Sunday, August 24, 2008

Strategic Planning: The Competitive Edge

By Fabian Toulouse


Most people would agree that the most excellent leaders are those with a certain amount of prescience and the skills to see things through to the completion of a goal. While some people are born with those tools, others could use a little help, and everyone can use some tools for putting the newest business practices into play.

Caltech Industrial Relations Center excels at educating executives in technology-related firms. From classes on leadership development to entering markets in China or outsourcing work to India, their impressive catalog of courses is created to help businesses of any size stay in step with innovative trends, decrease costs, and maximize resources in a time of economic uncertainty.

Part of keeping down expenditures is increasing efficiency by making sure each department in your company are integrated and pushing toward the same goals. Courses in strategic planning help executives learn to set goals, draw up plans for reaching those end results, and following through to make it happen.

While this may sound intuitive, there is far more than meets the eye when it comes to tactically implementing innovative ideas and moving a company in a direction that is sometimes completely new. It requires a keen eye for identifying strengths and weaknesses and a steady hand at excising processes that do not work well and dead wood products that no longer meet customers' needs. (Also important is keeping a up to date knowledge of the customers at whom your products and services are aimed!) Following the market and current trends is a must, as is following technology developments and, if profitable, proposing alliances to foster cost-effective research and development.

Competition is fierce and today?s executives must be willing to arm themselves with the latest knowledge available for keeping their companies forceful and successful. Strategic planning techniques can provide clear vision and well-defined goals for the future. Taking advantage of a professional course is a proven way to acquire these skills and learn how to execute them.

About the Author:

No comments: