For many marketers, this is tradeshow season and thousands of vendors will be packing up their booths while thousands of prospects and clients are walking up and down the aisles searching for that next new thing that will change their world. From an ROI perspective, opinions about the effectiveness of tradeshows are mixed and often divided – you either love them or hate them. For some, tradeshows are seen as a necessary evil; a box to be checked to avoid giving a negative impression to customers and the market that “you are not there.” For others, it is part of an integrated omnichannel marketing approach that is critical to a marketing and sales strategy.

Regardless of which way you look at a tradeshow, it does come with its challenges. The CFO complains about the cost, while the CEO expresses frustration over the lack of closed deals. The sales team, meanwhile, grumbles about spending 3 days away from the field generating leads only to have to hand them off to other salespeople who manage that account or territory.

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I have had the opportunity to reflect on a very successful and interesting experience during my time at the recent #ATD23 conference in San Diego, California.

A few of my observations include:

In-person meetings and conferences are back – There were over 9,000 attendees at #ATD23 and you could feel the energy and appreciation for the freedom to explore and learn about leadership and talent development.

There is a lot of pent-up demand – Between the pandemic and the uncertain economic environment, many organizations have been treading water in terms of bold, new innovative ways of building capabilities. Now, many key decision makers are actively and aggressively looking for new solutions.

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There are many industries where times are very tough right now. Core markets have slowed down and demand has been cut by up to 20% year over year in too many industries that drive the global economy. Some places like central Europe and Eastern Europe have been hit even harder because of the ongoing Russian war and the impact it is having on energy prices and other goods. Even industries like high tech which have been fairly recession proof are also feeling the effect as consumer confidence and demand continue to erode. The impact of these tough times transcends the organization and has an impact on every employee.

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In 2023 and beyond, the capability of Strategic Thinking will be more important to business leaders than ever before. Everything in business has changed and without foundational strategic thinking skills, leaders, decision-makers, and decision implementors have no direction. Without strategic direction, business failure is almost guaranteed sooner rather than later.

It is my pleasure to share with our readers fresh content and ideas about the 6 levels of strategic thinking. We use this framework and approach in our core business acumen content that supports our business simulation-centric approach to learning and the insight shared here is the same that I discussed with senior leaders during a high-level program delivered for a global 1,000 company’s high potential leaders.

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Learning from McDonald’s and Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Two iconic companies have been in the news over the past few days, and there are some great business acumen learning lessons from both. As Advantexe teaches in our core business acumen programs, everything in business starts with the strategy and the value proposition a company chooses to offer to its customers. Once the value proposition has been locked in, the company must execute that value proposition through operational decisions. The stories of Mcdonald's and Bed, Bath, & Beyond provide some interesting contrasts and insights into strategy and execution.

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