. For example, labor, hardware, software, etc. However, if you are looking at a company’s financials overall, you may want to understand the financial breakdown of sales vs. expenses regarding percentages. (PS: you should know what an incomes statement and balance sheet, and how to read them)

Horizontal Analysis is sometimes called trend analysis and should be something you understand and monitor. You compare ratios or line items in financial statements over a certain period. It’s a useful tool evaluate trend situations. You can use this analysis against a balance sheet, income statement, industry data or a multi-period project budget to understand what is going on.

Forecast to Budget: The use of historical data to determine the direction of future trends. Forecasting is used by companies to determine how to allocate their budgets for an upcoming period. It is also used to budget for projects.

Run-Rates: If a company has revenues of $100 million in its latest quarter, the CEO might say: “Our latest quarter puts us at a $400 million run rate.” All this is saying is that if the company were to perform at the same level for the next year, they’d have annual revenues of $400 million.

Productivity: Productivity is the relationship between the quantity of output and the quantity of input used to generate that output. It is a measure of the effectiveness and efficiency of your organization in generating output with the resources available. Productivity = output/input.

Return on Assets: Investors and managers base the market value of the business on the profit it generates. The return on assets, or ROA, of business, is a ratio commonly used to calculate profitability.

Inventory Turnover: Companies that are based on the sale of a product depend on regular sales to generate a profit. In these cases, the financial health of a business depends on its inventory turnover, or in other words, how many times a year it sells its average inventory.

Cost-Benefit Analysis is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives that satisfy transactions, activities or functional requirements for business. It is a technique that is used to determine options that provide the best approach for the adoption and practice regarding benefits in labor, time and cost savings.

Breakeven Analysis: An analysis to determine the point at which revenue received equals the costs associated with receiving the revenue.

Sensitivity Analysis: A technique used to determine how different values of an independent variable will impact a particular dependent variable under a given set of assumptions.

Profitability Analysis: A component of enterprise resource planning (ERP) that allows administrators to forecast the profitability of a proposal or optimize the profitability of an existing project.

Net Present Value (NPV): Defined as the sum of the present values (PVs) of incoming and outgoing cash flows over a period. Incoming and outgoing cash flows can also be described as benefit and cost cash flows, respectively.

Internal Rate of Return (IRR): Also called the discounted cash flow rate of return. It’s a rate of return used in capital budgeting to measure and compare the profitability of investments. ‘Internal’ refers to the fact that does not calculate environmental factors like interest rates or inflation.

Return on Investment: A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of some different investments. You calculate ROI, the benefit (return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment; the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

If you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business. Marcus Lemonis Share on X

Asset Turnover:  Indicates business capability to generate sales per every dollar invested in total assets

Cash Conversion Cycle: Measures the effectiveness (average amount of time in days) to convert resource inputs into cash

Current Assets to Liabilities Ratios: It calculates the extent to which a firm can meet its short-term obligations.

Debt to Equity Ratio: It indicates how much of total funds are provided by creditors versus by owners.

Market Segmentation Analysis: It indicates revenues by your business market segments and can be adjusted to segment product and service lines.

Final Thoughts

So, did I just bore you? Are your eyeballs rolling back into your forehead? Sorry about that. I know I didn’t provide you a lot of case examples. I have limited space in a blog. These are the financial analysis basics. When I am working on an initiative, I find myself working with a team. Most recently that team has included a combination of stakeholders all working to serve the client’s needs. It has included a senior consultant, project lead, a researcher, financial analyst and of course the client we are serving. As the management consultant wearing the hat of a strategic business analyst and business advisor, I get to work with a team of people who provide the information needed and packaged in a way that it can be analyzed. All I have to do is ask. I guess for you, as a business leader or professional, you need to be able to do the same thing. You may not have to create the numbers, but you do need to know what to request, how to read them and determine what they mean or at least ask what they mean.

Good luck!

Remember, do your best, invest in the success of others and make your journey count.

Richard

Staff, Investopedia. “Forecasting.” Investopedia. June 05, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forecasting.asp.
“Run Rate.” WordReference Forums. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/run-rate.3041745/.
Phillips, Jack J., and Patricia Pulliam Phillips. Handbook of Training Evaluation and Measurement Methods. London: Routledge, 2016.
Marshall, Alfred. Principles of Economics. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
Smith, Charisma. “An Analysis to Determine the Point at Which Revenue Received.” Prezi.com. April 18, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://prezi.com/ghwtqx4172gc/an-analysis-to-determine-the-point-at-which-revenue-received/.
Staff, Investopedia. “Sensitivity Analysis.” Investopedia. December 03, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sensitivityanalysis.asp.
“What Is Profitability Analysis? – Definition from WhatIs.com.” SearchERP. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/profitability-analysis.
“Net Present Value.” SpringerReference. doi:10.1007/springerreference_2028.
Boundless. “Internal Rate of Return.” Internal Rate of Return | Boundless Finance. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-finance/chapter/internal-rate-of-return/.
Staff, Investopedia. “Return On Investment – ROI.” Investopedia. September 01, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp.

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11 Considerations To Help You Make Better Business Decisions

On November 22, 2017   /   General  
11 Considerations To Help You Make Better Business Decisions

Recently I had the opportunity to present Making Better Business Decisions at a Project Management and Business Analysis World Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A topic close to my heart, since I focus on helping business leaders and professionals build business brainpower, make better business decisions and establish a common direction using strategic planning and business analysis best practices. The interesting thing about this topic is that there are so many endless possibilities when talking and writing about making better business decisions since there is so much information available on the topic. Here are 11 points from that presentation.

Beliefs Get In Our Way.

We tend to think we are better at making decisions than what we are. Time and time again this is demonstrated as a fact. We now know that decision making is more of a cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Often our decision is influenced by a set of beliefs, values, and attitude. Research shows that we can be really bad decision makers.

That’s Illogical Spock.

Sometimes when we look at all the facts and the right decision is an only common sense we tend to make poor decisions. For example, a cab driver will drive their cab, less on poor weather days when they have more fares and more on warm weather days when they have fewer fares. The logical choice, drive more on bad weather days to make more money. The reason, a decision ceiling, and culture. We all have one. Know yours.

Factors Affect Decision-Making.

Many factors that impact decision-making. They generally can be listed as workplace trends, technology, and culture. We have all seen the squeeze on in workplace trends; smaller business units, flexible work organizations, shared service and gig economy. Technology always changes; business intelligence, artificial intelligence, and expert systems are altering our approach to decision-making. Culture is always a factor yet sometimes left out of the equation. Depending on the part of the world you live in; decisions are based on speed, decisiveness, individualism or groupthink, organic and an all-for-one approach.

Thinking Fast And Slow.

I wish I came up with that phrase. But I didn’t. It is from a book by Daniel Kahneman, a 2012 Economic Nobel Prize Winner. It states that the decision brain has a system one and a system two. System one is intuitive, fast, automatic and instantaneous. This system has a lot of influence, guides and steers our lives. System two is slower, rational, logical and analytical. Deliberation and reasoning are its hallmarks. Traditional economists modeled saw people as rational, selfish, with tastes that don’t change much. Kahneman discovered is that we are neither fully rational nor completely selfish and that peoples tastes are anything but stable. System one and two are at odds with one another. Often taking a risk when we shouldn’t. It is worth reading his book, Thinking Fast and Slow to understand the brain in the decision-making process. Especially since in business analysis we often use decision-making models, approaches, and tools to help make decisions.

Models Help In The Process.

Anyone who knows me, know I use the setability model for planning, analysis, and decision-making across impact zones (see S.E.T. for Success, pp 17). I think models are an important factor in making decisions. Every organization or client I have ever worked with either has models they use in decision-making or they need them. As a professional, who uses business analysis, your job is to provide a model or find out what should be used in the business environment you are in and apply it. Having a standardized decision-making model is a positive benefit to the organization as it provides consistency. It is important to be able to adapt and change your model as things change in the business climate.

It’s All In The Approach.

Related to models, your approach to providing solutions. In my presentation I mentioned that are many approaches to use (from 5, 7, 10, 12 step processes) that can be summarized in four steps; define, choose, implement and measure. Defining has to do with framing a problem or opportunity. Framing often has to be done well as it is the difference between seeing the glass as half full or half empty. To choose is to have a choice. With business analysis, the three option choice applies (do nothing, do something or do something else). Implementation comes down to your planning approach (predictive or adaptive). Finally, measure gets down to key performance indicator. It is about knowing whether you will or if you did achieve the result based on all the decisions made.

Critical Thinking Tools.

We all need tools in our toolbox and decision-making has a lot to do with having the best tool to apply in making key decisions. Most websites provide the same tools when you are seeking something to use to make decisions. They include; swot, pest, pros, and cons, and cost-benefit analysis.

If you do not know how to use these tools you should work on leaning them. They are the standards no different than having a hammer, a saw, measuring tape, level, and pencil; They are tools of the trade.

Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think, Albert Einstein Share on X

Confidence Gets In Our Way.

Back to the brain and the way we think. It is thought people fail to take into account complexity and that their understanding of the world consists of a small and necessarily un-representative set of observations. Furthermore, the mind does not account for the role of chance and therefore falsely assumes that a future event will mirror a past event. For example, to use a phrase, my Dad would say, “they are just throwing good money after bad.” In other words, when we have sunk costs we tend to put more into a bad situation, we take higher risks, and we gamble more. When what you see is truly all there is, there is nothing more. We will hope for different results. We become overconfident. The only way to guard against this is by doing your due diligence.

It Is An Illusion Of Control With A Planning Fallacy.

We all have optimism and loss aversion bias where we think we have greater control over our lives than we do. Something called the illusion of control. The examples cited include people believing that they are less at risk of being a crime victim yet live in a high crime area, smokers believing that they are less likely to contract lung cancer or disease than other smokers, and traders who think they are less exposed to losses in the markets. In this case, we overestimate the benefits and underestimate the costs. The key is to be more mindful of the decision-making process.

Overcoming Positives And Negatives.

Decision-making is tough because we have the deck stacked against us for making better decisions. There are some things we can do to solve the decision-making challenges. We can be more mindful of our choices. In our organizations, we can embrace the diversity of decision makers and create decision committees. We can have designated decision driver with someone who has no impaired judgment since the decision is irrelevant to them. Finally, we can create control limits on decision-making and obey the decision-making rules.

Final Thoughts.

This article is just a summation of a presentation I did on making better business decisions and outlines the challenges I see in organizations and people in business today. Given some constraints we have today (time, money and resources) there are things we need to do so we are making better business decisions. We could design organizations for decision-making, create decision-making rules and guiding principles, establish flexible decision makes and a common decision-making language, seek to guard against over-confidence and optimism bias and maybe get a coach, a mentor or a decision group for those more difficult choices. Good luck.

Remember, do your best, invest in the success of others and make your journey count. Richard.

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9 Focus Areas In Strategic Business Analysis for Success

On October 3, 2017   /   business analysis, leadership, strategic planning  
9 Focus Areas In Strategic Business Analysis for Success

Recently I was having breakfast with a CEO of a ½ billion dollar annual revenue resource company.

He was telling me how they had a strategic planning session with a former executive where they mapped out their plans for the next five years. As with most companies, the plan is to grow, to expand and explore new worlds and go where they have never gone before. Does that sound familiar?

So being the strategic planner and business analyst that I am, I asked if they had defined, scoped and prioritized their initiatives yet. There was an awkward moment of silence. Sixty seconds when you are not sure if you should begin to pray, cry or buy a lotto ticket. The response was they had not gotten that far yet because they were busy operating the business. But their people will do that, get right on it, right?

Business leaders and professionals often do not take strategic planning to the next level, a situation I know only too well. Companies create great plans and ideas from their initial strategic planning and mapping sessions only to front-load everything and not take the time to understand where they should focus, why and what should be the priorities.

This is where strategic business analysis (enterprise analysis) comes in. As in the question, I asked above; strategic business analysis is used to define, scope and prioritize initiatives, a step in the strategic planning process that gets missed. In the real world of business, a strategic business analysis is an essential component of every project or change initiative to ensure outcomes align with the goals and objectives the entire organization and its departments.

In a review of the IIBA Body of Knowledge, several books on strategic analysis, my book, SET for Success, and from the work I have done with small to large corporations, strategic business analysis requires a keen focus on the following:

  1. Understanding the business structure, architectures, and people and culture
  2. Conducting capability analysis to ensure the organization can do what it says it plans to do
  3. Ensuring proper strengths and weaknesses are recognized, and opportunity and threats are identified and defined
  4. Business problems and opportunities are analyzed, and solutions are brainstormed beyond the norm of improving processes, increased sales and cut costs
  5. Performing feasibility and risk analysis on the potential solutions and compare the solutions alternatives through success and failure analysis, pros and cons discussions, and cost, ease, benefit analysis and developing decision grids to prioritize solutions
  6. Determining the proper scope change initiatives based on business, structure and organizational parameters and capabilities
  7. Developing the business case to drive out the investments and expected returns externally or internally for the key initiatives.
  8. Creating a communication plan that helps guide the organization through the changes that will take place as initiatives become implemented, and
  9. Building a roadmap focused on using project management best practices of implementation with business champions, key initiatives, tactical focus, time and dates and a reporting structure to ensure initiatives are moving forward as originally planned.

There is a lot going on here, and it would be a mistake to think that this is the private domain of business analysts identified on an organizational chart. It is not. Business analysis and strategic business analysis is a set of skills that bridge a position. In today’s business world the CEO, COO, VPs, various Managers, and Professionals must be able to perform these critical tasks at the strategic, tactical and operational levels. Granted there is a difference in the tools and techniques employed, and the expected outcomes and deliverables that exist in the details. The key is that there is a shared vision of success connected to the goals and objectives of the organization. Something many business leaders and professionals miss with a negative impact on the organization.

It is great to have a strategic plan. You also need to pick and prioritize your project focus. Share on X

Effectively implementing strategic plans means using proper strategic analysis and strategic business analysis to ensure you make the best strategic decisions, that you are actually strategic through proper strategic management considerations and that you are focused on the best initiatives and projects for your organization at this point and time. Strategic analysis and therefore the strategic business analysis focuses on factual support of business decisions. Hopefully, in the end, the business has made better business decisions.

Final Thoughts

I have always enjoyed the topic of strategic planning, management, and analysis because it is incredibly interesting to help shape an organization’s future and because learning strategic business analysis is for everyone in business, from the executive to the professional. Granted you may not be working at the strategic level in your career, but you have a business impact at the tactical and operational levels. If strategic business analysis helps scope out the initiatives and projects delivered by mid-level and project managers, then other professionals have to flush out the details to ensure that prioritized initiatives and projects deliver.

The best part is that strategic business analysis is connected to strategic management which is concerned with the overall goals and objectives of the organization, includes multiple stakeholders in the decision-making process, has to incorporate short and long term specifics of initiatives and projects and knows that there is a trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency. If you are going to envision it and plan it, you better make sure you are addressing the right problem, leveraging the best opportunities and you get your priorities straight; strategic business analysis will help. Good luck.
Do your best, invest in the success of others, and make your journey count. Richard

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Get to Know Richard

Richard works with companies that provide products, services, and expertise to other businesses. As a senior strategic business analyst and consultant, his focus is strategic planning, business analysis, and training and development of client organizations.

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Richard Lannon
Voice: 204-899-2808
Email Us Richard Lannon
Website: http://braveworld.ca
Email: richard@braveworld.ca

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