To: g g g g g g g g Steve Wilford, CEO Paul’s Discount Tires & Repairs
From: g g g g James Higgins, Business Consultant
Date: g g g g g March 19, 2022
Subject: g 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. 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.
References
g g g g Goldsmith, D. (2013). Rethinking the Company's Competitive Advantage. FEI
Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from
https://daily.financialexecutives.org/rethinking-companys-competitive-advantage/
g g g g 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
g g g g 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
