BrainZooming

DECEMBER 9, 2015

We facilitated a two-day innovation strategy workshop for an industrial company. The company wants to make significant changes to a major production process. During the innovation strategy discussions, we addressed the production process changes from five different perspectives. Are we done yet?

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BrainZooming

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

We have been working with a client that had done a lot of strategic thinking about a new initiative. Those are six starting places to use when you are doing strategic thinking about big lists. The thing is, they had done the hard strategic thinking and already had all the raw material they needed.

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BrainZooming

MAY 6, 2016

At the 2016 Brand Strategy Conference, Antonia Dean, Director – Marketing, Brand Development, & Strategy at The Estée Lauder Companies covered the strategic thinking ideas behind creating an entrepreneurial environment in a large company. Actively engage stakeholders in strategy AND implementation success.

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BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

We routinely ask those of you downloading Brainzooming strategy and innovation eBooks to share – if you are willing – the opportunities and challenges you are facing at the time. “Buy in from staff on the new vision and the required change” 5 Keys to Engaging Employees in Innovation Strategy – Our Buy-In Manifesto. .

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BrainZooming

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Success factors in strategic planning and creating collaborative strategy were the central topics we tackled on an edition of Smart Companies Radio, hosted by Kelly Scanlon, the owner of Thinking Bigger Business Media, Inc., Creating Strategic Impact mini-book. 10 Keys to Collaborative Strategy and Strategic Planning.

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BrainZooming

AUGUST 11, 2016

What leadership skills are necessary to successfully champion a collaborative strategy ? A client fully immersed in developing and implementing a collaborative strategy asked that question. When we leave after the plan is completed, however, we’re finding many leaders aren’t prepared to implement a collaborative strategy plan.

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BrainZooming

JUNE 29, 2017

Someone downloaded a free Brainzooming strategy eBook, noting his biggest strategy challenge is “how to do a strategic planning process when you are new.” Secure copies of previous plans and strategy documents, and don’t settle for the first things people offer you. Getting to What Is Strategic.

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BrainZooming

APRIL 21, 2017

The folks at Armada Corporate Intelligence offered an internal branding strategy take on the United Airlines woes, offering strategic thinking questions you can ask and answer to improve your brand’s resiliency and avoid brand crises. 3 Ways Your Internal Branding Strategy Can Be Smarter than United Airlines.

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BrainZooming

JULY 25, 2016

The thing is, unsuccessful employee engagement strategies are not an employee problem. It is a LEADERSHIP problem when purported employee engagement strategies are not working. We see great leaders among our clients successfully taking steps that meaningfully involve employees in shaping strategy and implementation.

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BrainZooming

MARCH 9, 2016

The challenge in a client meeting was developing the strategy for a later meeting intended to build support for a biennial community event. The team leader asked, “How is it possible to listen to us talk and turn it into a strategy so quickly?”. 9 Creative Thinking Skills to Turn Talk into Strategy. – Mike Brown.

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BrainZooming

MARCH 21, 2016

I’ll be presenting a Brainzooming workshop on internal branding strategy at the Brand Strategy Conference in New York, April 6-8. The workshop, while drawing on material from my Fortune 500 work, springs from multiple conversations at the 2015 Brand Strategy Conference. Download Your Free Internal Branding Strategy eBook!

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BrainZooming

MAY 9, 2017

Learning what participants in an upcoming big meeting know, think, and believe before they come together in a large group is one tactic to strengthen team collaboration. Gain a sense of what people already think. Learn what insights the participants already have and don’t have.

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BrainZooming

MARCH 16, 2016

Whenever possible, we try to help clients select a mix of people to participate in group strategy exercises. We are also proponents for reaching beyond familiar people that are always involved strategic planning meetings and drive the outcomes of group strategy exercises. – Mike Brown.

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BrainZooming

APRIL 5, 2017

Talking to executives, you hear the expectation that an organization should implement a solid strategic plan strategy-by-strategy. To the extent a strategic plan is not implemented in that way, it falls short in some fashion. 7 Collaborative Strategic Planning Process Impacts (Even if the Plan Sits on the Shelf).

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BrainZooming

APRIL 22, 2016

I debuted a presentation on “Results – Creating Strategic Impact,” our mini-book on employee engagement ideas to boost an organization’s strategic thinking. Download this free, action-focused mini-book to: Learn smart ways to separate strategic opportunities from the daily noise of business. And who knows.

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BrainZooming

JUNE 26, 2018

Talking with one city’s representatives about strategies to sell-in a broadband recommendation with voters, they asked whether it is okay to engage its citizens after city leadership develops a recommendation. Engage your audience in collaborative strategic planning earlier than later. – Mike Brown.

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BrainZooming

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

Great branding strategy examples abound. If your organization specializes in one particular area, your branding strategy discussions should include the question: “If our customers can think it, can we make it?” They need strategic thinkers who can develop strategy and turn it into results. Flexibility?

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BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Here are four different approaches The Brainzooming Group employs with clients: Instead of using complex strategic exercises that aren’t beneficial outside planning, we use strategic thinking questions that fit how people think and work on a daily basis. Actively engage stakeholders in strategy AND implementation success.

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BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

There are a couple of different ways to apply structure to strategic planning exercises : You can enforce using templates and forms participants have to complete so their answers are uniformed and structured. After this strategic collaboration, a full-time strategic planner (i.e.,

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BrainZooming

OCTOBER 27, 2015

With a strong brand and a robust branding strategy , there are many ways to deliver valuable brand benefits to customers. If, however, usage is declining for one of the best ways your brand delivers customer benefits, should your turnaround branding strategy focus on cutting back in providing it? A Personal Invitation’s Impact.

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BrainZooming

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

On Wednesday, I delivered the closing keynote at the Real Time Marketing Lab with a mini-workshop on using strategic thinking super models to help C-suite executives understand social networking and content marketing strategy. That is why weeks such as the last one are so rewarding and filled with learning.

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BrainZooming

AUGUST 30, 2016

There is a mutual commitment to learning from the business collaboration. Beyond learning more from the collaboration’s outcomes, it should provide an opportunity to learn about each other and our brand. There is a mutual contribution from both parties toward the strategy and ideas.

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BrainZooming

MARCH 8, 2016

mini-Book, we ask a question about the biggest strategy implementation opportunity or challenge the individual is facing in his or her organization. and listed “unfreezing (a) team, moving forward, and preparing for growth” as the strategic task at hand. Creating Organizational Change and Change Management – 4 Strategy Options.

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BrainZooming

JANUARY 15, 2016

Individuals Posing Creative Thinking Challenges. How Creative Thinking Gets Killed by Team Members – 8 Fatal Blows. 5 Ideas When an Uber-Positive Boss Crushes Creative Thinking. Strategic Thinking Skills – 29 Clues You’re Not Dealing with a Strategic Thinker.

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BrainZooming

JUNE 28, 2016

In an edited excerpt, here is what they shared in their Inside the Executive Suite column about streamlining strategic planning. 5 Keys to Streamlining Strategic Planning. Most executives can’t write a strategy plan, so don’t make them. Executives that SHOULD know how to develop and write a strategic plan struggled.

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BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Letting everyone know upfront that WE will handle turning the input into a strategic plan (so they don’t have to). Designing strategic thinking questions leading to engaging conversation among familiar and new participants. Increase focus for your team with productive strategy questions everyone can use.

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BrainZooming

JANUARY 29, 2016

We are working with a client to develop a content marketing strategy for multiple business units in the organization. The first step was for our client to talk with the presidents of the various business units to understand their strategic objectives. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the free Brainzooming blog email updates.

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BrainZooming

JANUARY 22, 2016

These fourteen articles recap our thinking and recommendations across these three areas. Strategic Planning – All the Strategy Roles You Need. Strategic Thinking Perspectives – Three Strategic Voices to Include on Your Team. Strategic Visioning Exercises – Group Collaboration the Right Way.

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BrainZooming

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

Because of this, the list was worthless for doing what I suspect everyone hoped it would do: provide a starting point for the strategic thinking needed to back into a definition of and explanation for what the new initiative would turn out to be. 6 Ways to Organize Ideas from Strategic Planning Exercises.

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BrainZooming

AUGUST 1, 2016

Collaborative planning implies a process that goes beyond the board room to include individuals throughout the organization in meaningful ways to provide insights and input to shape organizational strategy. A large group really makes collaborative strategy planning work. 10 Keys to Engaging Employees to Improve Strategic Results.

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BrainZooming

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Originating from an Edward De Bono technique we learned from Chuck Dymer , the PMIRQ asks five open-ended questions on what worked (Plus), didn’t work (Minus), was surprising (Interesting), should be done next time (Recommendation), and didn’t get fully addressed (Question). “I Fresh Ideas and Learning. Learned a lot”.

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BrainZooming

JANUARY 20, 2016

What is the business strategy behind launching this new program? In short they need strategic thinkers who can develop strategy and turn it into results. Download this free, action-focused mini-book to: Learn smart ways to separate strategic opportunities from the daily noise of business.

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BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Often, however, executives jump too quickly to flying everyone into one place for a big strategic planning meeting. When discussing a strategic planning or innovation strategy engagement with a client, we use the graphic below to design our recommended approach. 10 Keys to Engaging Stakeholders to Improve Strategic Results.

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BrainZooming

JANUARY 24, 2017

This Brainzooming mini-book, “Results – Creating Strategic Impact” unveils ten proven lessons leaders can use to boost collaboration, meaningful strategic conversations, and results. Download this free, action-focused mini-book to: Learn smart ways to separate strategic opportunities from the daily noise of business.

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BrainZooming

JANUARY 25, 2016

In short they need strategic thinkers who can develop strategy and turn it into results. This new Brainzooming mini-book, “Results – Creating Strategic Impact” unveils ten proven lessons for senior executives to increase strategic collaboration, employee engagement, and grow revenues for their organizations.

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BrainZooming

APRIL 25, 2016

At a Brainzooming internal branding strategy workshop I was presenting , one attendee remarked about wanting more vision statement examples. From what she described, her company’s leadership had rushed to develop big strategy statements (such as a core purpose, vision statement, or mission statement), but was now rethinking its direction.

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BrainZooming

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

The way we look at it, brainstorming – or whatever you want to call trying come up with new ideas – is typically, give or take, the third step in any phase of a strategic planning process. The first step in any of these strategic planning phases is asking: What do we know about what we are trying to solve?

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