I. Summary:
Article 9.
Lippitt, Mary Burner. "Six Priorities That Make a Great Strategic Plan."
Journal of Business Strategy (Jan.-Feb. 2003): 21-24. Rpt. in Annual
Editions. Ed. Fred H. Maidment. 13th ed. Management 05/06. Dubuque:
McGraw, 2005. 54-57.
When a company is not successful in prioritizing, it is more likely to fail or fall behind in competition. Lippitt’s “Six Priorities That Make a Great Strategic Plan” explains the best way a business can prioritize its time in order to reach a higher assurance of success. Lippitt begins her article with a brief discussion of Iridium, an unsuccessful telecom company who focused all of its resources on just one priority- becoming the technological leader. Iridium started off ahead of its competitors in 1985 when it opened for business. Iridium focuses solely on providing the most technologically advanced product and neglected to look at varying factors while weighing costs and benefits. Iridium succeeded in creating the most technologically advanced product, but it was also the most expensive and bulkiest product of its time. Because of this, Iridium filed for bankruptcy a year later. Another company, Globalstar, was months behind Iridium, but focused on a strategic plan which incorporated all six priorities making Lippitt’s six desired outcomes which are important to achieve a great strategic plan and in turn, a successful business. These six priorities are product leadership; customer focus; infrastructure development; efficiency, quality, and return; a workforce advantage; and tracking the external environment.
II. Main Points:
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