Strategy 4 Saturday (<3 minute read)

• Lake Tahoe
• Strategic Retreats | The Frustration
• Strategic Retreats | Doing it the Right Way
• Call to Action | ChatGPT
• Measure Success Podcast | Stephen M. R. Covey
• Coming up this week | President and Chief Strategist, John Jennings

Lake Tahoe

This past week, I was in Lake Tahoe for a strategic retreat with a client. According to busytourist.com, Lake Tahoe is the 22nd most beautiful place in the US. Frankly, I would personally rank it higher than #22, the views were stunning.

The strategic retreat location is important; but what is more important is creating value that you can bring back to your organization.

Strategic Retreat | The Frustration

In fact, part of the reason my profession is consulting organizations to grow with Strategic Planning & Execution, was born out of frustration. First my experiences were personal, I had been to many retreats as an executive or board member, where it felt like the best part of the retreat was the offsite location, fine wine, and food. Yet, the potential and outcome was wasted. As the US CEO for a strategic planning software company, a significant portion of the clients were buying our software like someone would buy a Peloton bike. Initially, there would be excitement, but a few months later, it simply became a very expensive towel rack.

To save these clients, we initially provided free consulting. Eventually, we would charge them daily rates. It was not until I was with a client in Arizona, that I realized I may have a different future. We had started our first 2 hours of our strategic insights, and we had a short break. The client CEO came up to me and said, I would have paid you $10,000 for the last two hours of insights alone. (They paid significantly less than that for the entire retreat.) After thanking my client graciously, I remember turning to my colleague, saying, I think I may be in the wrong business.

Strategic Retreat | Doing it the Right Way

Lost at CEO was written to guide organizations towards strategic planning and execution the right way. After being mentored by Fortune 500 executives for over 20 years, growing seven different organizations by at least 2x, reading hundreds of leadership and strategy books, and leading the US operations for a strategic planning software company, the book provides the insights that I learned along the way. It’s written in a fable, so it’s easy to read and relatable. I have been in your shoes, the ups and the downs.

Fortunately, my client, PAE, knows how to do strategy and execution the right way. They are successfully completing a five-year strategic plan in 2023. We are currently working on their next five-year strategic plan, to expand their impact. Yet, despite their past success, they have been open to doing strategy differently, using the Lost at CEO principles.

PAE has successfully completed their vivid vision, mission, and outlined their focused destinations (goals) that they are going to complete in the next five years. The next step is to work with the expanded management team, on the journeys (strategies) on how they are going to reach those goals. We want to make sure we have full buy-in and alignment before launching the plan next year.

BTW – I could not be more impressed by PAE’s desire to make an extraordinary impact in the world. It’s been an honor to work with them.

Call to Action | ChatGPT

Do you have 15 minutes to support our research?

We are conducting market research on what executives and entrepreneurs want to learn, so they can lead and learn how to use ChatGPT for growing their organization and being more efficient.

Reach out to Tonya Smith, Director of Operations, admin@40strategy.com, to schedule a chat. Or use this Calendly link.

Measure Success Podcast

Stephen M. R. Covey| Re-script your Leadership Style

Mr. Covey‘s recording released on Tuesday, September 12th on the Measure Success Podcast. Stephen is the author of the bestselling Speed of Trust, and more recently Trust and Inspire. He goes the extra mile on this podcast and shares his insights from his late father, Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and the late Clayton Christensen, PhD, The Innovator’s Dilemma.

This recording was particularly special for me personally: it brought home a clearer picture of the difference between the “doing” side and “being” side — which I think most leaders and entrepreneurs struggle with.

John Jennings | Estate Planning, the Stock Market, and the Potential Downside of Wealth

John Jennings recording will release on Tuesday, September 19th on the Measure Success Podcast. He is president and chief strategist of St. Louis Trust & Family Office, a $15 billion wealth management firm. His book, “The Uncertainty Solution”, is an engaging dive into investing philosophy and best practices as well as an authoritative, accessible guide for anyone who feels inundated with financial news and data.

Money solves many problems, but it doesn’t solve *all* of them. And in some cases, wealth can actually create some NEW problems.

We talk about that dynamic — and how people can get ahead of those issues by proactively managing their wealth.

As our podcast and blog are free for you, here is the link to share with someone else to sign up.