1st Edition

Developing a Turnaround Business Plan Leadership Techniques to Activate Change Strategies, Secure Competitive Advantage, and Preserve Success

By Norton Paley Copyright 2016
    262 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    Developing a Turnaround Business Plan is an ideal resource for managers currently facing a competitive crisis as well as those who wish to avert one and must set a turnaround plan in motion before the situation results in irreversible losses.

    Whereas the book helps readers develop a sound turnaround plan, the focus of the book is on the actual process that contributes to the development and implementation of that plan. The book details how to identify the root causes that triggered the competitive crisis and how to initiate remedial actions before the turnaround plan begins. After reading this book, you will be able to:

    • Develop a flexible and rapid response to competitive counter-moves
    • Identify offensive and defensive strategies
    • Use competitive intelligence to identify decisive points to concentrate resources
    • Pinpoint the types of competitive campaigns that assure a successful turnaround
    • Assess the required leadership traits for implementing competitive strategies

    Covering 13 different types of competitive campaigns, the book describes how to initiate effective offensive and defensive plans to neutralize your competitors’ advantages. It also details how to develop counter-measures for the numerous factors that can bring a turnaround campaign to a standstill.

    The book helps executives of small and mid-sized organizations, as well as managers of business units and product lines in larger firms, to activate change strategies and secure sustainable competitive advantages. Examples are provided about real company turnarounds, including Intel, Levi Strauss, Yahoo, J.C. Penney, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic, Staples, Samsung, and Abercrombie & Fitch.

    DEVELOPING A TURNAROUND BUSINESS PLAN

    Identify the Root Causes That Trigger a Turnaround
    The Primary Conditions That Activate a Turnaround
    Types of Competitive Campaigns
    Physical and Psychological Characteristics of a Competitive Conflict
         Conflicts Do Not Break Out Unexpectedly 
         Conflicts Require Neutralizing the Competitor 
         Conflicts Are Not Isolated Events 
         Campaigns Cannot Be Interrupted
    Factors That Can Bring a Campaign to a Standstill 
         Competitive Conflicts Contain Elements of Chance

    Prepare the Organization for a Turnaround
    Introduction
    The Physical Dimension
    The Psychological Dimension 
         Organizational Culture 
         Seek Maximum Input from All Levels of Employees 
              Stay on the Offensive 
              Act as an Aggressive Competitor 
              Build a Strong Market Position 
              Stay Close to Evolving Technology 
              Establish Strong Internal Communications
    Strong versus Weak Cultures
    The Power of Morale
    Relationships between Leader and Staff: Expectations for Developing a Turnaround Plan 
         Expect Active Participation from Staff
         Expect Staff to Maintain Momentum
         Expect the Staff to Neutralize Competitor’s Strategies
         Expect Innovative Thinking
         Expect Staff to Stay Alert to Competitive and Market Conditions
         Expect Staff to Respond to Negative Behavior
    References

    Prepare a Turnaround Strategy Plan
    Introduction
    Establishing a Strategic Direction
    Objectives
    Strategies
    Postcampaign Strategies to Secure a Turnaround
         Signs of Complacency
         Signs of Inflexibility During a Time of Disruptive Change
         Signs of Lethargy
         Signs of Unnecessary Dispersal of Resources
         Signs of Inadequate Competitor Intelligence
         Signs of an Anemic Corporate Culture
         Signs of Ineffectual Leadership
         Signs of Sagging Morale
         Signs of Failure to Apply the Principles of Strategy
              Primary Strategies
              Supporting Strategies

    ACTIVATE CHANGE STRATEGIES

    Leadership Techniques to Activate a Turnaround
    Introduction
    The Transforming Effect of Courage
         Activating Intuition
         The Power of Determination
         Presence of Mind
         Honor, Recognition, and Reputation
         Strength of Mind
         Strength of Character
    Leadership Applied to Market Selection
         Natural Markets
         Leading Edge Markets
         Key Markets
         Linked Markets
         Central Markets
         Challenging Markets
         Difficult Markets
         Encircled Markets
    Intellectual Standards and Performance

    The Competitive Campaign: Structure and Characteristics
    Introduction
    The Essential Components of a Campaign
         Duration of a Campaign
         Conducting the Campaign
         Defense versus Offense
         The Characteristics of Offense
         Campaign Follow-Up
         Use of Reserves

    THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF TURNAROUND STRATEGIES

    Bold Action versus Cautious Restraint
    Introduction
    Applying Boldness
    Finding Decisive Points
    Applying Caution
    Management Tools for Decision Making
         BCG Growth-Share Matrix
         General Electric Business Screen
         Arthur D. Little Matrix
         Management by Objectives (MBO)
         Six Sigma

    Concentration versus Dispersal Strategy
    Introduction
    Implementing a Concentration Strategy
         Consumers
         Intermediaries
              Introducing a New Product
              Intensifying Market Coverage
              Making a Smooth Transition When Adding or Replacing Distributors
              Changing Methods of Distribution to Complement Changes in Business Strategy and Movements in the Industry
         Competitors
         Regulatory Issues and Industry Trends
         Leadership and Management
              Market Research
              Planning
              Organization
         Guidelines to Utilizing a Concentration Strategy
    Dispersal Strategy
    Utilizing Agents for Competitive Intelligence
         General Agents
         Inside Agents
         Double Agents
         Expendable Agents
         Living Agents
    How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis

    Indirect versus Direct Strategy
    Introduction
         Think Strategically
         Maneuver Tactically
         Unbalance the Competitor
              Stress
              Fear

    Valuing Surprise and Speed
    Introduction
    Speed
    Positioning
         Develop a Positioning Strategy
         Branding
    Barriers to Implementing Speed
         Leadership
         The Organization
         The Ending Point
    Valuing Surprise and Speed

    SECURE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND PRESERVE SUCCESS

    Use a Pretest to Evaluate Your Turnaround Plan for Competitive Advantage
    Introduction
         Conditions Triggering a Turnaround
         The Organization
         The Turnaround Strategy Plan
         Leadership
         The Competitive Campaign
         Bold Action
         Concentration versus Dispersal Strategy
         Indirect versus Direct Strategy
         Surprise and Speed
    A Final Word

    Index

    Biography

    Norton Paley has brought his world-class experience and unique approach to business strategy to some of the global community’s most respected organizations. Having launched his career with publishers McGraw-Hill and John Wiley & Sons, Paley founded Alexander-Norton Inc., bringing successful business techniques to clients around the globe, including the international training organization Strategic Management Group, where he served as senior consultant.

    Throughout his career, Paley has trained business managers and their staffs in the areas of planning and strategy development, raising the bar for achievement and forging new approaches to problem solving and competitive edge. Paley has lectured in China and Mexico and has presented training seminars throughout the Pacific Rim and Europe for Dow Chemical and Cargill.

    As a seminar leader at the American Management Association, he conducted competitive strategy, marketing management, and strategic planning programs for over 20 years. Paley’s books have been translated into Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and Turkish. His byline columns have appeared in The Management Review and Sales & Marketing Management magazines