Process frequency. At many companies, strategic planning and portfolio management is an episodic process that happens quarterly or annually. In turbulent times, strategic planning has to happen more frequently.
Kill rate. As times get tough, many companies have to de-prioritize some projects in their portfolio. Companies should make sure they focus on an idea's true potential, or else they will accidentally sacrifice ideas with great long-term potential (see a recent excerpt from The Silver Lining in BusinessWeek for more on this topic)
Focus on "loving the low end." Most companies generally default towards providing better products or services to demanding customers. In tough times, companies have to figure out how they are going to compete for increasingly value-conscious customers. Ask whether you have any explicit strategies focused on "loving the low end" of your market.
william doust on 18 Nov 09"One Year On: the Defra Third Sector Strategy 10/11/2009 Defra's Third Sector Strategy 'One Year On' report discusses the progress Defra have made on the range of commitments in their Third Sector Strategy. The report is accompanied by a detailed annex which contains a commentary on the progress they have made on every commitment in the strategy. Go to page to Download the Third Sector Strategy 'One Year On' report. (1MB PDF) Go to page to Download the Third Sector Strategy. (4.17MB PDF) Congratulations also to Defra for winning the Compact Award for Excellence at National level. Full details (and sign up for updates) are available at blogs.defra.gov.uk. "
