Original article from the Flevy business blog can be found here: http://flevy.com/blog/flevy-author-spotlight-our-interview-with-strategic-planning-specialist-anthony-gable/ Anthony Gable is an expert in the field of Strategic Planning and is highly effective at both teaching and facilitating the process. He has spent 3 decades specializing in this discipline. Most recently, Mr. Gable has further refined the process through the integration and unification of both old and newer currently accepted strategic planning procedures that better fit today’s world-wide digital economy. This innovative approach is outlined in his instructional guide on Flevy, the Complete Guide to Strategic Planning . He has been involved in hundreds of planning sessions with product groups and Strategic Business Units in a variety of young, smaller companies, as well as larger, better known organizations, including 3M, Gillette, Zenith, Sunbeam, Rubbermaid, DEC, Stewart-Warner, and many others. These organizations represent myriads of different industries and products, including those in consumer, medical, electronics, and other market niches. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Gable and pick his brain on the topic of Strategic Planning. You developed a “unified” approach to strategic planning. Can you describe how it is unified? Strategic planning processes were initiated in the “modern” world back in the 1950s by university business school professors and large consulting firms. At the time, the most used concept was the matrix system used by a major consulting firm. It was used to help clarify simplistic and basic characteristics of a company, primarily where it fit in terms of its market strength and share. Since then, there have been countless attempts to embellish other “systems” with new approaches–to the point where there are now tens of tens of acronyms being employed to identify them. Examples include BCG Matrix, Five Forces, PIMS, SWOT, PEST, PESTLE, 5C, and so on. There is also a vast number of articles, books, seminars used to clarify all of them individually.

1. Flevy Author Spotlight: Our
Interview with Strategic Planning
Specialist, Anthony
Gable
Contributed by David Tang on May 27, 2015 in Strategy, Marketing, & Sales
Anthony Gable is an expert in the field of Strategic
Planning and is highly effective at both teaching and
facilitating the process. He has spent 3 decades
specializing in this discipline. Most recently, Mr. Gable
has further refined the process through the integration
and unification of both old and newer currently
accepted strategic planning procedures that better fit

2. today’s world-wide digital economy. This innovative approach is outlined in his
instructional guide on Flevy, the Complete Guide to Strategic Planning .
He has been involved in hundreds of planning sessions with product groups and Strategic
Business Units in a variety of young, smaller companies, as well as larger, better known
organizations, including 3M, Gillette, Zenith, Sunbeam, Rubbermaid, DEC, Stewart-
Warner, and many others. These organizations represent myriads of different industries
and products, including those in consumer, medical, electronics, and other market niches.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Gable and pick his brain on the topic of
Strategic Planning.
You developed a “unified” approach to strategic planning. Can you describe
how it is unified?
Strategic planning processes were initiated in the “modern” world back in the 1950s by
university business school professors and large consulting firms. At the time, the most
used concept was the matrix system used by a major consulting firm. It was used to help

3. clarify simplistic and basic characteristics of a company, primarily where it fit in terms of
its market strength and share.
Since then, there have been countless attempts to embellish other “systems” with new
approaches–to the point where there are now tens of tens of acronyms being employed to
identify them. Examples include BCG Matrix, Five Forces, PIMS, SWOT, PEST, PESTLE,
5C, and so on. There is also a vast number of articles, books, seminars used to clarify all
of them individually.
This often results in only confusing the audience of management and owners as to how
these approaches should be used and integrated, if used together at all. Other approaches
concentrating on various analyses are prevalent as well–internal analysis, external,
environmental, economic, social, political, etc. What has been made available is primarily
focused on these processes, which have now become generic, and, in general, very often
not applicable to individual situations faced by organizations large and small.
The problem is that all they seem to do is define the differences and advantages of each
separate approach, often when the systems are no longer valid for “today,” rather than
integrate those that apply to today’s digital economy in a useful and effective way.

4. Our system and process is designed to unify as a whole those strategic planning processes
that are effective, relevant, and effective in today’s world. It is intended to create an
approach that makes users aware of those issues that they must consider as part of their
overall approach to current success and future growth. In general, we do not refer to
specific processes or acronyms in order to avoid confusion, but, instead, expose them in a
continuum in which they should be defined, considered, and applied. We expose them with
explanatory narrative that is easily understood by all involved via what we feel is the best
approach: the use of slides that may not only be presented to groups of all sizes, but may
also be printed out for convenient, individual study.
At what stage of growth should a business start engaging in annual strategic
planning sessions?
Although “strategy” is part of every “business plan” used by start-up companies, it is
normally based upon initial survival in building the new business, with less concern of the
longer term effect of its market share position.
“Strategic planning” is typically used by companies of all sizes–small business included–
when they reach a point where they are, in most part, successful, but need to reconsider
their level of success and satisfaction with that current status versus where they would like

5. to be in the future, in terms of market share, new product development, and growth in
general. Strategic planning is also used by companies that are suffering and/or see no
real future for growth ahead and may wish to downsize, be acquired, etc. Those same
companies may find that reassessing their position through strategic planning may also
place them back on a positive track to further success.
So, then, strategic planning is usually employed by companies and created to attack the
longer term–3-5+ years–and is reviewed as often as quarterly or semi-annually. Whereas,
a “business plan” is normally an initial, short term instrument for “getting going.”
What is your opinion on businesses hiring top consulting firms to help them
orchestrate the strategic planning session?
I have more often than not found that most companies are fully capable and competent to
do their own planning—and far better off–if availed of an effective process to use. Often,
they simply don’t have a process that they can use effectively.
That’s where we come in. They know their business (although perhaps not their market)
better than any outside, costly consulting firm. Our process allows them to become aware
of the issues they should be cognizant of and also how they can make their employees

6. aware of the logic and effort that needs to be understood by all to create employee buy-in
and cooperation.
Using an outside consulting firm often creates resentment by internal and competent
management. Others are then left out of the plan completely; or, forced to do the
necessary implementation by outside facilitators. Employee acceptance is the most
important aspect of effective strategic planning and ultimate team success and
organization pride as a team effort.
What are some common strategic and organizational issues you’ve found small
and midsize companies face?
Organizations of all sizes face an unending aptitude to make critical and non-critical
errors. Examples include financial misuse of funds; unacceptable products or quality vs
the new competition; lack of use of new ways to reach target clients; misunderstanding
worldwide, political, and external issues that may greatly affect them; lack of employee
depth or competence; poor supplier relationships and costs; ongoing changes in their
niche market; lack of a thorough understanding of who, what, and where their real
competition is; new product displacement about to happen; broken procedural and
internal systems; manufacturing roadblocks or ancient processes; where they can best

7. perform within a specific market-share level; lack of goal setting; lack of plan follow-up
and monitoring of results; what stage of growth they are in and its related effect on
planning approach; leadership issues; what type of planning is critical at the moment—
for instance, issues, goals, integration, etc.
This all leads to our favorite quote: “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will
survive, but those who can best manage change.” [Charles Darwin]
Anthony Gable has a couple instructional Strategic Planning guides available on Flevy . The
Complete Guide to Strategic Planning is currently the best selling document on Flevy on
Strategic Planning.

8. About David Tang
David Tang is an entrepreneur and management consultant. His current focus is Flevy , the marketplace
for premium business documents (e.g. business frameworks , presentation templates , financial models ).
Prior to Flevy, David worked as a management consultant for 8 years. His consulting experience spans
corporate strategy, marketing, operations, change management, and IT; both domestic and international
(EMEA + APAC). Industries served include Media & Entertainment, Telecommunications, Consumer
Products/Retail, High-Tech, Life Sciences, and Business Services. You can connect with David here on
LinkedIn .

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