Strategic Thinking & Business Planning
Success Starts With a Plan
With decades of experience guiding CEOs, COOs, and General Managers through rigorous strategic planning, Paradigm Associates LLC transforms 'business-as-usual' into a proactive, high-performance strategy. Our deep, hands-on approach ensures that your team isn't just prepared for the future but strategically positioned to lead it. We help CEOs gain a competitive advantage with a scalable business strategy.
Is Your Strategy Failing (Or Non-Existent)?
Is your organization's performance stagnating? Lacking clear strategies can lead to lost market share, internal discontent, and strategic misalignment across divisions. Gain a competitive edge with a strategy recalibration designed to realign your organization's vision, elevate performance, and ensure market relevance.
Our Process is Different
Unlike traditional planning approaches, our collaborative partnership model embeds resilience and agility at every level of your organization, enabling you to thrive amid market shifts and competitive pressures. Our work together isn't just about creating a plan but building an adaptable, future-ready company.
Strategic Thinking Development
Our process equips you with advanced strategic insight, enabling you to innovate and challenge longstanding assumptions. Here's what you can expect to achieve:
- Gain insights on challenging assumptions you've made about your business
- How to ask the right questions about your vision, strategy, and plan
- Why you need to examine parts of your business in a new way
- How to discover the solutions you need right now and in the future
A Flexible & Scalable Process
While you stay focused on running your business, our adaptable process integrates seamlessly into your operations. We work with you to establish an implementation cadence that drives sustainable impact without interrupting daily performance.
Typical Strategic Business Planning Elements
1. Strategic Business Plan
- Strategic Planning - Your roles, five stages of strategic planning, and creating a vision statement.
- Developing a Competitive Edge - External assessment, customer segments, competitive analysis, trend analysis, internal appraisal, and organizational structure.
- Effective Planning Techniques - Business planning, developing a mission statement, and shortening your learning curve.
- From Planning to Impactful Execution - Critical goal categories and business planning goals.
2. Marketing and Sales Plan
- Marketing communications
- Sales support
3. Generating and Retaining Profits
- The Sales Process
- Financial Planning
- The Review Process
4. Becoming a Customer-Driven, Enduring Company
- Determining customer needs
- Handling Complaints
- Consistency
- Integrity and Values
Strategic and Business Planning Map
Outline of the Strategic Thinking Workbook
The workbook contains a series of thought-provoking questions that ask you to conduct a detailed analysis of your operation's external and internal aspects.
Basic Foundation and Desired Business Objectives
- Why Are We In Business?
- What Are Your Short And Long-Term Objectives?
- What Are Your Key Assumptions?
- Responses by competition
- Economic trends
- The ability of others to develop solutions to replace yours
- Visioning Tools
- Where do you want to be in five, ten, twenty years?
- What is the scope of the business?
- How will you be different from the competition?
- How will various aspects of your business need to change over time?
Determining Your Vision and Values
- Creating a Timeless Vision
- Creating Values & Principles
- Determining stakeholders
- Defining corporate values
- Challenging your commitment to living those values
Creating Your Mission Statement
- How to realize the vision
- What is being done
- For whom it is being done
- Desired results
Conducting the External Assessment
- Market Segments And Opportunities
- Customer needs satisfaction
- Who and why does someone buy from your company
- Market share issues
- Share of wallet issues
- Perception issues
- Reputation issues
- Competitive Analysis - Offerings
- How your products and services compare to your current and future competition
- Competitive Analysis - Company
- How does your organization compare to your current and future competitors' capabilities
- Trend Analysis
- The impact of various trends on your future business and vision
Conducting the Internal Assessment
- Analyze Structure vs. Functions
- Conduct a detailed analysis of your operation
- Examining Available Resources
- Determining Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities, and Threats
Refining Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
Evaluating Processes & CSFs
Determining Intermediate Milestones
Identifying Potential Obstacles
Establishing Goals & Key Results (GKRs)
Refocusing Marketing & Sales Plans
Linking Marketing & Sales functions with Intermediate Milestones
- Examining Segmentation Decisions
- Examining Marketing Communications
- Determining Sales Strategies to Employ
- Examining Customer/Client Service Structure and Function
Determining Financial Projections & Review Procedures
- Forecasting Sales and Revenue Levels
- Forecasting Expenses
- Reviewing Capital Requirements Needed to Execute the Mission
- Creating Review Procedures
Executing Your Plan
- Creating team & individual GKRs
- Establishing Quarterly Themes & GKRs
Components Available to Achieve Results
Tailored Learning Methods
We blend seven distinct learning methods to cater to diverse learning styles and needs, ensuring each participant can absorb and apply knowledge effectively.
Comprehensive Written Resources
Our written materials establish the foundational knowledge base to ensure all participants start on the same page and can meaningfully engage in discussions.
Audio Learning Tools
Reinforce and internalize key concepts with audio materials designed for spaced repetition. This approach supports lasting behavioral change and knowledge retention.
Action Planning Workbook
Facilitate clarity and focus using our workbook to organize thoughts, address challenges, and build actionable roadmaps for success.
Collaborative Participant Engagement
Engage in interactive sessions fostering robust dialogue, building consensus, and securing long-term commitment to shared objectives.
Expert-Led Facilitation
Leverage the insights of a seasoned professional facilitator to ensure discussions remain focused, productive, and valuable for all participants.
Why These Components Matter
Our proven methodology integrates these components into a cohesive process tailored to your organization’s unique needs. Combining foundational knowledge, reinforcement strategies, actionable tools, and expert guidance, we help teams achieve breakthrough results efficiently and effectively.
Testimonials
What our Clients Had to Say:
Doug took me through a strategic planning process for my company that really helped me grab a vision for where I could take it, and what it might look like when I get there. I'd recommend Doug to anyone who wants to take their business to the next level. Plus he's a blast to work with!
Paradigm Associates LLC, headed by Doug Brown, is a group of talented, experienced, and inspiring people. This is the "go to" place if you need a fresh perspective on a non-trivial issue.
Doug challenges me to leave the daily grind of business operations behind for an hour or two in favor of thinking creatively and strategically. He has helped me clear hurdles that were in the way of my success and is enabling a more focused intent on our company's strategic goals. If you are having trouble realizing your aspirations - Doug is the guy to assist.
Doug Brown from Paradigm Associates has been a great partner as we move through our Leadership Training Series and the Strategic Planning process. Highly recommend!
Recently I had the pleasure to work with Doug as a part of our Strategic Planning Process. Our organization has always used strategic planning to lead our efforts for obvious reasons. This is to say that I have worked with a number of people to facilitate our strategic planning. Our process is unique in that it engages all segments of our community that is Public, Private and of course our customer. Doug was no less that excellent in being about to adjust to the various groups, getting to the meat of where we were as an organization and assisting us in flushing out a new and freshly competitive direction. I have worked as CEO of non-profits and as a part of the public sector for more than 20 years and during this time I have met few people with Dougs depth of knowledge in his area of expertise. Without hesitation I recommend Doug and would be more than willing to work with him and his team again.
Doug and I worked together on an extremely fast course project that required five different individuals to come together from different geographic locations. His expertise as the leader in this team was very evident. He proactively listened and demonstrated the ability to be flexible when ideas came forth that were not his, but ultimately made the final result even better. Since that time,I have come to know him as a friend and a professional colleague. I believe he brings a lot to the table for any organization or individual seeking to improve their results.
I have had the pleasure of working with Doug over the past 8-months on a Leadership Development/Strategic Planning program for my executive staff. Throughout this process I have found Doug to be an amazing resource for both myself and team. His vast knowledge and practical experience provided real world examples my staff could relate to and begin practicing immediately. If you are looking for a down-to-earth, practical subject matter expert for your leadership team or business I highly recommend you reach out to Doug.
As Chairman of the Board, I recently had the opportunity to work with Doug on a strategic planning effort for the New York Society of Association Executives. Doug was terrific in working with Association leaders. His high touch, vast knowledge of planning skills, and focus on critical success factors was invaluable. NYSAE now has a new framework for success and I would highly recommend Doug for similar assignments. By the way, he is not a bad singer either! Thanks Doug!
ARC of Rockland spent several months interviewing consulting firms to assist our nonprofit in undergoing a strategic planning assessment and visioning process. After an extended search and interview process, Doug Brown of Paradigm Associates was our unanimous selection. Doug has conducted stakeholder interviews/surveys and has led multiple strategic retreats. Doug has worked hard to understand our organization’s culture in a very short period of time and has helped to tease out our challenges and opportunities. We have identified five strategic elements that we will focus on over the next 2-3 years and we are in the process of developing action plans to accomplish these goals.
Doug’s calm approach, inquisitive nature and extensive planning expertise is exactly what we needed to develop a plan for our future. Doug will continue to work with us in advancing our strategic plan and will be assisting our board of directors in further improving organizational governance.
I would recommend Doug Brown without hesitation – he is a true professional!
Ready to Lead Your Market? Contact Paradigm Associates LLC to Discover How Strategic Thinking Can Transform Your Business.
We’re dedicated to helping you achieve your goals. If you have any questions or feedback, contact us directly by phone or email. Your insights are invaluable in refining the solutions we provide and delivering the results you expect.