Strategic Advantage

Manufacturers looking for a low-cost, high-return opportunity to improve business processes and decision making – and who isn’t! – should mark their calendars for our next workshop, Enhancing Your Strategic Planning and Implementation, on Tuesday, October 8 in Owatonna.

Steve Haarstad, one of Enterprise Minnesota’s top strategy experts, will demonstrate how strategic planning can guide organizational actions on a daily basis. Participants will learn how the benefits of planning can be felt across the whole business.

In a decade of advising manufacturers on strategy, Haarstad has found that the rewards of strategic planning easily outweigh the costs, particularly for smaller companies. “Formal strategy isn’t just for large companies. Smaller companies find that it’s much simpler and less time-consuming than many expect,” he says.

Haarstad also notes that even successful companies find value in strategic planning. It gives leaders a clear direction for the company and provides more criteria to evaluate the short-term decisions that fuel long-term objectives.

Haarstad says strategic planning is also a sure recipe for engaging leaders and employees. “The most common concrete outcome is a stronger, more unified team that’s in better alignment with the company’s direction,” he says.

The advantages of strategic planning ultimately flow to all employees, Haarstad says. “When employees know that a plan exists, they get a sense of security even if they don’t know all the details,” he says. “It also helps them understand the decisions that are being made by company leaders.”

Haarstad has watched formal strategic planning pay huge dividends. “I’ve seen formal plans give more definition and create more pathways of growth. I’ve seen them give clarity in terms of what markets to pursue and why,” he says. “And I’ve seen how companies execute against their plans and become accountable to the outcomes that they were trying to achieve.”

Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to engage SE Minnesota business leaders who have applied strategic plans to benefit their organizations.

Panelists include:

• Trevor Goodwin, Chief Financial Officer, Veterinary Pharmaceutical Solutions – St. Peter
• Mike Jensen, President, Gauthier Industries – Rochester
• Mike Kronebusch, Director of Operations, Midwest Metal Products – Winona

We hope you can join us from 9:30-11:30 on Tuesday, October 8 at Owatonna Country Club.

Workshop takeaways include:

• Why strategic planning and thinking shouldn’t be solely for the CEO
• The basics of creating simple and effective strategic plans to provide clarity for all levels of your business
• How manufacturing leaders use strategic planning to achieve business growth goals

Who should attend:
Any manufacturer who wants to learn the building blocks of business strategy or wants new insights for refreshing current strategies.

Registration:
This event is exclusive to manufacturers and is free of charge. Registration is required.

Register online here

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