cnsr sci 555 exam
all good strategic plans begin with what? - ANS-a situation analysis
if things aren't going as you thought they would in implementation, what are your two
options? - ANS-1) stick to the plan
2) pivot slightly without changing course entirely
evaluation should be designed to address what question? - ANS-we gave you X in
resources. What were you able to do with it?
what are the primary objectives of your final report? - ANS-1) inform decisions today
2) support replication or extension of your idea tomorrow
true or false: strategic planning is all about the idea - ANS-false
strategic planning is the execution of a process designed to ground you in a situation,
develop a target insight or opportunity, craft ideas to realize that opportunity in the given
situation and work through plans to implement and evaluate the new ideas.
why is gaining empathy an important step in strategic planning? - ANS-it allows us to
see the situation from various vantage points and helps determine the underlying needs
and motivations of all parties involved
what is the imagined future? - ANS-your clients' desired future state, often
communicated in the form of a vision board or prototype
name at least two of the casual questions - ANS-1) is there a credible casual
mechanism that connects X to Y?
2) can we eliminate the possibility that Y causes X?
3) is there covariation between X and Y?
4) is there some Z related to both X and Y that makes an observed relationship between
X and Y spurious?
, name three rules or characteristics of the creative part of idea development - ANS-1)
emphasis on quantity of ideas
2) no bad ideas
3) permission to suck
4) you start and someone else finishes an idea
5) keep asking, keep thinking
6) do not discuss ideas, just list them
what are the outputs of the situation analysis? - ANS-1) description of the most
important facts or insights about the current situation
2) evidence to support those core insights
name three rules or characteristics of the critical part of idea development - ANS-1)
emphasis quality over quantity
2) challenge ideas
3) try to make them better
4) discuss why they will and will not work
5) critically evaluate their relationship to the opportunity
6) prioritize them (rank or vote)
7) be brutal, yet constructive
how do you know you are finished with a situation analysis? - ANS-have a clear and
ideally unique insight (or set of insights) into the situation that sets you up to identify
opportunities no one else would have been able to see
a good place to look for alternative explanations of your results is _______________ -
ANS-the implementation log
implementation log - ANS-factors that happened to be present at the time of
implementation that were what truly produced the results
why is it important to stick the original plan when things don't go as planned in
implementation? - ANS-- we never know exactly how it's going to end
- what was approved by the Executive Committee
- what has the weight of the strategic planning process behind it
all good strategic plans begin with what? - ANS-a situation analysis
if things aren't going as you thought they would in implementation, what are your two
options? - ANS-1) stick to the plan
2) pivot slightly without changing course entirely
evaluation should be designed to address what question? - ANS-we gave you X in
resources. What were you able to do with it?
what are the primary objectives of your final report? - ANS-1) inform decisions today
2) support replication or extension of your idea tomorrow
true or false: strategic planning is all about the idea - ANS-false
strategic planning is the execution of a process designed to ground you in a situation,
develop a target insight or opportunity, craft ideas to realize that opportunity in the given
situation and work through plans to implement and evaluate the new ideas.
why is gaining empathy an important step in strategic planning? - ANS-it allows us to
see the situation from various vantage points and helps determine the underlying needs
and motivations of all parties involved
what is the imagined future? - ANS-your clients' desired future state, often
communicated in the form of a vision board or prototype
name at least two of the casual questions - ANS-1) is there a credible casual
mechanism that connects X to Y?
2) can we eliminate the possibility that Y causes X?
3) is there covariation between X and Y?
4) is there some Z related to both X and Y that makes an observed relationship between
X and Y spurious?
, name three rules or characteristics of the creative part of idea development - ANS-1)
emphasis on quantity of ideas
2) no bad ideas
3) permission to suck
4) you start and someone else finishes an idea
5) keep asking, keep thinking
6) do not discuss ideas, just list them
what are the outputs of the situation analysis? - ANS-1) description of the most
important facts or insights about the current situation
2) evidence to support those core insights
name three rules or characteristics of the critical part of idea development - ANS-1)
emphasis quality over quantity
2) challenge ideas
3) try to make them better
4) discuss why they will and will not work
5) critically evaluate their relationship to the opportunity
6) prioritize them (rank or vote)
7) be brutal, yet constructive
how do you know you are finished with a situation analysis? - ANS-have a clear and
ideally unique insight (or set of insights) into the situation that sets you up to identify
opportunities no one else would have been able to see
a good place to look for alternative explanations of your results is _______________ -
ANS-the implementation log
implementation log - ANS-factors that happened to be present at the time of
implementation that were what truly produced the results
why is it important to stick the original plan when things don't go as planned in
implementation? - ANS-- we never know exactly how it's going to end
- what was approved by the Executive Committee
- what has the weight of the strategic planning process behind it
