Development for Strategic Business Thinking
Supporting the Manage Success Profile

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Tips

Make sure that there is alignment among individual goals, team goals, and organizational goals. Update individual and team performance goals which are out of sync or do not clearly support Wells Fargo's vision and objectives.

Try not to get bogged down in detail as you are gathering information. Organize your data by grouping it and making an outline of major themes. See what patterns and connections you can find to link it together. Assess how each theme relates to your overall issue.

Discuss the pros and cons of issues with your team members. See how many different perspectives you can get. Identify potential conflicts or ambiguities that need further analysis.

Explore trends and strategies in different industries. Examine what approaches others have taken in delivering products and services and consider how you could apply their learnings.

When you are making critical decisions, always double-check your data or have a trusted peer or team member analyze the data and see if he/she reaches the same conclusions. Make sure you are not missing any details.

Identify the most important business decision you will need to make this quarter. Then start gathering the information you will need to make it. Get the input of others early.

Develop a process for evaluating risk by following these three steps. First, obtain benchmark information. Second, look at industry and marketplace trends relevant to the risk you are evaluating. Third, look at historical information. Conduct data analysis on all this information; include the cost involved and the expected benefit. If the risk provides benefits which outweigh the costs and is supported by the data, take the next steps.

Pay special attention to "trend" information in the publications you read. Track the trends and project the impact they will have on your business. Do a quarterly review of your "hit" rate.

Identify the opportunity cost of inaction when doing cost/benefit analysis.

Communicate critical business and marketplace trends or issues through "Trend Alerts." "Trend Alerts" can be a memo, e-mail, or voice mail from you with relevant information about upcoming trends that will impact your business in the short and long term.

If you are a senior level manager, keep your eye on the strategic ball. Don't allow yourself to become involved in operational tactics unless they contribute to the greater strategic objective.

Conduct a "post mortem" or an "autopsy" on both successful and failed initiatives. Discuss lessons learned, applications for the future, and the good that came from the endeavor.

Incorporate trend discussions in your team meetings. Ask your team: "What have you heard?" "What have you read?" "What have you experienced?" "What is the impact on our business?"

Study history and draw parallels for a current business issue or problem. Do previous solutions still work? What lessons were learned that you can take advantage of today?

Interview other managers, especially those at a senior level. Ask not only what they do but how and why they do it. What do they think are the rules of thumb they are following? What trends are they seeing? How do they keep current? What breakthrough ideas have they acted on in their careers? How do they evaluate risk? Share your ideas on these questions with them.

Identify the market share leaders in your industry, as well as the fastest growing companies in the market. Apply the best practices of each to your business strategy to gain competitive advantage.

Have each team member select a different industry to examine. Set aside time to share what they have learned and examine the ideas for impact on Wells Fargo or applicability to Wells Fargo.

Learn more about the diverse segments in the marketplace, e.g., students, gays/lesbians, immigrants, people of color, women, people with disabilities, and retired people. Recognize new markets and respond with quality products and services that meet their diverse needs.