Alford Strategy Management
Sales Presentation
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Background
The first step in any engagement is a free one hour
phone consultation to gain an understanding of
the company, establish rapport with the
Chairman, President or CEO and set expectations.
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Needs Assessment
Assuming we are going forward, the next step is a “needs assessment.”
This will include a day onsite meeting with the senior management team to get an understanding of the
vision for the business and how well it is understood by the troops. In a larger company, we would also
want to meet with Managers reporting to senior staff.
A week prior to this meeting, the Chairman, President, CEO or CFO will overnight several items to ASM.
These will include, but are not limited to:
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5 year historical financial statements.
•
Current budget and results year-to-date.
•
3 year plan, if available, and also your strategic plan, if you have one.
•
Marketing plan how you plan to attract new business
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Employee handbook, if available
•
Any other document(s) that will provide ASM a thorough background on the company, before the
onsite visit.
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Follow Up Meeting
Presentation to Chairman, President or CEO
(and later, all direct reports) of findings and
recommendations, one to two weeks after onsite
visit. This will hopefully be followed by a
complete Strategic Planning Process, yielding a
plan for driving the business forward, ideally in
a “blue ocean” plan of action.
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Why does ASM get hired for a
consulting engagement?
We get hired for one or more of five Reasons:
•
To increase revenues
•
To decrease expenses
•
To solve problems
•
To avoid problems
•
To develop a Strategic Plan and monitor performance
against that plan on at least a quarterly basis
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Developing a Strategic Plan
Assuming we are engaged to develop a Strategic Plan,
there are ten steps to the process. The key will be
good two-way communication and commitment on
the part of the team members that we will be working
with.
1. Visions Statement
2. Mission Statement
3. Communication Strategy
4. Create Strategic Planning Task Force (larger organizations)
5. Core Values
6. Goals
7. Objectives
8. Tasks
9. Implementation Strategy
10. Monitoring of Strategic Plan
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Vision Statement
An organization’s vision statement is simply
their roadmap for the future.
•
The direction of the organization should be
broad to include all areas of impact but
narrow enough to clearly define a path.
•
Daniel Burnham, who developed the plan
for the city of Chicago, is famously quoted
as saying, “Make no little plans. They have
no magic to stir men’s blood and probably
will not themselves be realized.”
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Mission Statement
An organization’s mission is a definition
of whom and what they are.
Often mission statements include core
goals and values of the organization.
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Communication Strategy
The development of a communication strategy is
essential for the effective development and
implementation of a strategic plan. In the
communications strategy,
•
Determine who will be involved in the planning
process,
•
How they will be involved and
•
What is being communicated to whom on the staff
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
For larger organizations,
create a Strategic Planning Task Force
The development of a core team of organizational leaders is mandatory in the effective
creation of a strategic plan.
•
Each task force member should represent a key business area or department of the
organization to ensure the plan has organization wide input and buy-in.
•
The task force meets regularly with clearly defined deliverables to be presented at
each meeting.​
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Core Values
Values are the organization’s fundamental beliefs in
how they operate.
•
Values can provide a guideline for management
and staff for acceptable organizational behavior.
•
Values relate to the organization’s culture.
•
This really is about the firm’s soft skills.
•
We can all agree that technical skills are crucial to
any company, but people skills actually retain
clients.​
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Goals
•
Goals are broad based strategies needed to
achieve your organization’s mission.
•
These are usually set for the next year, but
need to mesh with the overall Strategic
Plan.​
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Objectives
Objectives are
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specific,
•
measurable,
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action oriented,
•
realistic and
•
time bound strategies that achieve the organization’s goals
and vision.
•
These are set as often as necessary, but usually monthly or at
most, quarterly.​
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Tasks
Tasks are specific actionable events that are
assigned to individuals/departments to
achieve.
•
They should be specific,
•
measurable and
•
time bound.​
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Implementation
Strategy
Once the plan has been outlined, a tactical
strategy is built that prioritizes initiatives and
aligns resources.
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
•
The implementation strategy pulls all the
plan pieces together to ensure collectively
there are no missing pieces
•
and that the plan is feasible.
•
Accountability measures are put in place to
ensure implementation takes place.
Monitoring of Strategic Plan
During implementation of a strategic plan, it is critical
to monitor the success and challenges of planning
assumptions and initiatives.
•
You must look objectively at the measurement
criteria defined in your goals and objectives.
•
It may be necessary to retool the plan and its
assumptions if elements of the plan are off track.​
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
WE FUNCTION AS BUSINESS DOCTORS
•
We act as your Business Doctor, helping keep you on track as you manage your
business and strive to meet or exceed your Strategic Plan. Once again, there are
several reasons why companies or entrepreneurs hire us.​
1.
To increase revenues
2.
To lower expenses
3.
To solve problems
4.
To prevent problems
5.
Create and monitor performance against the Strategic Plan
6.
Boosting Productivity
7.
Enhancing employee relations
8.
Tightening organizational structure
9.
Developing a “Blue Ocean” strategy for your company
10.
Delineating your exit strategy
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]
Our strategy planning starts with a snapshot of your business
today to insure a solid foundation.
•
It’s complete when you have a crystal clear vision for your
entity in-hand,
•
with a step-by-step action plan to get there;
•
when-where-how.
•
We look forward to working with you.
•
ALFORD STRATEGY MANAGEMENT LLC has been
delivering results since we opened in 2004.
•
Our goal is to provide both a superior customer experience
and tremendous value for our customers.​
Alford Strategy Management
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND YOUR TEAM!
Alford Strategy Management LLC | Bruce G. Alford | 1 (847) 708-5703 | [email protected]