Strategic Consulting, summary...

Why Strategic Consulting? Operational "infrastructure" assures that the company has clear direction, plans of action, and guidelines, but only Strategic Research and Planning will provide Owners, Directors, and Fiduciaries with a credible method for determining the direction and identifying the tools.

Strategic thinking is concerned with investigating the " big picture ", and uses empirical evidence and analytical investigation to determine why the company should be in business - what is the background, present, and future condition of the industry? - in what segment of the industry can the company play a role? - does the company have the requisite tools (capital, personnel, and other assets)? - what outcome can the company expect?

Using the previous example, while Operational research and planning would have helped owners, investors and pensioners grapple with the real-estate-related issues during the massive real estate crash of the late eighties (values typically plummeted 40 to 60 percent), Strategic research and planning would have caused them to, first, ask questions about whether they should have been in the market at that time and with the type, quality, and amount of exposure to which they were exposed, and second, to develop plans for their assets, portfolios, and companies.

A company that invests in Strategic research and planning will have a clear vision, establish indispensable goals, and be capable of measuring performance.