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Strategic Management: Surfing Is Not a Business Model

I was channel surfing (no pun intended) last weekend and ran across an old movie about a women's surfing competition.  I watched for a while.  Time and time again, young competitors would paddle their surfboards out into the ocean, sit straddled over the boards, and wait.  They looked out over the ocean for what they hoped would be a good wave.  Not just a good wave to ride, mind you, but a big, great wave to ride into shore. The better the wave, the more opportunity to score higher points for their surfing prowess.   Sit - Wait - Hope; over and over.  From [...]

By |2016-12-28T00:51:16-05:00March 13th, 2012|Strategic Management, Strategy|
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Plan for Bad Times – Look For Opportunities

                   'Designing Strategies' Newsletter      January - February, 2012                                                Volume 9 - Issue 45   Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda...   “Coulda, shoulda, woulda...” That’s the usual response we get from my husband whenever someone in the family looks in retrospect.   Normally, that means something didn’t turn out quite the way we hoped it would. If we had studied harder, we could have received a better grade. If we had waited just a little longer, that suit, television, snow blower, or computer would have gone on sale and saved us money. If we had handled [...]

By |2017-01-03T03:36:12-05:00January 18th, 2012|Newsletter, Strategic Management, Strategic Planning, Strategy|
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“Who Moved My Cheese?” Strategies for Dealing With Change

'Designing Strategies' Newsletter November - December, 2011                      Volume 3 -- Issue 43   A fellow business consultant, Jim Sybert, once said that when an organization is dealing with change of any type, they have two options. They can either to do things differently, or to do different things. Just think of those two simple options when change is necessary, even thought it might seem insurmountable. Remember that definition of insanity? As the saying goes, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different outcomes is just plain insanity. If something [...]

By |2017-01-19T09:08:49-05:00November 19th, 2011|Newsletter, Strategic Planning, Strategy|
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Interview With Industry Leader Edward Miano; Varier, USA

'Designing Strategies' Newsletter July - August, 2011                      Volume 3 - Issue 41   We have taken a different approach with this issue of Designing Strategies. I met industry leader Edward Miano, President of Varier,USA on LinkedIn recently.  I then had the good fortune to meet him in person at his company showroom during Neocon.  His Varier, USA product line is one of the more unique and innovative ones I’ve seen in quite some time. He kindly agreed to the interview being shared with you now. TM: Edward, please tell us a [...]

By |2017-03-08T05:12:37-05:00July 20th, 2011|Leadership, Newsletter, Strategy|
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Small Business Lessons from ‘The Miracle Pie’

We have a log cabin  in northwest Pennsylvania, about a three hour drive from home.  It has been a work in progress for quite some time now and still not completed.   But, my husband tries to get up there weekends or takes some vacation time to drive up and continue work on his project.  Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, he decided to sleep off his holiday feasting and hit the road for PA early Friday  morning for a few days of work on the cabin. True to his word, our SUV, the family 4 x 4 'truck', pulled into our driveway just before 8 PM Sunday [...]

By |2016-12-29T23:51:12-05:00December 14th, 2010|Strategic Management, Strategy|
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Social Media: Planning, Policies, Terms of Use and Legalese

'Designing Strategies' eNewsletter    July - August 2010                      Volume 7  -   Issue 34   What you can learn through social media participation is endless.   I saw a Tweet on Twitter recently that caught my attention. I linked to Jay Baer's 'Convince and Convert' blog to read a guest post by Indra Gardiner: Protecting Yourself from Social Media Lawsuits. The title caught my attention in a big way, like only the word lawsuit can. Gardiner referred to a recent PRSA Counselors Academy event where attorney Michael Lasky, of Davis & Gilbert law firm [...]

By |2017-01-31T01:01:30-05:00July 16th, 2010|Market Planning, Newsletter, Social Media, Strategy|
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New Growth and Marketing Strategies to Fight the Recession

'Designing Strategies' Newsletter  January-February 2010                  Volume 7    Issue 31   Undoubtedly we have come through the worst recession most of us have ever experienced.  Companies large and small folded entirely, others merged to stay afloat. Some have been treading water for a very long time. It remains to be seen how far into 2010 these turbulent times will take us. News reports talk about the recession being behind us. Yet other reports talk of a jobless recovery, one of the big unknowns, as unemployment rates hover between 10-11%. Consumer confidence is not moving up [...]

By |2017-01-19T11:15:44-05:00January 19th, 2010|Growth, Marketing, Newsletter, Strategic Planning, Strategy|
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Recognize the Inside Community of Your Small Business

'Designing Strategies' newsletter  November- December 2009            Volume 6 - Issue 30   Let me take this opportunity to send out my very best wishes to each of you as we enter the busy and exciting holiday season.  Those who have adapted to survive these very turbulent economic times have much to be thankful for. Businesses that looked to the future and did what was necessary to be poised for growth as we work our way through an uncertain economy have much to be thankful for.  Those who shared ideas and tactics with fellow industry members should be thanked for their open hearts and generosity. Personally, I am thankful for [...]

By |2017-02-13T03:34:30-05:00November 19th, 2009|Employees, Newsletter, Strategy|
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Changing Consumer Behaviors in Recessionary Times: Shopping, Buying and Spending

'Designing Strategies' eNewsletter  March - April l 2009               Volume 6 - Issue 27   Is everyone ready for a new ‘normal’?  Like it or not, recessionary times are affecting customer behaviors in major ways.  Changing consumer behaviors are certainly a big part of what will become our new Normal.  Now is the best time to focus on strategies to address these issues, as well as your marketing strategies.  According to a recent article by Marla Matzer Rose in The Columbus Dispatch, that is exactly what we can expect from this economy. And, it is likely [...]

By |2017-02-08T02:47:47-05:00March 15th, 2009|Branding, Customer Experience, Customer Relationships, Newsletter, Strategy|
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Keep Your Small Business Afloat in a Turbulent Economy

'Designing Strategies' eNewsletter  September-October 2008               Volume 5 -- Issue 24   With all of the drastic changes in our economy over the past year, it's not hard to realize we are in crisis mode.  First, gasoline prices went sky high overnight.  Then the rampant mortgage foreclosures hit.  Now we learn that Lehman Brothers has gone bankrupt.  These are certainly more than a little bit tempestuous times for small businesses.  What are you going to do to keep your small business afloat in these turbulent economic times?  What can you do? Our economy just seems to be bouncing up and down [...]

By |2017-02-21T04:13:03-05:00September 21st, 2008|Newsletter, Strategic Management, Strategic Planning, Strategy|
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