To: d d d d d d d d Steve Wilford, CEO Paul’s Discount Tires & Repairs
From: d d d d James Higgins, Business Consultant
Date: d d d d d March 19, 2022
Subject: d Paul’s Discount Tires & Repairs Business Strategic Plan Review
Mr. Wilford, this memo will answer the questions you inquired about regarding the
strategic business plan you drafted.
What is wrong with this strategy?
When reviewing the provided strategic plan it seems to be missing a few key
elements. A proper plan should contain the 5 P’s; Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, and
Perspective (Saylor, n.d., Ch. 1, p. 6-15). There is a plan to continue doing what we
have done for the past 21 years but that doesn’t quite work since the business has
taken a large hit since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the business
landscape has dramatically changed. d The ploy to beat out our competitors is a great
starting point but we need more details to focus efforts on. The pattern is clear that
we will continue to stick to our core values by cutting costs but is contradicted with
the statement that “our people will help get us through these tough times” given that
this week there were multiple layoffs. Our position within the industry is not clearly
stated and there is no perspective for the competitive landscape in the tire and repair
industry.
What is right about this strategy?
The presented strategy does a suitable job of trying to build on what has made Paul’s
Discount Tires & Repair successful over the past 21 years. The ploy to beat the
competitors is important and identified. The aspects of quality work and great
customer service will go a long way to ensure return customers and word-of-mouth
recommendations. I liked honing in on and mentioning the company’s employees.
This is always a great idea and will serve to inspire them to work towards a vision
and grow the business (Saylor, n.d., Ch. 2, p.40).
We are the market leader in discount tires and repairs in our city, indicating
that we currently have a competitive advantage. Will we sustain it with this
strategy?
Although the strategic business plan can use some tweaks, it should allow us to
remain the leader in the discount tire and repair industry in our city. Sometimes a
company needs to change direction to remain successful but I do not think that we
need to at this time. The act of changing strategy is a very risky one and can easily
lead to the company’s downfall (Saylor, n.d., Ch. 1, p. 14). We must continue to
look at what will separate us from the rest of the market and only when needed
reinvent our core model (Goldsmith, 2013, p. 15). We need to not fix what is not
broken. Our pattern has worked for over 21 years and sticking to it will be the
formula for success.
What is one thing we could do to improve on this strategy?
For us to improve on this strategy, we should refer to the SMART process of laying
out goals. This acronym stands for being Specific, Measurable, Aggressive,
Realistic, and Time-bound when developing our vision and mission strategies
(Saylor, n.d., Ch. 2, p. 42-45). The key element of this that is missing is the specifics
of the plan. You have a solid framework for the plan but the details of it are what
will make us succeed. Your plan lays out the what but is missing the how. A
recommendation I could make is that we could provide the best customer service and
quality work by incorporating a robust employee training program. This will make
us better at what we do at our core while showing both the employees and customers
that they are important.
I hope that these recommendations give you the tools necessary to navigate this great
company through these turbulent times created by the COVID-19 pandemic. If there
are any questions or clarification needed reach out and I will gladly assist. d
References
d d d d Goldsmith, D. (2013). Rethinking the Company's Competitive Advantage. FEI
Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from
https://daily.financialexecutives.org/rethinking-companys-competitive-advantage/
d d d d Saylor. (n.d.). Chapter 1: Mastering Strategy: Art and Science. University of
Maryland Global Campus. Document posted in UMGC BMGT 495 7389 online
classroom retrieved from https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/dam/equella-
content/bmgt495/Chapter2Leading _Strategically.pdf
d d d d Saylor. (n.d.). Chapter 2: Leading Strategically. University of Maryland Global
Campus.Document posted in UMGC BMGT 495 7389 online classroom retrieved
from https://leocontent .umgc.edu/content/dam/equella-
content/bmgt495/Chapter_1Mastering_Strategy.pdf
