Well, the grand Olympic Adventure has come to my province (British Columbia). We’re in the eye of the storm right now, between the Olympics and Paralympics. I went over to Vancouver to take in some events and soak up the atmosphere. There was lots of opportunity to people-watch and, with a major transit journey to [...]
Continue reading about Post-Olympic Musings on Strategic Planning
Small business owners and entrepreneurs rarely, if ever, get a “time-out” for thinking about the big picture of their life and business. The go-go-go habit is quite addictive, involving all sorts of factors like adrenaline, drive, ambition, fear, passion… the list goes on. These are all GOOD things except sometimes we can start to feel [...]
After the first full week-and-a-bit of November I must confess I think I’m falling behind on my tasks. Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:
Define up to three target niches, and what specific offer to make to them. (I defined two niches to focus on, and reserve the third slot for [...]
As you build a business, whether you seek to simply employ yourself and support your family or you plan to grow a community of leaders and co-workers in pursuit of a common goal, you need to be very purposeful about your vision, values and mission. In the day-to-day busyness and the unavoidable stresses of entrepreneurship, [...]
Continue reading about Being a values-based business means tough decisions
Before you ask “how” do I build a successful business, stop and ask yourself “why” am I building a business. Does your business (or organization) exist for any other purpose than to survive and be economically successful? Does your business exist to provide you with employment and a livelihood? I challenge you to go farther.
Here’s [...]
Continue reading about V-a-l-u-e-s…what does that word mean to you?
Graphic facilitation and visual language is fan-diddly-tastic (as Flanders would say) but there’s something tickling at the back of my brain. My dad told me recently of an anecdote from my school years – in grade 6 or something like that, apparently I constructed a three-dimensional mind map. I was trying to make a regular [...]
Somebody asked me today about what is the value an organization would get from doing strategic planning, especially this “fun” visual planning that I’m offering. GOOD QUESTION MEL! Thanks!
First of all, strategic planning is a really important exercise to any group of people who are responsible for taking action towards a goal. It’s especially important [...]
Continue reading about What’s the value in visual strategic planning?
What’s the point of strategic planning exercises that ask you to create a vision and mission? I’ve spoken to many people over the years who have become cynical about the shenanigans that go on when companies or organizations declare they’re going to host a retreat to discuss the company’s vision and mission. I’ve personally sat [...]
Continue reading about Why bother with vision and mission? A strategic planning overview
Thanks to the board retreat attendees at Intrepid Theatre for their participation, and their willingness to have me share their board process with my blog readers as an example of this mode of working.
These photos were taken during the session to capture the “raw” state of charts at a meeting. This week and next I’ll [...]
My mind has been whirring lately with a connection between values and this graphic work I’m doing, and how it falls into the greater sphere of business. From past self-development exercises I have developed a strong attraction towards discussing and building with the concept of personal values (and business values, which are a manifestation of [...]
Continue reading about What motivates us most is what we value most
