Companies don’t grow by making a sale. They grow by attracting and retaining customers, which sometimes requires losing a battle to win the war. I was in Atlanta to support a family member who required significant surgery and had selected the doctors at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute for the procedures. The Atlanta location made sense, […]
Why a Pyrrhic victory is a great way to lose a customer for life Read More »
The strategic planning review meeting started on a downbeat note. “We just lost Acme, our biggest customer. How could this happen?” Fred, the CEO of what I’ll call Precision Manufacturing, was more sad than angry. “Acme always gave us a positive review in our annual survey. We visit them at least monthly. How could this
How to Lose a Loyal Customer Read More »
I recently gave a talk on the chemistry of strategy to the CEO Club of Boston. The talk was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and to finish no later than 11 a.m. I’ve devoted the last forty years to this topic, so I could have talked for hours. But I didn’t. Why? Because I
How to Hold Operational Meetings Your Team Won’t Dread Read More »
What if you had a strategic planning meeting and the eight worst behavioral archetypes who appear on executive teams showed up? How would you handle them? Brad was the CEO of Liberty Consulting (all names have been changed), and he was frustrated with the tension and disconnect between his executives. Would getting them together to
At this year’s strategic planning meeting, the CEO of a small automotive parts supplier was feeling optimistic. “We’re on a path to double revenues within five years,” said Jane. “Finally, we’ll have the resources to do things right.” She and the team had been struggling to keep their demanding customers satisfied on a shoestring budget.
What’s the Bad News About Growth? (The answer(s) may surprise you…) Read More »
Managing risk is a major element of the “chemistry of strategy.” You must understand strategic risks — what they are, how to identify them, and how to assess and manage them from a strategic perspective. Financial risk is embedded in all risks, since the impact of all risks is ultimately financial. There are five major
How to Manage the Five Sources of Strategic Risk (Part Two) Read More »
John W. Myrna, Author, The Chemistry of Strategy: Strategic Planning for the Not-Yet-Fortune 500 Managing risk is a major element of the “chemistry of strategy.” You must understand strategic risks — what they are, how to identify them, and how to assess and manage them from a strategic perspective. Financial risk is embedded in all risks,
How to Manage the Five Sources of Strategic Risk (Part One) Read More »
