Excellerate Solutions Blog

Leadership and Strategic Planning

Author: Dave Vogelpohl

What differentiates effective leaders from less effective ones is often their ability to make better calls in difficult situations.  There are three judgment domains in which effective leaders excelled: People, Strategy and Crisis.

What differentiates effective leaders from less effective ones is often their ability to make better calls in difficult situations.  There are three judgment domains in which effective leaders excelled: People, Strategy and Crisis.

The foundation for exercising good judgment in these domains is having a strategic plan for the business that is alive and actively guiding the business.  The process of reviewing and deciding on the vision, values and mission of a business in itself conditions the leadership to be ready to make the right decisions at the right time – even in times of crisis.

During a crisis, leadership needs to be guided by the values that were decided upon by the team during the relative calm of the planning process.  They need to be guided by the ultimate goals for the business contained within the plan.  One of the best examples of this principle was the Tylenol tampering situation faced by Johnson and Johnson 25 years ago.

How ready are you to exercise good judgment when the times get tough?