Tips

40 Questions for a Current State Business Review

Here are 40 Questions to ask before leading Strategic Planning sessions in a Current State Business Review section to “confirm the present.” Some are quantitative, and some qualitative, though having a high level understanding around most of these to inform the foundation for growth. What kind of technology are we using?  What are we creating?  …

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AJC Playbook: What kind of growth do you want?

There are three basic ways to run a business that is a “going concern”– well, actually four – and any of them might be right for your organization.  These are so fundamentally different in terms of growth, however, that the Leadership Team needs to be aligned before going any further in this process. True Innovation …

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5 Tips for Truly Innovative Strategic Planning

As many of us have experienced, annual strategic planning often turns into lackluster, long-range tactical planning. If you’re ready to put the strategy back into strategic planning, change things up with AJC’s 5 Tips for Truly Innovative Strategic Planning. 

How Can we Create a Streamlined Process?

Anyone who has tried to get things done in an organization has probably had two realizations. First: Everyone seems to have their own way of doing things, and Second: It would sure be nice if this happened the same way every time. It takes discipline to accomplish standardized and streamlined processes, but is this discipline really the most difficult part of creating streamlined processes?

How to Distinguish Explanations from Excuses

Have you ever worked with someone who always seems to have a reason for not completing their work?  At first, you listen to their explanations, and they seem reasonable.  However, when it happens multiple times every week, you start to become jaded and feel that everything they say is just an excuse. How does one tell the difference between the two?

What are Daily Standup Meetings? (And can you have them virtually?)

Daily Standup meetings, also known as daily “Huddles,” are a tool for focusing a team on their work for the day. Standups, whether held in person or virtually, are designed to be short – hence the standing format. Typically, there are three questions, and they can be used for any team working for any desired result. These three questions align the team in three distinct and important ways (and yes, Daily Standups can be performed virtually – see the end of the article for tips).

We Need Help Setting a Good Meeting Agenda

The absence of an Agenda being driven by a meeting Leader can often lead to feelings of time, and money, being wasted for everyone in the meeting. Agendas help ensure that the participants provide value to the organization in the time they are spend together, which will help the participants feel like their time is being used in a valuable way.

Facilitation: Science or Magic?

When it comes to facilitating, many people think that you’re either good at it, or you’re not. To us at AJC, that type of thinking is not growth oriented, as we believe that human beings can improve in any area. We also think there are some basic principles that provide structure to most processes – facilitation included. Here are our Basic Facilitation Principles: 1. Encourage all to participate