Greg Githens is Vice President Strategic Initiatives and Innovation. He helps executives turn vision into results and is available for short- and long-term leadership.-
Read these recent articles
- Strategic Leadership is “Replacing Old Stories with New Stories”
- Accountability is the Willingness to Have Your Performance Measured
- Three Tips for Leading Strategic Alliances
- Don’t Ask About Deadlines and Due Dates
- Launching a Strategic Initiative? Here are Three Good Practices
- B.A.R.E.D. – Five Domains for Program Management Performance
- Strategy Execution Priority #1: Effectively Communicate Strategic Decision(s)
- Strategic Initiatives Case Study: Best Buy’s “Renew Blue” Turnaround
- The Business Value Proposition
- Strategic Thinking: Seven Questions for Your New Year’s Resolution
- Use Small Wins to Attract Allies To Your Strategic Initiative (and Overcome Shabby Thinking)
- Strategic Initiatives | What Are the Metrics That Matter?
- S.T.I.C.C. – A Useful Communication Tool for Critical Situations
- The “20%-of-Your-Time” Rule-of-Thumb
- That’s the Fact, Jack: Data Drive Strategic Initiatives
- A Simple Idea that Every Good Strategist Knows
- Apple versus Samsung: Three Lessons for Strategic Initiative Leaders
- Four Things Strategic Initiative Leaders Need to Know About Requirements
- The “Call to Action:” A Useful Leadership Tool
- Strategic Initiative Steering Teams: A Sharp or Dull Blade?
- Identify Performance Gaps and Get Out of the Rut of Solutioneering
- The Job of the Program Manager is to…..
- Use the Prospective Hindsight Technique to Improve Your Vision Statements and Story Telling
- The Purpose of a Strategic Initiative is Closing a Performance Gap
- How to Develop Completion Criteria and Success Metrics
- Ask Informed Questions
- How to Identify Strategic Assumptions
- Strategic Initiative Case Study: Intel’s Product Development Turnaround
- Strategic Initiatives | Are You Ready to Implement?
- Incremental Benefits Delivery: The Key to Sustaining Commitment to Strategy
- The Strategic Initiative Leader: The #1 Success Factor!
- Strategic Initiatives | Executive Sponsor Roles, Power, & Politics
- Know The “Follow-The-Money” Story. How was Your Strategic Initiative Funded?
- Path Finding and Way Finding
- A Powerful Idea for Your Strategic Initiative: Program = Brand = Trust
- Case Study: Strategic Initiative Kickoff in a Global Joint Venture
- Five Rules for Managing Complex Strategic Initiatives
Talk to the Expert
Need a strategic planning facilitator, implementation coach, neutral mediator, workshop, seminar, or hands-on program manager? Greg Githens provides coaching, workshops, hands-on, and more. Contact him at GregoryDGithens@cs.com or 419.424.1164Categories
- Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders
- Examples of Strategic Initiatives
- How to Improve Your Story Telling Chops
- Incremental Benefits Delivery
- Interpreting Strategy Documents
- Program & Portfolio Management
- Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives
- Strategy Coaching and Facilitation
- Strategy, Ambiguity, and Strong-Minded Thinking
- Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives
- Transforming the Organization
- Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tag Archives: vision
Strategic Initiatives Case Study: Best Buy’s “Renew Blue” Turnaround
Renew Blue is the name of a strategic initiative intended to reverse the competitive decline of Best Buy. This article analyzes the initiative’s strategy and raises questions about the correctness of the situation diagnosis. It examines the Renew Blue vision & strategic pillars, and concludes with a list of 7 learnings for leaders of strategic initiatives. Continue reading
Strategic Initiatives | Are You Ready to Implement?
Readiness to implement strategy is achieved when the physical resources are in place and there is a will to take action. A strategic initiative should formally assess readiness by either of two methods: self-audit or use of an outside resource. Leaders are advised to recognize and avoid the causes of failure: poor requirements, poor communications, and inadequate resources. The article also includes a set of do’s and don’t for strategic initiatives. Continue reading
Strategy-as-Story: The ABCDE Model
This tip for strategy and story telling (third in a series) describes the ABCDE model (assess, baseline, components, delivery, evaluation). It explains that strategic initiatives are chartered in the C to D steps. It also provides four useful questions that help gain strategic perspective: Where are we at? Where do we want to be? How will we get there? How will we evaluate ourselves? It also provides an example story that illustrates the principles. Continue reading
Posted in How to Improve Your Story Telling Chops, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives
Tagged ABCDE model of strategy, balanced score card, benefits, leading strategic initiatives, story telling, strategic initiatives, Strategic management, Strategic planning, strategy execution, strategy formulation, vision
1 Comment
Strategic Initiative Case Study: Delivering Large Cost Savings in Healthcare IT Infrastructure
How a manager saw an opportunity to align his work with executive vision for IT cost savings, and drove significant benefits through a large healthcare organization. Summarizes value of elevator speech, key actions, team building, managing around a boss, and incremental benefits delivery. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Examples of Strategic Initiatives, Transforming the Organization
Tagged Business transformation, case study, elevator speech, health care, Information technology management, IT infrastructure, Kaiser Permanente, Leadership, program management, strategic initiatives, Strategic management, strategic thinking, transformation, vision
4 Comments
Does Your Strategic Initiative Need a Fresh Perspective?
Greg explains how to overcome headwinds in a strategic initiative with 4 perspectives: storytelling, learning, integration, and decisions. He illustrates how each role is applied through a case study. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Examples of Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Coaching and Facilitation, Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tagged ambiguity, chief decision architect, chief integration officer, Chief learning officer, Chief storyteller, Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Decision making, Greg Githens, intuition, Issue management, Learning, management tools, partitioning problems, program management, questions, Strategic initiative, Strategic management, strategic thinking, strategy execution, teams, transformation, vision
1 Comment
Two Tools for Describing Strategic Context (Strategic Thinking Part 3)
Greg Githens explains the PESTLE acronym for evaluating strategic context, and the “walk the fenceline” technique. Strategic thinkers have an “outside in” perspective that allows them understand how external context affects strategy. Continue reading
Posted in Interpreting Strategy Documents, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Coaching and Facilitation, Strategy, Ambiguity, and Strong-Minded Thinking
Tagged ambiguity, Business, CSX, director of strategic initiatives, Greg Githens, innovation, Management, Pepsico, PESTLE, program management, strategic context, strategic environment, Strategic initiative, strategic thinking, strategy execution, strategy formulation, sustainability, vision
11 Comments
Strategic Thinking (Part 1): A Fight with Ambiguity
Strategic thinking is necessary for execution, as well as strategy formulation. Ambiguity (multiple meanings) is at the heart of strategy, so the Strategic Initiative leader’s top priority is to recognize ambiguity, clarify metrics, and develop sensible action plans. Greg Githens explains how they find the balance of patience and action. Their skillful conversation fosters understanding and gain commitment. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Interpreting Strategy Documents, Strategy, Ambiguity, and Strong-Minded Thinking
Tagged ambiguity, Business, buy in, Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Decision making, fast decisions, Greg Githens, Management, Nokia, Strategic initiative, Strategic management, Strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategy execution, strong mind, transformation, vision
24 Comments
Five Things SI Leaders Need to Know about Innovation
Leaders use the word innovation frequently, but often it’s a buzzword. Innovation is not the same thing as invention or as creativity. Innovations do not sell themselves. It is a gross exaggeration to declare that people “resist change.” Innovation involves choices and decisions. Leaders help others cross the chasm. Greg Githens explains the TACOS criteria for speeding the adoption of an innovation. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives, Transforming the Organization
Tagged ambiguity, Business case, commitment, Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Decision making, Greg Githens, innovation, open innovation, Organizational culture, Strategic initiative, transformation, vision
7 Comments
“Make it Happen” — More Tips for Developing Buy In for your Strategic Initiative
“I know that I should be a person that makes it happen for this strategic initiative,” confided Steve, “but, when I consider the risks and obstacles, the best I can do it help the strategic initiative along.” Greg Githens defines true commitment and explains how it is different from enrollment or compliance. He provides leadership tips for building commitment. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tagged 3M, ambiguity, bank, benefits, buy in, commitment, Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, core team, emotive benefits, empowerment, Greg Githens, heroic journey, initiatives, program management, serve and sacrifice, Strategic initiative, vision
2 Comments
