October 28, 2019

Finding True Synergy in Mergers & Acquisitions

Let’s face it, most M&A post merger activity focuses on taking out redundant costs like the overlapping circles in a Venn Diagram. While absolutely necessary it’s misses the other side of synergy where performance multipliers exist. Finding and harnessing these multipliers can make the difference between disappointing “mash-ups” and true synergy creation. What’s missing is […]

July 29, 2019

Harnessing Diversity

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Personnel Development, Prioritization Strategy, Strategy

Just filling the room with diverse employees and hoping for great results isn’t enough. It’s only the first step. The dialogue needs to be structured to maximize success. This requires an 8 step process: Common language Integration tools Outcome prioritization process Project ideation Project prioritization vs. budget constraints Roadmap agreement Execution with value capture Repeating […]

July 15, 2019

Agile Strategy Formulation

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Agile, Organization, Personnel Development, Quick Use Cases

On a recent client call the topic of getting individuals to expand their sphere of influence surfaced: “I’d really hoped she would have stepped up and driven change without waiting for our permission”This inability to take charge without being “knighted” has more to do with a missing capability than an individual flaw. This missing capability can […]

July 25, 2018

Why 97% of Business Strategies Fail

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Guiding Principles, Prioritization Strategy, Strategy Risk Management, Strategy /

According to a recent article in Forbes, only 3% of strategic plans succeed.* In my experience, strategic plans fail because the planning process is flawed. The traditional top-down sequential process of vision-mission-objectives worked when the industry landscape changed at a glacial speed 30 years ago. Now the competitive environment changes almost daily. So by the […]

July 6, 2018

New CxO? Rapid On-boarding!

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in E-Book

I created this for one of my clients who suggested I share it with the public. Report to Executive Sponsor after 9 Days Exec Sponsor: “Come on in!” CxO: “Thanks for taking the time to talk. I know you’re extremely busy.” Exec Sponsor: “So are you getting settled in?” CxO: “Yes. Beyond the normal on-boarding […]

January 1, 2018

In the grand scheme of things…

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Prioritization Strategy, Strategy BRM, Consulting, Portfolio Management, Prioritization, Sales, Strategy /

“The world is not run by those who are right. It is run by those who can convince others that they are right” -Jamshid Gharajedaghi Convincing others is the first hurdle to getting things done. You might think just stating your salient points should be sufficient, then you summarize with the statement— “so in the […]

October 10, 2017

How to build a bulletproof prioritization strategy

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Prioritization Strategy

Prioritizing projects can be a difficult, politically charged process, resulting in a portfolio with mixed support and difficulties in execution. Or, it can be an efficient process creating a shared vision and understanding for your whole team. LeverSource provides tools and an approach to upgrade your process to the latter. In reality, prioritizing projects is […]

August 29, 2017

Change your strategy process from periodic mash-ups to an ongoing integration

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Guiding Principles, Organization, Strategy

We’ve all seen it happen. Deadlines for next year’s budget requests drive a mad dash to come up with defensible proposals. Drop everything. All hands-on-deck. If you’re fortunate enough to have a Business Relationship Management (BRM) Group then at least you’ve had the conversations with your business customers. But conversations don’t always translate to buy-in. […]

August 12, 2017

How to become a “Trusted Advisor”

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Guiding Principles, Strategy

Does your presence incite your client to insight? Not necessarily by directly challenging your client’s thinking but by surfacing assumptions that may go unchallenged. I always start my client engagements by saying: “I’ll never know as much about your organization as you do. But what I will do is help build a detailed picture that puts […]

July 17, 2017

Retire & Consult!

Posted byDr. Don Frazier in Strategy

My retirement at age 58 lasted 6 months. Then my wife strongly suggested I find something to occupy my time instead of “helping” her optimize our domestic processes. (Not smart on my part in retrospect!) I had to do something in consulting because of my background but I wasn’t sure how effective I’d be without […]