Another Plain Old Subdivision Or Unique Community — Which Will It Be For The City Of Mesquite’s I-20 Corridor?

Bill Bancroft Potato Sack Chronicles, Strategy

Walking the farmland along I-20 in Mesquite, I stopped to pick up a rock. About the size of my fist. About the size of one of the biggest uncut diamonds ever discovered. If this rock were a diamond, I wondered, how might it be cut to achieve its maximum worth? Would it be two diamonds or two dozen? Or by …

Literate In The 20th Century – Illiterate In The 21st Century

Bill Bancroft Culture, Execution, Strategy, White Papers

Stop a minute to consider what it’ll be like to be literate in the 21st Century… A profound shift is taking place in the way people communicate, express themselves. What’s happening? The 21st Century literate combine images, sounds, words with alacrity to communicate ideas, tell stories, design products, advertise services, hold meetings, explain issues, teach concepts, discuss direction. Computers themselves …

Is Your Strategic Plan A Gem Or A Dog?

Bill Bancroft Potato Sack Chronicles, Strategy

With 2018 around the corner, it’s planning season for many organizations. Some will update existing strategic plans; others will start from scratch. What does a good plan look like? I’ve seen both dogs and gems. I’ve collected several as part of working with organizations to help write their plans. Interestingly, some of the dogs worked really well. And some of …

Strategic Visioning: Are Your Maps Right?

Bill Bancroft Potato Sack Chronicles, Strategy

I’m wondering as you do your strategic planning for 2018 and beyond what data you’re using to drive your mapmaking.

Island California

Figuratively speaking, is your data producing a map like the 1701 version of North America made by Dutch cartographer Hermon Moll? Moll’s showed California as an island off the west coast.

World of Strategy: A Complex Place

Bill Bancroft Potato Sack Chronicles, Strategy

Write the word “strategic.” Now put any of the following after it… planning, visioning, thinking, conversation. Throw these words in the mix: scenario, catalyst, implementation. What do you get? Something you believe in? Or something that falls short? The world of strategy is a complex place …with believers on all sides of the concept. Everyone seems to agree on one …

Save These Definitions: Vision, Mission, Strategy

Bill Bancroft Potato Sack Chronicles, Strategy

Definitions of vision, mission, strategy… I find these useful in my work. Each organization uses these terms in slightly different ways, tailoring them to their needs. Some are often used interchangeably. There is no single right way, only a way that works. Yet the definitions below are ones that have worked well for me and for my colleagues. Stop a …

Strategizing In Honduras

Bill Bancroft Potato Sack Chronicles, Strategy

I’m back from Honduras where I led a strategic visioning project with the leaders of Santa Cruz Arriba, a small, rural community on the outskirts of the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Sometimes, clarity is found way outside daily norms. Take yourself out of your company or organization, out of your daily routine, your normal living situation. Thrust yourself into a …