Prioritization - Online Time Management Training from MindTools. Making Best Use of Your Time and Resources Learn how to prioritize, with James Manktelow & Amy Carlson. Prioritization is the essential skill that you need to make the very best use of your own efforts and those of your team. It's also a skill that you need to create calmness and space in your life so that you can focus your energy and attention on the things that really matter. It's particularly important when time is limited and demands are seemingly unlimited.
With good prioritization (and careful management of reprioritized tasks) you can bring order to chaos, massively reduce stress, and move towards a successful conclusion. Simple Prioritization At a simple level, you can prioritize based on time constraints, on the potential profitability or benefit of the task you're facing, or on the pressure you're under to complete a job: Prioritization based on project value or profitability is probably the most commonly-used and rational basis for prioritization. Prioritization Tools. Porter's Five Forces. The model of pure competition implies that risk-adjusted rates of return should be constant across firms and industries. However, numerous economic studies have affirmed that different industries can sustain different levels of profitability; part of this difference is explained by industry structure.
Michael Porter provided a framework that models an industry as being influenced by five forces. The strategic business manager seeking to develop an edge over rival firms can use this model to better understand the industry context in which the firm operates. I. Rivalry In the traditional economic model, competition among rival firms drives profits to zero. But competition is not perfect and firms are not unsophisticated passive price takers. Economists measure rivalry by indicators of industry concentration. If rivalry among firms in an industry is low, the industry is considered to be disciplined. In pursuing an advantage over its rivals, a firm can choose from several competitive moves:
Strategic Planning Process. Strategic Management > Process 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. The following is a flowchart model of this process: The Strategic Planning Process This process is most applicable to strategic management at the business unit level of the organization. Mission A company's mission is its reason for being. Objectives Objectives are concrete goals that the organization seeks to reach, for example, an earnings growth target.
Situation Analysis Once the firm has specified its objectives, it begins with its current situation to devise a strategic plan to reach those objectives. An important aspect of the micro-environmental analysis is the industry in which the firm operates or is considering operating. Implementation. SWOT Analysis. Strategic Management > SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a simple framework for generating strategic alternatives from a situation analysis. It is applicable to either the corporate level or the business unit level and frequently appears in marketing plans.
SWOT (sometimes referred to as TOWS) stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT framework was described in the late 1960's by Edmund P. Learned, C. The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into a strategic situation analysis. The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. Internal Analysis The internal analysis is a comprehensive evaluation of the internal environment's potential strengths and weaknesses.
The SWOT analysis summarizes the internal factors of the firm as a list of strengths and weaknesses. External Analysis SWOT Profile Multiple Perspectives Needed SWOT Analysis Limitations. Critical Success Factors - Leadership training from MindTools. Identifying the Things That Really Matter for Success How will you measure success? © iStockphoto/wakila So many important matters can compete for your attention in business that it's often difficult to see the "wood for the trees". What's more, it can be extremely difficult to get everyone in the team pulling in the same direction and focusing on the true essentials. That's where Critical Success Factors (CSFs) can help. CSFs, also known as Key Results Areas (KRAs), are the essential areas of activity that must be performed well if you are to achieve the mission, objectives or goals for your business or project.
By identifying your Critical Success Factors, you can create a common point of reference to help you direct and measure the success of your business or project. As a common point of reference, CSFs help everyone in the team to know exactly what's most important. The idea of CSFs was first presented by D. Using the Tool: An Example CSFs are best understood by example. Tip: Key Points. USP Analysis - Problem-Solving Training from MindTools. The Unique Selling Proposition: Finding Your "Competitive Edge" Stand out from the crowd! © iStockphoto/nicolas For years, business trainers have stressed the importance of "USPs" (Unique Selling Propositions). Your USP is the unique thing that you can offer that your competitors can't. It's your "Competitive Edge. " USPs have helped many companies succeed.
However, USPs are often extremely difficult to find. In this article, we'll explore how you can use USP Analysis to help you find your USP, and to think about how you'll defend it. How to Use the Tool Download our free worksheet to record your analysis, and then follow these four steps: 1. First, brainstorm what customers value about your product or services, and about those of your competitors. As with all brainstorming, by involving knowledgeable people in the process, you'll improve the range of characteristics you'll identify. 2.
Now, identify your top competitors. 3. Plot these points on a graph. Access the Full Article. Bowman's Strategy Clock - Strategy Skills Training from MindTools. Making Sense of Eight Competitive Positions © iStockphoto/Zeffss1 In many open markets, most goods and services can be purchased from any number of companies, and customers have a tremendous amount of choice.
It's the job of companies in the market to find their competitive edge and meet customers' needs better than the next company. So, how, given the high degree of competitiveness among companies in a marketplace, does one company gain competitive advantage over the others? And when there are only a finite number of unique products and services out there, how do different organizations sell basically the same things at different prices and with different degrees of success? This is a classic question that has been asked for generations of business professionals. In 1980, Michael Porter published his seminal book, "Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors", where he reduced competition down to three classic strategies: Figure 1 – Bowman's Strategy Clock. Porter's Generic Strategies - Strategy Skills Training from MindTools. Choosing Your Route to Success © iStockphotoapomares Airlines use different strategies to achieve competitive advantage.
Which do you prefer when you fly: a cheap, no-frills airline, or a more expensive operator with fantastic service levels and maximum comfort? And would you ever consider going with a small company which focuses on just a few routes? The choice is up to you, of course. Why is this so? The no-frills operators have opted to cut costs to a minimum and pass their savings on to customers in lower prices.
Meanwhile, smaller airlines try to make the most of their detailed knowledge of just a few routes to provide better or cheaper services than their larger, international rivals. Generic Strategies These three approaches are examples of "generic strategies," because they can be applied to products or services in all industries, and to organizations of all sizes. Tip: The Cost Leadership Strategy Increasing profits by reducing costs, while charging industry-average prices.
Step 1: Common Tools & Software. There will be many different tools that support the implementation of the GTD® methodology (i.e. no one tool will handle everything you need). Here are some of the most common ones we come across in our work with clients. We have evaluated these to know their features, benefits, and applicability to the GTD approach. We encourage you to experiment to find what works best for you.
Please contact the software developers listed below for sales and technical support for these programs. List Managers Digital List Managers Asana® Evernote® Google Apps® IBM Lotus Notes® Microsoft 365® Microsoft OneNote® Microsoft Outlook® Microsoft Teams Microsoft To Do Nirvana® OmniFocus® Paper Organizers Things® Todoist® Trello® We offer GTD Setup Guides on the software programs listed above. Capture Tools Braintoss Evernote Brainstorming Tools TheBrain® MindManager® GTD® and Getting Things Done® are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company. Maps: bbb.mmap.