Installment 9 in a 10-Part Series In this #strategicplanning series I’ve been drawing on knowledge gained over my #marketing and #consulting career seeing #planning processes break down and fail. I’ve shared specific insights into where and why it happens and offered counsel around various pieces and parts in hopes of helping you experience greater planning success. I addressed how budgeting cultures suffocate planning; showed the benefits that can accrue when a planning cul

Installment 6 in a 10-Part Series Installment 6 in a 10-part Series Goal-setting has been a constant companion throughout my career. As an ad agency owner we set and met #goals for our company and were accountable to our clients for helping them hit their goals. As a C-Level executive in two publicly-traded companies goals directly impacted performance for shareholders. I always loved creating and placing advertising for #multimarketretailers because they were intensely goa

Installment 4 in a 10-part Series Early on in every #strategicplanning engagement there’s always the discussion of the best people to involve in the process. Over the years, I’ve broadly segmented individuals into two groups – Thinkers and Doers. I like involving people at all levels of the organization … especially those closest to the customers. And, I’ve found when considering high-level #strategicissues, the best results are achieved with the Thinkers. These are smart,

Installment 2 in a 10-part Series I began appreciating the benefits of cash flow when I started delivering newspapers for the TULSA (OK) WORLD at age 11. I came from modest means so if you wanted anything you needed to get a job and earn some money. Paper boys were contractors running their own business and getting a taste of what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. You had to have the discipline to drag yourself out of bed at 5 a.m. to go deliver papers in the dark on cold Ja

Installment 1 in a 10-part Series In my mid-20’s I crossed the street with my boss from the Tracy-Locke advertising agency in downtown Dallas and entered the gleaming new 56-story First International Bancshares Tower. I was a rookie there for my introduction to annual planning on the First National Bank in Dallas advertising account. My instructions were clear. Speak if spoken to and then keep the conversation to the personal basics – the equivalent of name, rank and seria