strategic planning

Strategy – Top Strategy Site

If you need some business strategy you can get top strategy at Strategy by the hour.

Strategy refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. The word is of military origin, deriving from the Greek word strategos, which roughly translates as general.^[1]

In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked. How a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: the terms and conditions that it is fought on and whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy, which is part of the four levels of warfare: political goals or grand strategy, strategy, operations, and tactics.

Strategy by the Hour Top Business Strategy Site

The Power of Love – Business and Personal Development

Amazing Books, Audio Books, and Meditations by Tina Ferguson

	The Power of Love The book that started it all. You are a divine being of God, lit from within with the illuminating creative spirit of All That Is. Would you like to be able to feel and access your spirit each and every day? In this simple, practical guidebook, the teachers known as Alliseah share easy ways to connect to the Truth of who you are. Their loving energy can be felt on every page as they guide you to remember all you are here to be. If you dare to be all that you know you are, then this book is for you! Buy The Power of Love for Just 24.95, includes free shipping.
	More soon…

Proven Life Coaching as seen on NBC…

Do you have a life and money?

• Did you know it is possible to start having the life and business of your dreams in as little as 2 months?
• Did you know people who understand the bigger game of business and life succeed more than others who don’t?
• Did you know it is much easier to move toward what you want than to move away from what you don’t.
• Do you realize small changes add up to a huge difference in your company’s profits?
• Do you know the six easy ways people engage in business?

My Life Coaching and Success Programs get what you are looking for. RESULTS!

• One professional services firm jumped from $3.8 million to over $10 million in four years
• Another professional services firm rapidly grew from $4.5 million to more than $15 million in five years
• A professional services organization grew from 25 members to more than 40 within two years
• One client’s proposal win rate moved from 22% win rate to more than 68%
• An entrepreneur went from almost bankrupt to a three-fold revenue increase in just five months

Tina Ferguson – CEO Rapid Success Partners – Award-winning Marketing Strategist, Life Coach, Small Business Success Expert.

Business Coaching

A Business Coaching Program will Transform your business.

Business coaching provides support and honest feedback about your Small Business.

Coaching is an excellent way to attain a certain work behavior that will improve your leadership, accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning and more. It can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one, group coaching sessions, and large scale seminars.

Professional Business Coaches are often called in when a business is performing badly, however many businesses are starting to recognize the benefits of business coaching even when the organization is very successful.

Business coaches often specialize in different practice areas such as executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching.

Top 3 Questions to Ask a business coach.

1. What type of individuals and businesses do you normally coach with? This will allow you to see if your type of business is the right fit.
2. Typically How Long do you recommend coaching for? Coaches that believe in their program will know how long it normally takes on average for an individual to get results. This will help with budgeting your coaching sessions.
3. Do you have any intake guidelines for new clients? You want to make sure that you are in the right state of mind for business coaching. An intake questionnaire will help you get the most benefit out of your coaching program.

*Remember most successful businesses and executives use some sort of business coaching program.

Facebook For Marketing Your Financial Planning Business – 4 Strategies

By Valerie Love

Facebook is an Internet marketer’s dream, if used properly. This article focuses on financial advisers who may be starting out or who want to expand their online marketing strategies.

If you’re wondering how to become a financial adviser, the info at the end of this article will help you evaluate your business options.

Note: I’ll assume that you already have a free Facebook account. If you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, and don’t have a Facebook account yet, head on over after reading this article and set up your account. It’s free and it’s a no-brainer for any business owner. I’ll also assume that you’ll begin searching for your existing client base on Facebook, and that you’re actively inviting them to be your friends.

Another note: Make sure you check with compliance about your company’s rules for online client interaction. If your compliance department is anything like mind was, they’ve got a book on it.

Let’s get started:

Strategy #1: Start a Facebook group. The advantage of starting a group is credibility. Set up a group that’s relevant to the area of being a financial adviser, that would appeal to clients. Make it a Getting Wealthy Club or an Investing for Great Returns Club.

When you set up the group, clearly state your ‘credo’, which is a statement of purpose for what this group is all about.

Once you start the group, invite your clients to join the group.

Then, visit the group daily, posting your comments, ideas and/or wealth building strategies. You’ll gain credibility and your clients will gain knowledge and a closer connection with you…which means more money. Financial planning success is built on relationships.

Strategy #2: Comment daily on your own feed with your meaningful thoughts. That means to go daily to your own Facebook page and post a meaningful thought for the day-one that will appeal to your clients.

As a financial adviser, you want to stay top of mind to your clients. This is a great way to interact with them, without selling something or seeming pushy.

Important Note: Do not post what cereal you’re having for breakfast or any of the other minutiae of life you’ll find on Facebook. That’s not effective marketing. You want to make your posts meaningful to your clients.

Strategy #3: Keep your clients on a separate list on Facebook and respond meaningfully to selected posts. Creating a list is easy, and it means that only those who are on the list will see the feeds for that list. You don’t want to mix your friends.

This is very important!

Keep your clients separate from your friends/family! Business is business and play is play. Keep this boundary in place. Then, when your clients post things that are going on in their lives, take note. Comment when you feel inclined too. Otherwise, keep the info in mind, for instance, a kid’s graduation, or a client who’s preparing for a marathon.

People share all kinds of personal info on Facebook with their friends, and you can use that info to create deeper bonds, because you care.

Strategy #4: Search for people in your niche market and invite them to be your friends. Facebook folks don’t seem to mind who invites them to be friends, it seems that most people on Facebook are open. There are some who are picky about friends, but they are by far the minority.

Facebook is one big party, so invite people who are in your target market to join your party. That way, they’re being exposed to your skill and expertise as a financial advisor on a daily basis. Sooner or later, they’ll connect with you personally.

Hint: you can find people in your niche market by the droves by searching the existing groups on Facebook.

So there you have it, 4 Facebook marketing strategies that are easy, and the best part is, you can begin today!

I wish Facebook had been an option in the days when I was getting started as a financial adviser. It wasn’t. But today, you can use this powerful medium to market yourself effectively, for free, and add to your client base, while solidifying existing relationships.

Good fortune to you!

Valerie Love is a Wealth & Prosperity Coach who teaches the art and science of wealthy living, personally and in business. If you’re looking for a unique and powerful way to add an additional four figures of revenue to your monthly income, visit: http://www.WealthCreationInternational.com or connect with Valerie via e-mail at: valerielove@liveyourdestinytoday.com.

Business Coach

Top 3 things to look for in a business coach

Business coaching is very vital in business today. One can not be knowledgeable in everything.

1. Your Business Coach should be Experienced in business
The main reason why people go to business schools and still fail in business is because the trainers there do not teach from practical experience. When you are being trained by an experienced person in business, you will be assured of getting the best results out of your training

2. A successful business coach must be abreast with the modern trends in business marketing. If you want to succeed in business, you must employ the modern trends. That means that your coach must be well versed with what is happening in the business arena. You can not trust a coach who will not tell you how to beat competitors in your field in the modern way.

3. Your Business Coach must be able to bring all tools to your situation. A good business coach will use any and all means to help you get the result that you are looking for. This may include traditional and non-traditional business tools such as coaching, inner and outer work. One example is an intuitive business coach would use tools from the law of attraction to help you get the success you want in your business.

Though there are many many business coaches in the world the only way you can have success is to actually hire a business coach today.

Elevating the Status of Emotions and Communication

By Jack Bergstrand

In addition to a clear strategy, good measures, and streamlined processes, reinventing enterprises requires a focus on personal relationships and human potential. As a result, it depends upon emotional connection and excellent communication to function well. The objective business world has often struggled with the sub­jects of emotions and communication. If they are considered at all, they are spoken of-in businesses and business schools-in somewhat demeaning terms such as “soft” skills.

Something that I learned as a consultant that I didn’t understand very well as an executive was that the notion of command and control with knowledge workers is largely a delusion. When I worked in a large company, people who reported to me would often nod their head “yes” when I asked them to do something. With regularity I would later discover that they really didn’t know what I was asking for, and many times I really didn’t either.

In large Enterprises these types of command and control misconceptions have the effect of making executives think that things are changing faster than they really are. After I began consulting, it became clear that co-creating solutions and building broad relationships was really the only way to achieve sustainable and productive change. It’s hard, but it is required. There is probably no business management area where I have changed my view more than on this one. The truth is that with knowledge work, the command and control mindset needs to be demoted, and communications and emotions need to increase in importance.

If knowledge work isn’t co-created, chances are it’s not going to get implemented productively. Co-creation is different from consensus, however, because co-creation also requires a decision maker. Even though co-creating work produces slower starts, it will lead to faster and more sustainable results. Investing a little extra time now will save a lot of time later. If you want something done productively and sustainably, you’ll probably need to put more of your own skin in the game-in conjunction with those who are actually doing the work.

The objective nature of Scientific Management effectively bred subjectivity out of businesses during the 20th century. Nonetheless, it is very important to articulate how you’re feeling so that you can better connect with how others are feeling. Emotions are important to productive knowledge work and Enterprise reinvention. They increase energy, clarity, and the productivity power of relationships. In this context, key motivators include the desire to win, achievement of something worthwhile, a sense of personal power, approval and acceptance, and recognition of efforts.

In the Operate work-behavior area of the an enterprise reinvention system, feelings influence actions which produces results. As part of this, it’s important to remember that people ultimately love others because of how they make them feel. We too often forget how important the need is to be appreciated, that neglect can often be more damaging than abuse, and that if you really want to honor someone, you should ask for their help. Leaders need to lead with their heads and their hearts, and in difficult times, emotional resistance can only be overcome by a stronger emotion. It’s important to turn negative emotions into positive ones, with special emphasis on the positive emotions of optimism, hope, faith, courage, ambition, determination, self-confidence, and self-worth.

In addition to elevating the status of emotions in Enterprises, communication also needs much more emphasis for companies to be more productive. This requires integrating the four steps of Enterprise Reinvention: Envision-Design-Build-Operate. Where a Design-oriented person might be overly blunt, an Operate-oriented per­son can instinctively be overly nice. Combining the blunt facts of Design with the emotional sensitivity of is the most productive answer. In practice it is called tact. It is the equivalent in the medical world, of the nurse who has the ability to give his or her patient a shot without having it hurt too much.

Productive communications are socially negotiated. This is harder than being blunt or telling someone what they want to hear. In the communication process, it’s important to connect the dots between where you’ve been, where you are, and where you need to go, because if something doesn’t fit with the past, it will very often be discarded or misread by people. This logical and emotional transition from the past to the future is necessary for sustainability.

Effective communication requires leaders to ask great questions and stick to a few key points. Asking questions instead of giving orders empowers people. Statements limit creativity. When you communicate, it is important to articulate what needs to stay the same, what needs to change, the steps required, and the progress being made. Consistent with this, it is important to have a clear and formal communication strategy to control the dialogue and to channel formal and informal organizational energy toward achieving the vision of the Enterprise.

Focus is as important to communications as it is to each step of the knowledge work productivity system. Short-term memory is limited to about five items. Three is better. If you have more than five points, people won’t remember any of them. To communicate productively, it’s important to be consistent, give people something that they can’t get anywhere else, and make them genuinely feel wanted and loved.

Productive relationships are essential ingredients in effective and efficient Enterprises. To activate them, the Operate step needs to help individuals achieve something as part of the company that they can’t achieve on their own.

Enterprises need leaders who set the tone, connect with people’s personal lives, support employees when they struggle, provide levity in difficult times, and motivate people to achieve the firm’s vision. Motivation requires the combination of emotions and communications. As humans we all need to be treated fairly, trusted, have a chance to grow, and have a vision that is larger than ourselves.

The Enterprise Reinvention system is an important mechanism to activate the human spirit on a sustainable basis. It requires Envision-Design-Build-Operate as a total system. All are needed to help Enterprises, functions, and individuals productively self-organize-using a unified framework and the cybernetic process.

To set the system in motion, it’s necessary to energize human relationships and activate human potential through the Operate work-behavior area. This requires that companies co-create the future with their customers, recognize and capitalize upon informal as well as formal organizations, coach people effectively, and communicate with a combination of objectivity and emotion.

Jack Bergstrand is an expert in enterprise reinvention and knowledge work productivity management. He founded Brand Velocity, Inc., the first company ever prototyped using knowledge work productivity principles, and created the Strategic Profiling (R) instrument, a tool to help firms accelerate and improve important enterprise projects. To learn more about his book, “Reinvent Your Enterprise,” visit: http://www.ReinventYourEnterprise.com/.

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Selling Consulting – Highly Successful System to Enroll Clients

By Paul Godines

When selling consulting, you will need some highly successful methods to get clients. Because one of the most difficult issues that every business owner has, especially during a recession is getting clients. This might make you wonder if there are even enough clients to make it worth staying in business for.

When in fact that’s not the case, especially during a recession, business consultants are HIGHLY needed. Whatever you service or product you are likely the answer to someone’s problem. Even if your product is an audio made with your kids digital recorder, you can make an impact on the world.

More importantly its not how much you give but the value you offer that will earn you tens of thousands of dollars of income. So, lets start with creating a simple method you can use to sell your consulting.

Begin by realizing your not a business consultant, or a transcriptionist, or a virtual assistant you’re a teacher. That’s your job, whose primary role is to discover your prospects needs and than if applicable educate your client about exactly how you can bring value to them with your services and or products.

With that in mind, lets move on. All you need to do is create a comfortable conversation which helps you discover their needs. I suggest you do that by using just a few well placed words.

Here’s a simple dialogue you can use to uncover opportunities and enroll clients;

• So tell me what’s going on – use this to discover opportunities.
• What result do you want – find out exactly what they want.
• What’s the evidence you will use to know you have achieved your goals – determine if you can deliver those results.
• What’s that worth to you – find out to what degree they value those results. I use a scale of 1 – 5 for example.
• It sounds like – here you help them see the possibility of reaching those results.
• We can help you achieve those results – here you actually make a statement with confidence that you can achieve the results they want.
• Is this something you would like to move forward with – here you are asking them if they would like to actually achieve those results.
• Ok here’s the next step – here you take the time to take them to the very next step, usually the procedure involved with enrolling.
• Confirm – get them to confirm to you the nest step, make sure they know exactly what to do next, and when to do it.

Now what makes this system so successful is in how you use this list. Start using it with friends, clients, prospects and family, force yourself to ask them what’s going on. What they would like to see happen, ask them how they would know they achieved their goal.

Than ask them what its worth to them to achieve their goal, tell them what it sound like to you. What’s most important is to be casual and very relaxed. Once you have some practice – you should do this at least 50 times – you will find enrolling clients extremely easy.

If you’re ready to go to the next step, and become a High Priced Expert than go to Adapt on a Dime.com http://www.adaptonadime.com Get your FREE “Quick Start Guide To Become A High Priced Expert.”

Paul Godines Coaches Professionals to become High Priced Experts using Joint Ventures. Leveraging and Multiplying your Skills, Knowledge and Experience into a High Priced Consulting Practice.

Leading in a Time of Disaster

By Dave Guerra

Disasters can occur at anytime and anywhere. When they occur they are usually unplanned or when notice is given it is usually not much. You can prepare for just about any disaster by having a Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plan in place and ready to roll at sign of the first raindrop. What people usually do not prepare for is how to act the moment a crisis begins be it natural or man-made.

The old Rudyard Kipling quote, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!” should serve as a prime example of why remaining calm will lead you to a place that other men and women can only imagine.

Remaining calm during chaos will work in your favor when you need things to get done. Not only will your ability to remain calm serve to calm others but will also make you the person that people will turn to because of that ability. It may be difficult at times, especially when the severity of the situation may be more than you have ever faced. You will have to reach deep inside yourself and find the strength to get past the surreal situation you find yourself in and put on a brave face.

The first thing you will need to do, as part of a leading in a time of disaster is to get information. The task at hand will be to determine what the exact situation is, not what someone thinks it is, and especially, not what someone else heard it might be. Therefore, it is imperative to gather all the information that is available and the information that is secondhand should be confirmed as quickly as possible. Provided that no one is sick or injured as a result of the initial onset of the situation then it is imperative to get people focused on what needs to be done and get their minds off the initial shock of the situation. You will need to assign specific tasks. Initially, this will focus on the people around you being the ones that will provide you with the information you need. Assigning such tasks should be based on their ability to gather and deliver the necessary information. If you are looking for an update on the status of supplies available then someone working in the warehouse or storeroom should be tasked to provide that information, if you’re not sure on whom to call upon, ask for volunteers.

Keeping everyone focused gives everyone an opportunity to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety they may have, as it will help them voice their concerns along with critical information about the situation. Keep in mind that collecting information initially should come from direct observance of the unfolding situation, outside sources such as television and radio, feedback from individuals that are present and any historical data available about the present situation. Thus, it is important to get as much firsthand information as possible and limit the amount of second- and third-hand information you are willing to accept, as second- and third-hand information will take time to verify. As a rule of thumb, if it takes more than 5 minutes to confirm then don’t use it, as it may be information that is wrong or already out-of-date.

Having collected your data now you will have to act fast in processing information and developing the plan by which to act on. Depending on the severity of your situation you will need to determine what you will be able to do what you will definitely not be able to do, what can possibly be done, and what you would like to do. As the situation may be continuing to unfold, the development of any plan should definitely take into consideration the current situation and possible outcomes that are both short- and long-term and in some cases post-disaster considerations should be included.

During this time information could still be coming in and will continue to impact your ability to make a plan. At some point you will have to draw a line and say to yourself no more new information will be accepted and the plan will be made based on the information available. When putting the plan together, you will not have the luxury of time, as in most cases things are happening fast and changing constantly. However, just as it is essential to make a decision as fast as possible it is equally important to not make hasty decisions.

Making hasty decisions will lead to outcomes that might have been avoided provided there was a bit more time to process the information that was available. Therefore, avoid making any decisions or plans until you have enough information and can no longer wait for any more information to come in. While there never is really a good time to make a decision and you will never have all the information you need, a decision still has to be made. At this point, you must now make a decision that will affect everyone involved. Be sure to include everyone that is available and able to do something in the plan.

The plan should be designed to keep everyone focused and centered on what needs to be done and hopefully, not on what has happened. If everyone can participate and contribute then all the better, however, be careful when there are not enough tasks to go around. Those without something to do should be monitored to ensure that they do not create a negative atmosphere that can demoralize the rest of the group.

As a leader, your responsibility is not only to ensure that what needs to be done gets done but also to keep everyone motivated, as having a negative atmosphere will defeat any morale building activity. Therefore, ensure that a negative or a defeatist attitude is addressed as quickly as possible. By having everyone on the same page and working towards a common goal will ensure that whatever you are trying to accomplish will get done.

After making your decision, it is time to put the plan into action. Assigning specific tasks ensures that everyone understands what needs to be done. It is also important that everyone understand what is being asked of them. It is imperative that everyone is fully aware of your intent, if they do not than it is up to you to explain it to them quickly, concisely, and that they can say what it is back to you. As with any assignments, it is important to have measures in place that will notify everyone as to whether the tasks are on track to be accomplished properly or are they creating more trouble than what they are trying to accomplish.

By monitoring the activities of everyone as well as getting feedback from the participants themselves you are then able to adjust the assignments as necessary. Additionally, you should be able to fine-tune the plan so that it conforms to any changes in the situation. The trick here is to find the point by which you not only stay up to date with the evolving situation but you can even forecast actions to be taken.

At some point, you will be able to relax and have the time to reassess the situation as the initial crisis state has passed. In the event of a natural disaster, this means that the initial shock has passed and while destruction may still be occurring, time has elapsed which will enable you and your team to reshape the plan to gain greater ground on what needs to be done. In the case of a man-made disaster, short of a nuclear accident or event, the initial chaos may have subsided. You and your team definitely can proceed in a slower and more deliberate pace, that way what was initially missed or overlooked can now be addressed.

Leading in a time of disaster is not something that can be practiced; it can be simulated. Simulation will only go so far because once it hits the fan all bets are off. As part of any disaster recovery or business continuity plan be certain to include time to go over any possible scenarios and what your reaction will be. No matter how horrific or surreal things may be you will need to remain calm, stay focused, and above all be the leader. You may be called upon to do things you would never do in everyday life but then again natural or man-made disasters are not an everyday occurrence. This is where planning and preparing now comes into play, so always remember and never forget what someone once said: “Sweat more today and bleed less tomorrow.”

Dave Guerra
Owner The Dave Guerra Company (http://www.daveguerra.com)

Dave Guerra invites you to find out how providing Information Technology Leadership and Management greatly enhance return on your technology investment. The Dave Guerra Company helps small to medium sized organizations get their message out via the use of Internet Technologies utilizing new media tools such as Web2.0 and the emerging Web 3.0 technologies. Find out what The Dave Guerra Company can do for you, your organization, and your Information Technology investment.

(c) Copyright – David G. Guerra. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Visioning – Create a Powerful Vision That Leads You Or Your Team Far Ahead

By Jan Richards

Your vision of the future – whether it’s positive or negative – is a much more powerful factor than you might ever guess in helping the shape your future success.

A vision that works motivates the person or group who hold it to take action to make the vision come true, no matter what obstacles they find ahead.

Effective visions are ones that appeal powerfully to both emotions and logic.

Discover, express and focus on a vision of the future that’s clear, positive, compelling. Think of creating your vision as a way to “pre-experience” success, in detail. Think of the vision, itself, as a snapshot or preview of the future you are creating.

Here are tips about how you can create your team or individual vision:

1. Create the time and space for it.

You need time to relax and let ideas flow. That requires time and space away from the pressures of the regular workday. Schedule the time in advance.

Create an environment for the visioning work that’s free of interruptions and enables you or you and your team to think expansively, clearly, honestly, creatively.

If you’re working with a group, engage a good facilitator if there’s no one in your group, presently, who has those skills.

2. Envision a compelling future.

Start by setting a target date by which you hope your vision will be real. Perhaps that’s 5, 10 or more years away. Whatever it is, make it a specific date.

Next, imagine what you will have achieved by this time. Imagine in detail. “Be there now.”

If it is a business vision you are creating imagine what your customers, collaborators, and competitors are saying at this future time about you or your group, your results and how you created them:

- When you see and hear their reactions, what do you like?

- What do you want to change, about what they are saying about you, in that future state?

Now, as you imagine being in this future, imagine how you feel about what you have achieved by this time:

- What do you like best?

- What do you want to add or change?

3. Capture and sort the input to create the vision.

Capture the ideas you’re generating in writing or graphics, whether you’re creating your own vision, or working with a group.

Sort the information in some easy way as you move through the process. You can use mindmaps, clustering techniques, or structured brainstorming exercises.

You can also create a graphic template ahead of time of a metaphor you want to use to catch and organize the ideas that lead to your ultimate vision. For example, some people use a metaphor of taking a journey, mountain climbing, surfing, or building a city. There are many other metaphors you can also use.

4. Refine and post the vision. Then follow up.

Take the visioning work you’ve done, and distill it, whether you’re working on your own, or in a group.

Produce a simple final vision statement or graphic.

Post the vision in a prominent place where you or your team will see it regularly. That may be a physical space, or if you’re working as part of a virtual or dispersed team, post it on an online space you share.

And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to “Firewalking: Leading Teams Successfully Through Uncertain Times” when you visit http://www.jgrichardsresults.com from Jan Richards, J.G. Richards Consulting – Turning Business Goals Into Great Results.