1st Edition
Developing a Turnaround Business Plan Leadership Techniques to Activate Change Strategies, Secure Competitive Advantage, and Preserve Success
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