What Are Our Options?

Envisian’s new Strategic Options planning system
speeds up and simplifies a once-tedious process.

strategicoptions.jpg The second most-asked question we are asked is: What are our options?

Too often, we see companies struggling to choose between options ranging from the same-old to the unachievable.

This is often where we come in. Usually, we’ll suggest two things.

First, get rid of the unworkable – the same tired old options that haven’t worked well in years (usually suggested by people who’ve been with the company forever).

Second, get rid of options unlikely to be achievable or to adequately fit the company or the need (often suggested by those who have limited experience).

Then, we work to add plausible and achievable new options drawn from at least five possible areas: 1) our experience solving similar problems for other companies over many years, 2) our knowledge of great companies and what’s worked for them, 3) research into the competition and what’s being done in other industries and disciplines, 4) a look at what the best thinkers in your industry are recommending and doing now, and 5) some imagination – often based on taking a fresh look at companies and industries – from an outside perspective.

The idea is to develop a wider range of options – including those with both a strong chance of working and being achievable.

But we try not to stop there. We know that leaders like to have choices – and the more valid choices the better.

That’s why we also often include options that may be unpalatable at the moment (i.e., sell the business). Interestingly, when we ask if there are circumstances that might make such an option more appealing – it’s pretty easy to find them (a buyer with lots of money, loss of key talent, changes in the market, age or health, and so on).

To make this Strategic Options process even more valuable and more accessible, we invented a group of new strategic tools. Here are three examples:

  • Reality Mapping (to quickly sort and prioritize choices and possibilities)
  • Options Mapping (organized from simplest to most difficult or some other criteria)
  • ProgressLines (to plot where we are now and where we want to go – in achievable stages)

We’ve also created updated versions of timelines, action plans, and much more.

Most important – our new system not only compresses the Strategic Options planning process to a fraction of the time it used to take – but also provides a strong, simple, and visual framework for making better decisions.

If you’d like to see how our system works, or learn how to bring it to your company, give Carl Francis a call at 610.640.4600x1 or email him at cfrancis@envisian.com.

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