Customer Reviews

Simplified Strategic Planning: The No-Nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book, the product of extensive work by its authors with small and medium-sized businesses, presents straightforward, concise guidance (right down to hardcopy/softcopy templates) and a rational sequence for developing a strategic plan without a large staff. It draws heavily on the academic work of leading researchers James Brian Quinn (Dartmouth/Tuck) and Michael Porter (Harvard). Its hallmark, though, is its firm grounding in the environment of businesses that cannot ignore daily operational requirements for the sake of planning.

"Simplified Strategic Planning" presents particularly clear, explicit guidance on selecting a corporate focus amid operational chaos and the temptation to serve all comers.

I highly recommend this book for managers at businesses of any size. It will inspire a discipline and sequence--and therefore a useful result--in planning.

Yes the book "simplifies" a difficult process, but the real proof of its worth is actually using the plan set forth by the authors. We are well into year one of following the instructions and our 38 year old company has never communicated to the level it is now. We have already enabled ourselves to take advantage of two major opportunities that would have benn missed without planning by the book.

Read it sure - Use it for sure!

Well Done! This format allows an organization the opportunity to cut through the hocus pocus of most strategic planning formats and get to the chase. Businesses need a tool that guides them through the process of strategic planning with a results oriented structure. We have used the process and it works!

If you are looking for startling new insights on strategic planning, or gimmicky, buzzword-laden books aiming to be best-sellers, this one is not for you. This is ideal as a first book on strategic planning since it provides a realistic, carefully set out action plan for developing a competitive strategy and implementing it to produce results. Even if you have read dozens of books on strategy, the no-nonsense, concise guidance of this book makes it valuable. The book is the result of extensive work by the authors with small and medium-sized businesses. It not only presents the strategy process in admirably clear terms, it provides templates and guidance throughout the process. Simplified Strategic Planning will not make you gasp at new insights, stun you with incredible depth, or woo you with seductive writing. It will make it much easier for you to form and implement a definite strategic plan for your business.

Finally, a book on strategic planning that makes sense! Bradford's process for helping organizations think about, plan for and implement strategic planning is straightforward and completely accessible. Whatever size your oganization, and whatever your background in strategy, this one is a must-read. Bradford offers an action-oriented approach that allows you to customize the process to meet your needs. In these days of leaner budgets, take advantage of this gem--it's almost like having Bradford in your company as you work through the process. His focus is on results, and his success with all kinds of organizations is very impressive.

This book takes strategic planning off the shelf and into the realm of implementation. It makes strategic planning an inclusive, usable, adjustable tool to manage the growth of an organization. Too often, we hear the complaint that organizations have spent considerable time and money on creating a sophisticated strategic plan only to have it sit on the shelf for years without any action taken. Simplified Strategic Planning is just that, a process that retains the complexity inherent in creating a comprehensive plan for an organization while breaking it down into small, clear, actionable steps. Perhaps the best part of this book is that in addition to creating a strategic plan, underlying the process is a deep understanding of how to involve people in the work of gathering data, analyzing the data and then creating a customized strategic plan.

A better title for this book might be "Strategy for Dummies". I read this book as a suggestion by someone else; I must say that I am somewhat disappointed. It appears that the authors simply recorded about 2 days worth of B-school lectures (both authors attended Dartmouth's MBA program) and transcribed those lectures into this book. In this respect, I'd give this book an A+ on clarity; it is well written.

As far as sustance goes, it is highly lacking. It appears the authors cater to the small to mid-size business. My impression is that this book is best read by "Mom and Pop" business owners who have no other strategy background to draw on. One thing that is conspicuously missing in this text is a bibliography. No doubt the author's are "borrowing" many of the concepts they present from notable strategists such as Porter, Prahalad and Hamel, and others. On page 72 in the text, the authors present a table labeled "Measures of Success". This table is nothing more than a "Balanced Scorecard", pioneered by Robert Kaplan at Harvard. The table even uses the same 4 generic headings as the B.S.C., yet there is no credit or even mention of Kaplan's and Norton's work surrounding the table.

I believe people who have no prior experience in strategy might find this "simple" text as enlightening, perhaps even marginally useful. Those who are leaders of more complex businesses who don't want their competitive position obliterated by their competition, would probably be better served with another text; "The Strategy Concept and Process: A Pragmatic Approach", by Arnaldo Hax. It too, provides a roadmap for strategy formulation, but at more thought provoking level. Plus the author cites numerous (well over a 100) articles and texts to support his position.

Simplified Stategic Planning is much too heavy on the "simplified" and too lite on the "strategy".

This book's strength is that it is basically an outline of good strategy development. Another reviewer called it the book for "dummies"-like that was a criticism. It provides an excellent guide for real managers trying to get a tough job done in competition with their "real job" requirements. If you need something to impress a teacher, buy something different. If you need to get some strategic planning done in the typical workplace, put this book high on your list of resources.

EUREKA! I have found a breakthrough book and a phenomenal primer on strategy in "Simplified Strategic Planning A No-Nonsense Guide For Busy People Who Want Results Fast!" And as a bonus, I also have discovered kindred spirits in the strategic planning world in the persons of Robert W. Bradford and J. Peter Duncan. This book is well written, practical and an extremely useful guide for creating winning strategies. I strongly recommend that you get this book into your hands and the hands of your management team ASAP and then read and use it as your guide to embark on an incredible journey to a future filled with success through simplified strategic planning.
Reviewed by: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Founder & Chief Executive, J. G. EBERSOLE ASSOCIATES and THE RENAISSANCE GROUP (tm), Lancaster, PA. and Author of "Glenn's Guiding Lines - Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Coach" newsletter www.renaissanceman4u.com

A true how-to book that provides exceptional value for those who have to create and implement a strategic plan. Highly recommended.