<p>In regions where forestry is big industry, loggers regularly gather for games, one of which is something called log rolling.</p>
<p>With this, two loggers climb on a log floating in water and use their spiked boots to “roll” it furiously to throw their opponent in the drink.</p>
<p>To be successful at log rolling, you have to be very fast on your feet, creative, and nimble. You have to be able to adjust instantly to changes going on under your feet. If you can’t, you’ll end up all wet.</p>
<p>Similarly, to be successful as an entrepreneurial organization today, you and most of the people in it, have to be very adept at a version of log rolling. It has to become an essential part of your strategic planning.</p>
<p>Traditionally, strategic planning sessions involve a team of leaders who gather somewhere and map out where their organization is going over the next one, three and five years. Then they produce a formal plan with objective and goals, key performance indicators, success measurements and all the other elements that go into a plan.</p>
<p>But formal plans are too often disrupted these days, and not just by economic forces like the recession. There are simply too many uncertainties out there now, so plans can become straightjackets that block what you really need - the ability to creatively react to emerging circumstances.</p>
<p>Today’s world is unpredictable and dynamic. New information is always coming in. Situations change on a dime. Markets morph or fracture. Operations are disrupted. New technology is constantly changing the game. Precisely predicting where you’ll be in the future can be a real gamble.</p>
<p>So a new form of dynamic and creative strategizing and planning has to emerge. Instead of rigidly planning out every moment of their lives, organizations, both large and small, must greatly enhance their creativity and innovation thinking. </p>
<p>Innovation isn't restricted to research and development of new products or services. More often it involves business model change that looks to the future instead of the past. Blue Ocean Strategies, in which an organization abandons a "red ocean" -- a sea of bloody competition -- for a "blue ocean" -- an uncontested market space -- is the best example of this innovative thinking.</p>
<p>However, for many entrepreneurs, this can seem like a pretty radical shift that requires much research, thought. and resources they don't have. Very often, they are right. But that doesn't mean they should ignore the need for innovation.</p>
<p>Instead, entrepreneurs that lack the resources of large organizations can approach this innovative methodology in increments, using it as an overlay when they are confronted by today's inevitable change.</p>
<p>To succeed at this kind of planning, entreprenerus need to set clear directions, keep their minds open, and be prepared to shift rapidly to achieve goals. In fact, they may even have to revisit those goals regularly with an eye to adapting them to new realities.</p>
<p>Today, entrepreneurs must be able to assess the impact of new circumstances very quickly, and then react just as quickly. They can no longer blindly ignore these new circumstances and hope that “sticking to the plan” will get them through it.</p>
<p>In a world of high-speed change, it won’t. But a superior ability to log roll might.</p>
<p> </p>
2009-08-28T19:57:48Z
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log-rolling-your-way-to-success
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2009-08-30T10:03:13Z
2009-08-30T16:03:41Z
Rapid change means entrepreneurs have to adapt very quickly today. That requires a new kind of business and strategic planning in which innovative thinking is as important as key performance indicators and other success measures.
Log Rolling Your Way To Success
1
2009-08-30T16:03:41Z