New Whitepaper Release – Evaluating Decision Options
StrategyDriven contributors are pleased to announce the release of our sixth whitepaper: Evaluating Decision Options.
Options and Tradeoffs…
Decision-making often involves trade-offs. Risk aversion suggests that all things being equal, decision-makers will select the option having the lowest risk. But because all things are never quite equal, decision-makers concede items they deem to be of lesser value to items they believe hold greater value with risk being one of the commodities considered.
Decisions involve a choice between two or more complex options. This complexity is a result of the multiple characteristics that define each option and will impact the probability of achieving a desired outcome. In making a selection, the decision-maker is attempting to choose the mix of characteristics that will most optimally achieve the desired result.
The StrategyDriven Evaluating Decision Options whitepaper provides decision-makers with a three step process to use when evaluating and selecting from several differing decision options. These steps are detailed with supporting principles and philosophy; helping users understand the reasoning behind each action.
The Decision-Making – Evaluating Decision Options, Strategic Planning – Analysis, Organizational Performance Measures – Alignment, Organizational Performance Measures – Types, Organizational Performance Measures – Selection, and Organizational Performance Measures – Construction whitepapers are available to Registered Members. If you have not already done so, please click here to register and join the conversation.
Leadership Inspirations – Shared Intelligence
“I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.”
Woodrow Wilson
28th President of the United States and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1919)
StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 21c – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Questions: The Answer to Sales
StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
Special Edition 21c – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Questions: The Answer to Sales explores how asking questions enables salespeople to better understand their client’s needs and align their product or service offerings to fulfill those needs; establishing the salesperson as a value-adding consultant rather than a commodity seller. During our discussion, Duane Sparks, author of Questions: The Answer to Sales
- what gives salespeople the right to ask clients probing questions
- avoiding the trap of immediately delivering a sales pitch
- formulating The Best Questions
- structuring questions so to convey a deep understanding of business and industry issues
Additional Information
In addition to the invaluable selling skills insight Duane shares in Questions: The Answer to Sales
Complimenting Questions: The Answer to Sales
- Action Selling: How to sell like a professional, even if you think you are one
- Selling Your Price: How to Escape the Race to the Bargain Basement
- Masters of Loyalty: How to turn your sales force into a loyalty force.
- Sales Strategy from the Inside Out: How Complex Selling Really Works
Read a Summary of the above Sales Books.
Final Request…
The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.
Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!
About the Author
Duane Sparks, author of Questions: The Answer to Sales
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Meet Arlene Johnson, author of SuccessMapping
Now more than ever, everyone from students to CEOs need a plan for lasting and meaningful success. Filled with inspiring anecdotes and focused on actual achievement, Success Mapping
In August, we were privileged to host Arlene Johnson, Founder and President of the Sinequanon Group and author of Success Mapping: Achieve What You Want…Right Now!
Success Mapping
- Seize opportunities and leverage personal strengths
- Make wise decisions and take actions with no regret
- Collaborate with others for needed support or resources
- Manage change to prevent self-sabotage
- Create a Success Map for what you want in your life and career!
Success Mapping
Meet Arlene Johnson in Person!
Where:
Barnes & Noble – Minneapolis
801 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota
When:
Thursday, October 29 at noon – 1 pm
RSVP: info@successmapping.com
“I love this book! It’s the perfect guide for achieving success in the twenty first century. Don’t open it unless you want to change your life.”
Sue Dark
CEO DeepNines Technologies
Additional Information
In addition to the incredible insights Arlene shares in Success Mapping
About the Author
Arlene Johnson, author of Success Mapping
Resource Management Best Practice 4 – Ongoing Assessment of the Market Availability of Strategic Resources
Market changes can make once plentiful resources scarce. The recent retirement eligibility of Baby Boomer generation workers and the relatively small size of the follow-on Generation X workforce represents one example of a market change that is creating a shortage of experienced workers in many industries. While this change could be readily anticipated, others such as government sponsored large scale infrastructure projects which consume significant quantities of materials, heavy equipment, and personnel are less predictable. Thus, it is important for organizations to identify needed strategic resources and assess their market availability on an ongoing basis.[wcm_restrict plans=”40873, 25542, 25653″]
Ongoing assessment of resource availability should be performed for those personnel, material, equipment, and financial resources required to perform operationally significant activities and achieve strategic goals. Some examples include:
Operationally Significant Activities
- major facility overhauls
- peek production periods
Strategic Goals
- asset construction
- new product development
- service line or offering expansion
Some market factors to consider for each resource type include:
Personnel
- number of individuals available within the workforce possessing the required knowledge and skills
- pipeline health including:
- projected number of workforce entrants
- availability of uniquely skilled recent military veterans
- training availability including internal training programs, trade schools, and colleges and universities
- entrant interest and fit with the organization and industry
- market opportunities enticing existing worker attrition
- demand for critical personnel resources by other organizations and industries in both the near and long-term
Material
- existing and projected material demand within the local, regional, and global marketplace
- existing and projected material supply within the local, regional, and global marketplace
- lead times for strategic materials and trends
- pricing of strategic materials and trends
Equipment
- existing and projected equipment demand within the local, regional, and global marketplace
- existing and projected equipment availability within the local, regional, and global marketplace
- pricing of strategic equipment (purchase and lease) and trends
Financial
- existing and projected competition for capital resources
- existing and projected credit availability
- cost of credit and trends
Final Thought…
It is often helpful to first identify potential sources of competing resource demand. Be creative. Demand for your company’s needed resources will originate from other companies in other industries and in today’s global marketplace, from other countries as well. Likewise, don’t forget to include global sourcing when assessing the resource supply.
Availability of critical resources often dictates an initiative’s viability. As such, consider creating externally focused performance measures to monitor supply and demand of strategic resources with action triggers defined to initiate further analysis or other decision-making.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”40873, 25542, 25653″]
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Additional Resources
Trade associations and industry groups are often a good source of refined information regarding resource availability. Many provide Congressional testimony and make other public presentations; making this valuable information publicly available. Remember, other industries competing for like resources may be supported by similar organizations providing a view on these resources also. Consider these data sources especially if no industry specific studies are available.
Absent this refined information, a wealth of raw data can be obtained from government sources such as:
- FedStats – www.FedStats.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics – www.BLS.gov
- US Census Bureau – www.Census.gov
- Bureau of Economic Analysis – www.BEA.gov