HOW TO ADVANCE YOUR BUSINESS DESPITE THE ECONOMIC TERRAIN

When a company is having problems, many executives tend to blame the trouble on an outside source, but more often than not, the source of the problem is found within the company itself.

Why are so many companies having trouble today? Its not the economy, and its not the impending war. Its strategic gridlock within the organization.

Gridlock doesnt occur only in traffic," says business consultant Pamela S. Harper. It also happens in small, medium, and large companies in virtually every industry as they strive to advance their business strategies." According to Harper, even the savviest executives and boards find that as they wind their way through the turbulent 21st century business landscape, its easy to inadvertently drive their organizations smack into a situation that Harper calls strategic gridlock": the mysterious paralysis that occurs when persistent organizational problems snarl business performance. When a company is having problems, most executives tend to blame the trouble on an outside source, but more often than not, the source of the problem is found within the company itself.

Harper also asserts that strategic gridlock flourishes in uncertain times. Now, more than ever before, massive advances in technology, communication, globalization, business climate, and social change add up to a dizzying mix of conditions that can make it difficult for us to know whether were moving backward, forward, or sideways," she says. With things changing so quickly, its easy to make assumptions that overlook or underestimate critical pieces of our organizations reality and that can have a huge impact on how our strategies play out."

The good news is that strategic gridlock is preventable. The key is learning to integrate execution considerations with strategic thinking and planning, keeping in mind that what should work needs to be balanced with what will work for your unique organization.

You can learn more information on how to advance a business and stay out of strategic gridlock in Pamela S. Harpers book, Preventing Strategic Gridlock®: Leading Over, Under, & Around Organizational Jams to Achieve High Performance Results (Cameo Publications, $19.95, ISBN 0-9715739-4-8). If you are interested in reviewing Preventing Strategic Gridlock®, please contact Paula Duncan at 1-866-372-2636 or send an email to marketing@cameopublications.com.