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"Being innovative as a leader means you are looking outside your
workplace. You are taking the first step toward being an innovative leader by
reading this book. By reading this book you may see information you have never
seen before. It is much more likely you have seen this before, but it is
presented here in a very different manner. Our innovation as writers is focusing
the information on leadership through a different lens. However, for the most
part, we have taken information that has been developed by thousands of
academics and practitioners and distilled it through the lens of poker. As we
did this we came up with some innovative ideas in that some of the information
you have read is not written elsewhere. Innovation can be a creative process,
but it is mostly about finding things that are lacking in your workplace and
trying them there for the first time."
Andrew J. Harvey and Raymond E. Foster (Leadership: Texas Hold 'em
Style).
Articles on Environmental
Scanning and Strategic Planning
Systems Thinking and Learning Organizations
The systems paradigm is a way of thinking about the strategic environment, and
how to develop processes in organizations that achieve strategic goals. The
systems paradigm should be viewed as a tool that leaders can use to design their
organization's capability to: (1) analyze tactical and strategic environments;
(2) develop and enact strategies in response to environmental demands; and, (3)
sustain an adaptive and productive organizational culture. These three types of
organizational processes are important in determining whether an organization
can achieve strategic objectives in competitive environments.
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Environmental Scanning
Successful management of colleges and universities depends upon the ability of
the senior leaders to adapt to rapidly changing external environment.
Unfortunately, the lead time once enjoyed by decisionmakers to analyze and
respond to these and other changes is decreasing. Traditional long-range
planning models, with their inward focus and reliance on historical data, do not
encourage decisionmakers to anticipate environmental changes and assess their
impact on the organization (Cope, 1981). The underlying assumption of such
models is that any future change is a continuation of the direction and rate of
present trends among a limited number of social, technological, economic, and
political variables. Thus, the future for the institution is assumed to reflect
the past and present or, in essence, to be "surprise-free." However, we know
that this is not true, and the further we plan into the future, the less it will
be true.
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Environmental scanning as information seeking and
organizational learning
Environmental scanning is the acquisition and use of information about events,
trends, and relationships in an organization's external environment, the
knowledge of which would assist management in planning the organization's future
course of action. Depending on the organization's beliefs about environmental
analyzability and the extent that it intrudes into the environment to understand
it, four modes of scanning may be differentiated: undirected viewing,
conditioned viewing, enacting, and searching. We analyze each mode of scanning
by examining its characteristic information needs, information seeking, and
information use behaviors. In addition, we analyze organizational learning
processes by considering the sense making, knowledge creating and decision
making processes at work in each mode.
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Look Out! Environmental Scanning for Associations
If you saw all kinds of trains moving around at a rail switch, some of them
racing right toward you as you stood on the track what would you do? Yes, the
right answer is to jump away and quickly! What is amazing is that many
associations act as if there are no trains coming toward them, ignoring them so
they have to jump away at last minute, or sometimes not at all. Do you look
around to take in all the trends, events and conditions that might affect your
association, analyze them, and then use them? If so, you are using an effective
strategic planning process called Environmental Scanning. If you are not, better
look out before its too late!
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Strategic Planning by the Chairmen, Joint Chiefs of Staff,
1990 TO 2005
This article examines how the Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1990 to 2005
used a strategic planning system to respond to their global challenges. By
analyzing this planning systems evolution, processes and products along with
each leaders use, leadership concepts are identified for future leaders in the
following areas: use of vision; balancing flexibility and structure in processes
and products; responding to different types of challenges; and influencing
climate and culture.
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Strategic Planning and the Drug Threat
The primary purpose of this publication is to show how the principles and
techniques of strategic and operational planning can be applied to the supply
reduction side of our national effort to curb the trafficking of illicit drugs.
An earlier version was published in 1991 which introduced campaign planning
methodology as a means to help bridge the gap existing between the policy and
strategy documents of higher echelons and the tactical plans developed at the
field level. These campaign planning principles, formats, and examples of
operational level techniques have been retained and updated for use as models
for current interagency actions. This expanded edition provides a more detailed
overview of the drug problem in the opening chapter and adds a new chapter
devoted to strategy--what are the key ingredients and how is an effective
strategy formulated? The United States is at a critical juncture in its campaign
to eliminate the rampant drug problem. Past gains are in danger of being lost.
Recent trends suggest a resurgence in illicit drug use and that younger and
younger Americans are falling prey to the drug pusher.
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The Strategic Planning Process
In the 1970's, many large firms adopted a formalized top-down strategic planning
model. Under this model, strategic planning became a deliberate process in which
top executives periodically would formulate the firm's strategy, then
communicate it down the organization for implementation.
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MORE
Click here to suggest a leadership article Strategic
Planning and Environmental Scanning.
Web-based resources
Strategic Planning Basics
Leadership: A Lifelong Journey through Ever-Changing Roles
Strategic Planning Reference and Resource Book
Environmental Scanning
A selection of Environmental Scanning reports created by a
college
Online Environmental Scanning Resources
Environmental Scanning Assessment Tools
Visioning and Strategic Planning
Strategic IT Planning and Management Guide
A Guide to Strategic Planning for Rural Communities
Strategic Planning in Smaller Non-profit Organizations
Strategic Planning in Nonprofit and Public Sector
Organizations
Association for Strategic Planning
Click here to suggest a Web-based resource
Visual Summaries of
Various Strategic Planning and Environmental Scanning Models
Scanning and Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning Pyramid
Strategic Plan Flow Chart
Environmental Scanning Matrix
The Role of External Analysis in Strategic Planning
Visioning Model
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