Recommended Resources – Introduction

Articles in this area highlight the many print, audio, video, webcast, and seminar resources that have significantly contributed to the successful business planning and execution activities of StrategyDriven Contributors. We highlight the topics covered by each resource and why we believe the benefits will outweigh your time investment.

Please note that whenever possible, a link is provided to expedite access of the recommended materials. In some cases, the providers require registering with their site. In other instances, the product link is directed to Amazon.com where the item can be purchased. StrategyDriven does receive a nominal contribution for products purchased from Amazon.com via our link which we then applied to our operating costs.

Strategic Planning Best Practice 2 – Prioritize the Mission

Ideally, an organization’s mission statement would convey a singular purpose. However, mission statements often enumerated several purposes, such as creating shareholder value, contributing to the community, and offering workforce prosperity. When this occurs, organizations struggle to serve multiple masters.

Prioritizing the mission establishes the relative importance of an organization’s multiple purposes; focusing decisions and driving actions toward achievement of the organization’s primary purpose while allowing progress to be made on objectives of lesser importance. The amount of emphasis given to each purpose should make their relative importance obvious to all members of the organization. Additionally, decision-making should demonstratively reflect and reinforce the mission priorities such that a proportionate amount of managerial attention and organizational resources are applied to the achievement of each purpose.


About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Best Practice Article

Strategic Planning Best Practice 1 – Make the Mission Measurable

StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Best PracticeAn organization’s mission statement defines its purpose, its reason for being. These statements, however, tend to be broad and somewhat vague; making it difficult to identify the specific products, services, initiatives, and people that will most directly enable the organization to achieve its purpose.

Making the mission measurable provides the added clarity needed to focus decisions and drive actions toward achievement of the organization’s purpose. The mission is translated into a time-bound measure of performance rather than a specific goal. The value of competing alternatives can then be evaluated against the measure; offering executives and managers a mission contribution basis for the selection and pursuit of specific business opportunities.


About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Best Practice Article

Horizontally Shared

StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Best PracticeWell-constructed performance measurement systems provide a means of comparison between various products, services, and business units by ensuring relevant measures are horizontally shared across the organization.


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StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Best Practice Article

Vertical Cascading

StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Best PracticePerformance measurement systems should be anchored on the single measure of organizational success (defined by the organization's mission) and vertically cascaded down through the organization  Each successive measurement tier becomes more specific than its predecessor with the lowest tier describing individual contributor behaviors and resulting outcomes.


Hi there! This article is available to StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Remote Access and Dedicated Advisor clients and those who subscribe to one of the article's related categories.

If you're already a Remote Access or Dedicated Advisor client or a related category subscriber, please log in to read this article.

Not a client? We'd love to have you on board. Check out our StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor service options.