Interactive Planning Tools (free)
Dynamic and strategically adaptive tools are needed if the integrity of the planning process, and its corresponding vision, is to be maintained. The planning process needs to be strengthened so that the team can interact with the business’ challenges and gain a stronger, deeper, and dynamic understanding of how to both shape and influence the future.
Current business challenges require being able to apply specific tools or models across varying and complex environments. Deterministic tools of the past are no longer adequate for supporting this leap.
Factors that influence the rise & fall of businesses are interactive and dynamic, yet the business model tools that we often depend on for planning and strategic efforts are often deterministic and inflexible.
Tools & Widgets
The following widgets and resources are used within each tool to help strengthen the reader’s understanding of each innovation model:
The following interactive tools are available to supplement your team’s training, professional development, support strategic vision, and goal setting, and establish benchmarks for future planning and strategic efforts.
Models
Learn New Innovation Models
Strategy
Introduce Teams to New Strategies
Practice
Practice what you Learned
Test
Interactive Tools to Test Your Knowledge
Standards
Identify Best Practices
Improve
Identify Areas for Continuous Improvement
Lead
Champion Your Insights & New Ideas
Plan
Put Your Plan into Action
AVAILABLE INTERACTIVE TOOLS
Knowledge Management in SharePoint
Effective Knowledge Management is a competitive advantage. It is critical to not only strengthen product and service differentiation but also designing and executing effective, sustainable, and also adaptive strategies at scale.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Practical Innovation
Practical Innovation doesn’t begin with disruption or pursuing an objective that is out of reach. It involves identifying opportunities that are closer to home, important to internal & external stakeholders, and building on that foundation. The future is reached in small steps.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Project Management Office (PMO) Design Innovation
Designing your company’s project management office should not follow cookie-cutter approach. But it is also worth acknowledging that individualizing, and managing trade-offs, is not without its risks. Understanding the risks of less rigorous models is necessary as part of the design process.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Research Innovation
Research Innovation focuses on ensuring that success is measured, appropriate goals and strategies are identified, and a coherent approach to planning and evaluation is conducted. Research fuels innovation and needs to be conducted strategically.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Key Account Management Innovation
Key Account Management Innovation differentiates the unprofitable customers from those that are not only profitable but align with the company’s vision for the future. Building these relationships is crucial if the company’s business model is to grow and become stronger. Understanding which customers support this vision is just the first step.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Measuring Innovation
Measuring Innovation is not a simple task. Many project teams are evaluated on key performance indicators (KPI’s) that are not central to the company’s strategic vision. Understanding which KPI’s to focus on is just the first step. Setting the foundation to ensure that the KPI’s are supported requires the entire company to establish.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Enterprise Architecture in Mergers
Enterprise architecture includes the business and technology tools, assets, and resources used to run the business. Alignment is crucial.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Process Improvement & Operations Excellence
Operations innovation includes the processes, tools, and strategies deployed every day to keep the business running. Improvements in this area distribute efficiencies and gains throughout the system. Explore some of the operations excellence and process improvement tools commonly used in the business sector.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Supply Chain Innovation
Supply chain innovation involves improvements to how the business model and relationships are interconnected. Improvements to the supply chain are shared with all the inter-dependencies, and customers, downstream.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Outsourcing Innovation
Innovation is a competitive advantage. Outsourcing innovation to an external supplier has its risks and should be evaluated carefully to determine if the innovation is an internal competency that should be insourced. There are many options between outsourcing and insourcing and each has its own challenges. Choose your strategy wisely.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Product Innovation
Product innovation involves the steps necessary to understand what functions and features will be considered useful to the customer. This includes both products and services. Misalignment with customer needs can be costly.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Business Culture Innovation
The business culture includes the traditions, beliefs, assumptions, and rituals of the company. The business culture has a significant influence over how things are done, whether things are done, and the tools that are available.
Check out the new Interactive Tool – HERE
Business Consulting Innovation
Professional Services are on the rise. As the economy improves so does the demand for Business Consulting. The skills, abilities, resources, and knowledge to compete in the modern economy are beyond the grasp of even some of the largest corporations. Healthier economies breed competition as barriers to entrants are decreased. Competitive advantages that exist in an economic downturn are no longer as influential when the economy improves.
More about the Business Consulting Planning Tool is available – HERE
Earned Value in Construction Management
Earned Value in construction management involves evaluating how a project is performing. Comparisons are made against the project’s plan as resources are allocated, hours are deployed, and phases are launched. Adjustments are introduced in response to deviations from the plan in order to manage the project’s scope, schedule, and cost. The customer’s voice is similarly used to insure quality is sustained throughout the project’s lifecycle.
More about the Earned Value Planning Tool is available – HERE
Enterprise Resource Planning Innovation
As a significant solution to enterprise barriers and its resulting inefficiencies, an ERP solution should not be adopted without due consideration of the demands it will place on the company (and its network). ERP implementations are often costly and often require company’s to conduct significant reorganization, process engineering, and workflow redesign. Existing silos and non-integrated industry verticals will resist the disruption represented by an ERP implementation.
More information on the Enterprise Resource Planning tool is available – HERE.
Operations Planning Innovation
Operations Planning is responsible for designing, evaluating, implementing, monitoring, and reporting on the department level initiatives. These initiatives and strategies are identified based on the company’s strategic priorities. Success at the operations level feedback upwards to the strategic plan at the corporate and enterprise level.
Understanding the linkages between the strategic plan, business model, and the operations plan is critical as a leader.
More information on the operations planning tool can be viewed HERE.
Union Membership Supported Innovations
The focus of Union Membership over the past 100 years has evolved as available innovations, strategies, and values increasingly aligned with socially progressive ideas. With advances in legislation and regulations, many employers struggle to achieve these socially progressive norms. Innovation and business model modifications often result, albeit slowly. Proactive advocacy and lobbying of these progressive values have helped move these business models forward into the 21st Century.
More information about the Union Membership Planning Tool can be viewed HERE.
Strategic Innovation Plan Generator
Innovation does not often happen by accident, and even when it does the company is not always able to leverage the opportunities it represents. This is why a strategic approach to innovation planning, development, and execution is necessary. Without it the innovation will be picked up by the company’s competition.
This online tool is available through purchase of the Leadership Innovation book available on Amazon and the Android App available on Google Play. Each product contains a unique password that can be used to access the Strategic Innovation Plan Generator online.
More information about the Strategic Innovation Plan Generator is available – HERE.
Corporate Resilience Business Scorecard
Corporate resilience supports agility and adapting to change environmental demands, innovations, opportunities, and risks. Having a corporate resilience framework is crucial towards supporting a sustainable competitive advantage.
This online tools walks your team through the basic recommendations for strengthening corporate resilience. Pitfalls in general practices are discussed. Recommendations are provided at the end of the essay with an interactive planning tool that can be used by your team to create its own unique corporate resilience plan.
More information on the corporate resilience business scorecard can be viewed HERE.
Transformation Readiness Assessment
A readiness assessment can help an organization to better understand its ability to take on an endeavour but it will not change its DNA or culture. This requires courage, leadership, and a thoughtful approach that acknowledges internal barriers to change.
More information about the Transformation Readiness Assessment is available – HERE.
Contact Innovate Vancouver to help with your next project!
Travis Barker, MPA GCPM
Innovate Vancouver
Consulting@innovatevancouver.org
Innovate Vancouver is a Technology and Business Innovation Consulting Service located in Vancouver, BC. Contact Innovate Vancouver to help with your new project.