Plansmith Blog

Planning for Change: A Lesson from Charles Darwin

Posted by Bill Peck on 9/14/18 12:33 PM

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

- (Not) Charles Darwin

It’s true.

Although this is a pretty great quote, Darwin never actually said it. It was an attempt by Dr. Leon C. Megginson, Louisiana State University Professor of Management and Marketing, to capture the essence of Darwin’s seminal “On the Origin of Species” for a 1963 speech to the Southwestern Social Science Association. The text of the speech was subsequently published in the Association’s quarterly journal, and the rest is quote-misattribution history.

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5 Simple Tweaks to Build a Better Strategic Plan

Posted by Megan Plis on 7/20/18 3:23 PM

Only part of a successful strategic plan lies in the plan itself. A good plan, just like a recipe, is important. But any good chef will tell you, choosing the right ingredients is only half the challenge. The rest lies in executing the recipe properly.

So, how can your bank or credit union make a better strategic plan?

Here are some simple tweaks to the ingredients and execution of your strategic planning recipe.

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The Most Important Variance – Where You Will Be

Posted by Craig Hartman on 6/25/18 2:58 PM

I was playing golf the other day and, of course, while I’m playing I’m thinking about work, which is a bad idea since I should be concentrating on my game. But I’m always thinking about ways to make planning more effective. My thoughts today were on variance analysis. Everyone uses variance analyses in their board reports to check progress against plan and it is certainly a good check. At board meetings we review our current position relative to last month, year-to-date and last year-to-date, etc.

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How We Improved Strategic Planning at Plansmith

Posted by Craig Hartman & Christine Lake on 6/12/18 11:19 AM

As a company passionate about the value of planning, we have our own strategic plan. Like most, we would gather for a few days every year to review our mission and vision, discuss our market opportunities, develop objectives, determine action plans, and assign responsibilities. But, I am ashamed to admit, just like many companies we never really executed as well as we should for a number of reasons.

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Your budget is NOT your Strategic Plan

Posted by Mike Bilyeu on 6/12/18 9:40 AM

We’ve heard these questions hundreds of times. “Why do we need a strategic plan? We already have a budget.”

Instead of developing a plan for their organization, many banks and credit unions operate using their budget. The budgeting process is already in place, line items are easily moved from one year to the next with minor changes based on anticipated revenues and initiatives.

So why isn’t this a good idea?

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The 3 Reasons Strategic Plans Fail

Posted by Tom Parsons on 11/14/17 3:17 PM

Why does strategic planning matter? Jim Fugitte, Director of Strategic Advisory Services, explains that banks with a strategy outperform their peers – when they execute the plan.

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Planning Never Stops

Posted by Craig Hartman on 7/7/17 3:36 PM
Why is it that we, as humans, essentially plan every minute of every day, yet find it difficult to do similarly in our business?  We are planning, whether we realize it or not, while walking down the street.  We are looking ahead, anticipating other peoples' movements and planning our actions, albeit subliminally.  When we are driving, we constantly look ahead watching the cars around us and the road ahead.  Not only are we constantly planning but we do so to adapt to our environment and make course corrections to either avoid a problem or take advantage of changing circumstances.  In other words, planning never stops.
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Run Your Meeting Like a Sales Pro: The Up-Front Contract

Posted by Tom Parsons on 2/22/17 8:29 AM

When I made the leap to marketing after years of sales, I immediately rewound the last 25 years and watched a virtual VHS tape (yes, that old - click this if you don't remember) in search of what I learned. You see, I didn't have the luxury of learning on the job this time, I had to apply what I already knew and apply it fast.

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