Predictive Indicators - The Secret to Successful Scenario Planning

Diane M. Meister
Founder and Managing Director of Meridian Associates Inc.

Scenario Planning and its complement, Predictive Performance Indicators, provide the advance intelligence critical to navigating strategic business risk. They allow company leaders to identify preemptive actions that can, at critical times, revise or refine existing business strategy. These tools offer a distinct competitive advantage to companies that use them wisely to define -- and develop operating plans against -- alternative business scenarios. Ms. Meister will demonstrate how, in the words of Royal Dutch/Shell's Pierre Wack, Scenario Planning, along with judicious use of Predictive Performance Indicators, offer a method for "rediscovering the entrepreneurial power of creative foresight in contexts of accelerated change, greater complexity, and genuine uncertainty." There has been no better time for experienced, professional use of these tools than now.

Tuesday 10:45 - 12:00 pm

Brand As Business: How Companies Drive Business Growth by Operationalizing Their Brands

Denise Lee Yohn
President and Consulting Partner of Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.

The "brand as business" management approach transforms brand-building from a discrete, costly, subjective activity into the most integral way to manage and grow a business. During this provocative session, Ms. Yohn will speak to those who are seeking fresh strategies, a new management approach, and who are not just interested in gaining a competitive edge, but to changing the game completely.

Tuesday 10:45 - 12:00 pm

Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers

Rebecca Staton-Reinstein
President of Advantage Leadership, Inc.

Strategic planning is the most powerful approach to take in tough times when any organization is faced with huge challenges. The framers of the U.S. Constitution who met in Philadelphia in 1787 did so in an atmosphere of extreme danger. Like today's successful strategic leaders, the framers developed a strong strategic plan (the Constitution) and put it into practice. Both sets of leaders have a vision and convert it into reality by executing a strategic plan. Learn specific, concrete techniques you can implement from 20 modern leaders and the framers to use strategic planning to conquer your biggest challenges.

Tuesday 10:45 - 12:00 pm

Five Common Strategies for Creating A High Performance Business

Dick Tozer
Tozer and Associates

Recent Harvard Business School research involving more than fifty case studies and the speaker's clinical consulting experience combine to confirm that high performance new businesses--those that grow from start-up to more than $50 million in sales in five years or less--share five common strategies: Reverse engineering, focus, a special kind of teamwork, good luck, and a broadly based incentive system. Using academic literature and case studies from his own experience, Mr. Tozer will explain how and why these strategies create high performance and will suggest how to apply these strategies to create high performance in existing organizations.

Tuesday 10:45 - 12:00 pm

Shareholders Expect Results: Integrating Strategy and Performance Management to Deliver Superior Returns

Dennis Aust
Senior Partner and Managing Director of CharterMast Partners

R. Rand Garbacz
Senior Partner at CharterMast Partners

To achieve success and long-term survival, firms need to win in two arenas: their served markets and the capital markets. Strategic Planning provides a wide variety of tools/techniques for the first arena, but there are few reliable tools to achieve success in the capital markets. How is competitive superiority actually achieved and sustained? How can you be successful in BOTH served markets and capital markets? ? This intriguing presentation will provide attendees with answers to these critical questions and practical/actionable tools/techniques to directly link performance/budgets/plans to Total Shareholder Return.

Tuesday 2:00 - 3:15 pm

Strategy Performance Management -- A New Way to Drive Strategic Alignment

Gaye Clemson
Senior Manager of Organizational Planning and Performance Management, Workplace Resources Group, Cisco Systems

Alan Leeds
President of Y-Change, Inc.

The basic essence of the strategic planning process that enables an organization to understand changing customer, market and competitive forces, gain management consensus and clarity on how to grow the business and assess and monitor execution capability hasn't changed all that much in the last few decades. However, during the last four years, Gaye has participated in a dramatic transformation in the Cisco Systems business model. Moving away from 'Command and Control' to an approach beyond traditional cross-functional 'matrix' management, Cisco is building a highly decentralized, collaborative-based, global, cross-functional management system built on a wide range of Web 2.0 technologies. No longer is a small group of less than a dozen executives setting, prioritizing and periodically correcting the firm's strategic direction with the CEO, John Chambers. Today's strategy development and management process includes well over 500 executives spread far and wide across the globe. This presentation will highlight the impacts that these changes are having on the strategy development process within the Technical Services division of Cisco Systems, Inc. and share some of the lessons learned in translating corporate strategy into effective divisional strategy and execution using Strategy Performance Management tools and techniques.

Tuesday 2:00 - 3:15 pm

Strategic Planning To Develop Business-Focused Learning

Mark Siegel
President of Mark Siegel Associates

Building and maintaining an integrated learning system has increased importance in a knowledge-driven global economy. Companies are depending more and more on a unified development and learning management platform to address their ongoing workforce development, talent and performance management demands. By creating a strategic planning and development framework to create the appropriate solutions to their unique needs, companies will be in a stronger position to maximize the value of their financial, time, and organizational investment. During this session, Mr.Siegel will examine the strategic planning and decision making disciplines needed to develop effective enterprise-wide learning systems that achieve the necessary learning outcomes and business alignment.

Tuesday 2:00 - 3:15 pm

Ten Benefits of Effective Strategic Planning

Stan Abraham, PhD
Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and President of FUTURE BY DESIGN

Strategic planning is neither simplistic nor easy to do. Doing it well over an extended period is extremely difficult as those who have tried can attest but yields valuable benefits unattainable any other way. The net result is a well managed organization one that can not only absorb myriad changes and obstacles thrown in its path, but also compete effectively against strong or upstart competitors. Dr. Abraham will address ten benefits and what it takes to achieve them a retrospective primer on strategic planning, that all would do well to emulate, whether leading an organization or consulting for one.

Tuesday 2:00 - 3:15 pm

Harnessing the Power of Predictive Metrics: A Real-Time Tool for Achieving Long Term Success

John Carter
Principal of TCGen, Inc.

Jeanne Bradford
Principal of TCGen, Inc.

In a world that often rewards short-term behavior while expecting long-term results, now more than ever companies need tools to bridge the gap between strategy and execution. The power of predictive metrics provides simple, real-time feedback of an organization's execution to its objectives. This interactive presentation will demonstrate the power of real time, predictive metrics and the benefits it provides by making better decisions faster, maintaining focus on key strategic drivers from the board and the CEO and preventing bad outcomes. Practical examples will be provided that can be applied immediately across multiple disciplines of the business, including finance, product development, operations, sales and customer satisfaction.

Tuesday 3:30 - 4:45 pm

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men: Ensuring Success Through Comprehensive Strategic Management

Josh Gage
Senior Strategy Consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton

Ann Stewart
Deputy Commander Navy Personnel Command/Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel

Given today's operating environment, strategic drivers, and fiscal constraints, it is critical to unify an organization's efforts and resources to ensure effectively meeting collective business responsibilities and apply sound investment decision-making to realize the future business capabilities and results desired. Booz Allen Hamilton's Transformation Life Cycle (TLC) was developed to provide a comprehensive framework that incorporates methodologies and best practices from multiple disciplines, and focuses on multi-dimensional problem solving. Mr. Gage and Ms.Stewart have selected the ASP Annual Conference to feature the case study of the US Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS)/Navy Personnel Command comprehensive strategic planning process that incorporates traditional planning with DoD management systems to realize long term operational improvements, achievement of strategic objectives, and increased command alignment and effectiveness.

Tuesday 3:30 - 4:45 pm

Strategic Planning in the Disaster Recovery Environment: Identifying Barriers/Providing Solutions

Kathy Ashworth
Executive Vice President and Senior Strategist for Sides & Associates

Communities impacted by severe diasters face extraordinary challenges from rescue and response to ongoing long-term recovery and rebuilding. What type of strategic planning is needed in disaster recovery? Who's likely to be involved? What barriers need to be overcome? What tools can help overcome barriers? What does success look like? Ms. Ashworth will address these critical questions during this highly interactive and hands-on presentation.

Tuesday 3:30 - 4:45 pm

The Fresh Prince of Strategy: How Will Smith Used Competitive Intelligence to Take Over the World

Seena Sharp
Principal of Sharp Market Intelligence

A good business strategy is far more likely to deliver the desired results when it resonates with the customer. Hear why Smith's successful strategy is a good model for every business. Learn how competitive intelligence drives a sound strategy; why following competitors is short-sighted and misguided; and why the market is not what the company believes.

Tuesday 3:30 - 4:45 pm

Strategic Planning in an Evolving World: Understanding How Different Worldviews Influence Strategy Development and Execution

Armin Pajand CFA
Strategy & Learning Architect at Integro

Soren Eilertsen, Ph.D.
President of Kollner Group

This interactive session brings clarity and focus to how different worldview and modes of interpreting reality influence the very nature of strategy development and implementation. By understanding, relating and resonating with various modes of meaning making participants will be able to better navigate strategic planning and execution. This session introduces some of the fundamental mapping tools of developmental psychology and shows how we are beginning to use these tools to map approaches to strategy so practitioners receive a strong menu of choices as well as guidelines for application. Dr. Eilertsen and Mr. Pajan will push the boundaries of traditional strategic planning and explore a new role for strategy within the organization.

Wednesday 10:45 am - 12:00 pm

Strategic Planning in a Chaotic World

Jim Underwood, DBA
Professor, Author, and Consultant

In this interactive presentation, Dr. Jim Underwood will re-visit a 30 year old strategic approach (that is now virtually unknown) that actually helps organizations succeed in chaotic circumstances. What the research around the view demonstrated is that it is possible for firms to use effective strategy to produce ROI's of 100% to 300% higher than their competitors. Attendees will gain knowledge of a new, significantly more effective way of understanding how to develop strategy that aligns with competition and a process that can be used to develop powerful values and accountability practices that drive sustained performance.

Wednesday 10:45 am - 12:00 pm

Giving Rudolph the Reins

Cyndi Laurin, PhD.
Founder, Guide to Greatness

Craig Morningstar
Co-author of "The Rudolph Factor: Finding the Bright Lights that Drive Innovation in Your Business"

So you've worked hard to hire the best and brightest, and you're wondering where they are, how their contribution is impacting the bottom line, and whether or not they were the right "fit" for your company. You are well aware that the talent you have must innovate your company through these tough economic times, and you may be having trouble engaging them. Well, the first step is to identify who your real talent is. They may be tucked away in less obvious places or right under your nose! After this highly-interactive and engaging presentation, attendees will walk away from this presentation able to learn how to engage their talent and implement ideas in a proven cost-effective and revenue-generating method (as demonstrated by Baldrige recipient, Boeing's C-17 Program.

Wednesday 10:45 am - 12:00 pm

Global Trends That Will Impact Your Strategy

Ernie Gundling, Ph.D.
President and co-founder of Aperian Global

In the midst of uncertain times, what trends can you count on? Economic data offers conflicting signals regarding the future of the global economy, and rapid technological change makes it impossible in many industries to make meaningful predictions beyond a year or two. Yet there are several global trends that are highly predictable, exert an enormous ongoing influence on our strategic environment, and are likely to have a significant impact for decades to come. When trying to steer corporate strategy and determine how to best allocate limited resources, it is worth looking carefully at these mega-trends and their implications for global business opportunities. This presentation provides a concise summary of key global trends and offers participants an opportunity to consider the practical impact of these trends on the "new economies" and other world markets. It moves from more familiar topics to the need for a radical shift in global mindset and in the way in which strategy is created.

Wednesday 10:45 am - 12:00 pm