A recent Forbes article Is Strategy Dead? 7 Reasons The Answer May Be Yes caught my attention, as the writer intended. After all, strategy is a pillar of my business! I won’t offer seven counterpoints, but I will tell you from a high-level view that this death knell for strategy is premature. All businesses benefit from developing, and maintaining, a well-informed strategy. I surprise many by recommending 15 years, as they believe three to four years is sufficient and any longer term will be wasting resources. They usually cite the rapid rate of technology change as a reason not to plan so far ahead.
PEARSON STRATEGY GROUP’S STRATEGY AND INNOVATION BLOG
Austin CPA Makes Big League Expertise Accessible for Smaller Businesses
The Pearson Strategy Group is pleased to announce that CPA and Certified Valuation Analyst Scott Abels is now available as a partner and resource for PSG clients. An experienced CFO with 27 years as a financial executive, Abels’ business experience ranges from startup to Fortune 100. He owns Precision CFO Solutions, Inc., providing Fractional CFO consulting and Business Valuation services. Abels has an extensive background in corporate finance and business leadership, primarily with Dell and Motorola. His experience includes all aspects of running a successful business from new product design to manufacturing to sales and service. He was controller of Dell’s strategic printing and imaging business and later he was controller of the rapidly growing North America retail business division. Throughout his career he was consistently recognized for his exceptional ability to communicate complex business issues in simple, easy to understand terms.
Data Mining: Take a 3-D Tour of Patent Analysis
In my last post Data Mining: 4 Ways to Use Patent Analysis for Any Size Business, I described some benefits of patent analytics using 2-D data, but let’s look into the data rich information that can be derived from adding dimensions.
Data Mining: 4 Ways to Use Patent Analysis for Any Size Business
Historically, Patent Analysis has been a tool for the 1,000-pound gorillas of industry, but thanks to digitized patent filings, global access and increasingly sophisticated data miners, large quantities of information obtained from patents and patent applications can be analyzed to help smaller businesses make informed decisions they may not have thought possible. Simply put, Patent Analysis is a method for visualizing large quantities of data related to research, potential breakthroughs and market ideas.
Innovation and Creativity Consultant Has International Perspective
The Pearson Strategy Group is pleased to announce that innovation management consultant Diana Rus, PhD, is now available as a partner and resource for PSG clients. An expert in leadership and innovation management, Rus is an Amsterdam-based consultant for international companies and non-profit organizations interested in creating innovation cultures that drive performance and engagement. With a PhD in Management and background in organizational psychology, Rus regularly teaches executive education programs, performs research on leading for innovation and frequently publishes her work in books and professional journals.
Writing Pro Available to Help PSG Clients with Presentations, Websites
With the addition of a trusted editorial and content consultant, The Pearson Strategy Group is expanding its suite of services to help clients polish their professional images. Formerly the Executive News Editor at the Austin American-Statesman, Sandra brings a journalist’s perspective to her consulting work. In addition, she has extensive experience producing online newsletters and fine-tuning website content as the owner of WriteAustin.com.
Keep up with NEC Grounding Requirements with this Hands-on Workshop
Steve Pearson, chairman for the Austin Chapter of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, announces upcoming professional development for electrical engineers, electrical designers, electricians and estimators. The Oct. 3 workshop, providing instruction toward National Electrical Code (NEC) requirements, is a joint effort of the IEEE CTS PE/PEL/IE/IA Societies and will focus on grounding details and practices.
Outsmart the Competition Through Patent Research – 8/12/2014 CETA Symposium
Spending a fraction of your budget on comprehensive prior art research can accelerate your innovation and tip you off to competitors in your space, the founder of the Pearson Strategy Group explained at the recent Central Texas Electronics Association Symposium in Austin. Professional patent research and analysis requires expertise and tools most business people are not aware of. And high quality results can help inventors and entrepreneurs understand their competition and their opportunities, he said.
How to Learn More about Your Competition
I was just interviewed on Ask the Expert about how monitoring your competition and marketplace can give your company an edge. Listen in during your drive home or lunch break to learn more about what can happen when you make the effort to better understand your marketplace and business space. And what can happen if you don’t. I’ll be a guest on the show every other month, so let me know what you’d like to hear about next time.
Sharpening up My Vision of Pearson’s Pyramid
My recent post Would Maslow Shop at Whole Foods? focused on the company culture established by the C-Suite and how it might be classified using Maslow’s Hierarchy as an inspiration. Readers contributed a number of supportive comments worth considering as I continue refining this idea and building my own pyramid. First, the duration of a company’s strategy is an interesting method for grouping as it is both a symptom and the cure for moving to higher levels on the pyramid. After more thought, it is more appropriate to move this to the cure and I’ll be elaborating on all of the cures in an upcoming post. Second, a number of people pointed out that employee retention rate is a very good business health metric and I totally agree…as long as this metric is not taken in isolation from other information.