How to Read My Blog

First, thank you for stopping by my blog.  I hope it is as useful to you as it is to me.  I use it daily for a personal reference as well as a place to refer colleagues and clients, which is why it is essentially a network of useful facts and (perhaps more importantly) references. … Read More »

exampleBank – Corporate Strategy

This entry is part 7 of 8 in the series exampleBank Business Strategy

The exampleBank executive team has completed a self scan of the nascent exampleBank and are ready to starting writing down the exampleBank business strategy.  They have moved into the newly finished corporate strategy room on level 4 of the HQ building. exampleBank wants to help consumers use their money wisely.  By managing their own costs,… Read More »

exampleBank – Self Scan

This entry is part 5 of 8 in the series exampleBank Business Strategy

The exampleBank executive team is progressing through an initial pass of the strategy process.  They just scanned the environment for trends and forces and brainstormed opportunities and threats.  A self scan will be limited because exampleBank does not yet exist! But there are some strengths and weakness to make note of. STRENGTHS: exampleBank has a… Read More »

exampleBank – Opportunities and Threats

This entry is part 4 of 8 in the series exampleBank Business Strategy

In the past few posts the executive team completed an environment scan for exampleBank and noted what they feel are the most important trends and forces to be considered.  According to how it all fits together it is now time to assess opportunities and threats for exampleBank. OPPORTUNITIES: The current banking industry is bloated with… Read More »

exampleBank – Forces

This entry is part 3 of 8 in the series exampleBank Business Strategy

The exampleBank executive team is progressing through the strategy process for exampleBank and have identified some key trends to consider. They are in the middle of an environment scan which, according to how it all fits together, includes identifying the forces to be considered. This post is a work-in-progress. It does not need to be… Read More »

Forces: What do we consider?

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Forces

According to my planning process defined in how it all fits together, creating strategy requires an environment scan.  Environment scan equates to looking at trends and forces.  Forces are important in positional analysis where we look at positions of strength and weakness that create opportunities and threats. This series focuses on forces. But which forces… Read More »

Trends: What do we look for?

This entry is part 1 of 30 in the series Trends

Trend spotting and trend watching are key activities in an environment scan, which is part of the strategy process. But what trends should we be look for and how do we find them? The Business Model Generation book provides a great graphic for forces and trends. Trends are addressed at the top of the diagram.… Read More »

exampleBank – Trends

This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series exampleBank Business Strategy

The executive team is busy working in the strategy department on level 4 of the exampleBank Headquarters (HQ) building. They are starting the very first iteration of the exampleBank strategy process. At this point levels 1-3 of the HQ building are empty. In fact, most of level 4 is a concrete floor. They are working… Read More »

exampleBank – the good example bank

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series exampleBank Business Strategy

Big banks are SO complicated.  Every rule has so many exceptions that you wonder why we have rules.  There are so many strategies and business models that no one knows about them all.  Operating models are designed more around legacy constraints than any business model or standardization/integration scheme.  Middle management and even some executives have… Read More »