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StrategyDriven Resource Management Forum

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“Vision without resources is a hallucination.”
Old Pentagon Quote

Organizations are complex creatures comprised of personnel with varying personalities, talents, needs, and aspirations. Increasing this complexity is the wide array of organizational possessions: tools and materials, physical and intellectual properties, and financial instruments. Ordering this complex collection of resources to ensure the efficient, highly engaged use of all of the organization’s assets is the function of the resource management program.

Processes associated with an organization’s resource management program vary between the strategic and the tactical. Within the realm of strategic planning, resource management encompasses the processes and activities of performing annualized projections and monthly/weekly capacity planning. Extended into the tactical arena of business execution, resource management involves scheduling; acquisition; retention; maintenance and development; and termination, retirement, and release/disposal of assets.

Resource management, whether strategic or tactical, focuses on personnel, material, land, intellectual property and financial instruments. In strategic planning, resource management processes group assets into large categories based on common characteristics. As processes narrow their focus from long-range to tactical resource planning, asset focus becomes more specific; even to the point of uniquely identifying the asset to be involved in an activity.

Focus of the Resource Management Forum

Materials in this forum are dedicated to discussing the leading practices of companies successfully executing a resource management program in support of strategic planning and tactical business execution. The following articles, podcasts, documents, and resources cover those topics foundational to a strong resource management program.

Articles

Principles

Best Practices

Warning Flags

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor Articles

Recommended Resource – The Effective Executive

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The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
by Peter F. Drucker

About the Reference

The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter F. Drucker focuses on self-management rather than on the management of others. The book addresses how an individual can become more effective in key activities such as time management, activity prioritization, and decision-making to the furtherance of their organization’s goals.

Benefits of Using this Reference

As discussed previously, StrategyDriven Contributors believe that because an organization’s actions are defined by its people and not the buildings, machines, and tools they use, organizations themselves fundamentally behave like people. Subsequently, as individuals become more effective, such that their decisions and activities are increasingly focused on mission achievement, the organization itself is more likely to achieve greater levels of success. Therefore, when the principles of The Effective Executive are built into processes and procedures, additional measurable improvements in organizational effectiveness can be achieved.

The Effective Executive clearly and concisely conveys several powerful concepts. Many of the best practice recommendations found on the StrategyDriven website relate to The Effective Executive; making it a StrategyDriven recommended read.

Strategic Planning Best Practice 5 – Defined Program

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Organizations must be able to respond quickly and decisively to the rapidly changing business environment. A formally defined strategic planning program consists of a collection of planning and execution activities that help an organization appropriately respond to marketplace events and evolving trends.

A strategic planning program provides the framework for execution consistency and minimizes the risk of inappropriate action or inaction. Comprised of planning, execution, and monitoring and control processes; the strategic planning program structures the way data is collected, assessed, and acted upon. Established prior to event occurrence, the program enhances the organization’s overall responsiveness because it ensures the organization is aware of its environment and prepared to respond to changes in a timely manner.

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.

Recommended Resource – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Steven R. Covey

About the Reference

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey reveals the seven behaviors common among successful individuals. Each behavior is accompanied by a rich discussion of why it works and is illustrated with examples.

Benefits of Using this Reference

StrategyDriven Contributors believe that because an organization’s actions are defined by its people and not the buildings, machines, and tools they use, organizations themselves fundamentally behave like people. We find that organizations exhibiting the same behaviors Dr. Covey describes in his book likewise achieve greater levels of success. Many of the best practice recommendations found on the StrategyDriven website relate to the seven habits; making The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People a StrategyDriven recommended read.

Strategic Planning Best Practice 4 – Ongoing Planning and Execution

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Market changes wait for no one. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, competitors and suppliers aggressively seek to gain a competitive advantage while government agencies and special interest groups continuously seek to further their agendas. These forces, acting together, demand an organization to be responsive and flexible to maintain its footing within the marketplace.

Ongoing planning and execution enables an organization to appropriately adjust to its changing operational environment. Effective response to marketplace changes is achieved by using a combination of event, routine, and annualized planning and execution activities. Event driven activities, triggered by abrupt marketplace changes, enable the organization to react to significant developments in the business environment. Routine and annualized activities help the organization maintain flexibility in response to slowly evolving trends.

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.