“Grow by entering two new regions.”
The first draft proposes expansion. It assumes the business has enough delivery capacity and that new regions will produce profitable customers.
Strategic planning for owner-led businesses
Align your leadership team.
Build a strategy you can execute.
Start with a straw man strategy. Challenge it together. Turn the agreed direction into annual priorities and accountable 90-day action.
Strategic Planning Workshops and Quarterly Strategy Days with Russell Cummings. For owner-led businesses typically turning over A$5m to A$50m.
Free introductory call with Russ. Discuss your priorities and the right scope for your business.
40+ years of business advisory experienceWork directly with RussellAustralia and New Zealand
Client experience
What clients say about working with Russ.
Published feedback from SHIFFT clients. These excerpts describe their experience of strategic planning and business advisory work.
“great value for money and someone who assists in delivering results.”
John McLean
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks
Strategic planning and team development
“delivers quality work on time”
Brian Ramsay
Inovact Consulting Pty Ltd
Consulting work
“a positive force in mapping the direction”
Jonathon Olsen
LJ Hooker Bundaberg
Business direction and advisory support
Sound familiar?
Growth creates complexity. Strategy creates clarity.
Too many priorities
Every opportunity feels urgent and the team struggles to agree on what matters most.
Different directions
Owners and leaders are working hard but not always towards the same destination.
Plans that sit on shelves
The strategy sounds good in the workshop but never becomes a practical operating rhythm.
The SHIFFT straw man approach
A working draft. Better debate. A stronger strategy.
Russell starts with an early draft strategy: the straw man. It gives your team something tangible to challenge and improve, so workshop time can focus on the decisions that matter.
The draft makes priorities, assumptions and risks visible. Your leaders test the thinking, contribute their knowledge and refine the plan together. As the business acts and learns, the strategy continues to evolve.
Build the straw man
Bring the available information and initial thinking into a working draft. Use consultation and diagnostics where the scope calls for them.
Challenge the thinking
Explore gaps, competing views and assumptions with the people who set and deliver the strategy.
Refine and cascade
Agree direction and priorities, then connect them to annual outcomes, 90-day plans and accountable actions.
Act, review and improve
Use what happens in practice to update the strategy. Quarterly Strategy Days provide the continuation between plans.
See the method in practice
From a first draft to decisions people own.
A draft gives your leadership team something specific to challenge. This example shows how the discussion changes the strategy before it becomes a plan.
Illustrative example - fictional business“Can we deliver profitably?”
Operations identifies a capacity limit. Finance questions the margin assumptions. Sales sees stronger opportunities with existing customers.
“Strengthen the core before expanding.”
The team agrees to improve delivery capacity and profitable sales in its current market, then test one new region against agreed criteria.
Two separate, related products
Set the direction. Keep it moving.
Choose a Strategic Planning Workshop to develop or renew your strategy. Choose Quarterly Strategy Days to keep your leadership team aligned and your existing plan moving. They can be scoped separately or designed to work together.
Strategic Planning Workshops
Build a working strategy through Russell’s straw man process. Challenge assumptions, align the team and agree the direction and priorities your business needs.
For: owners, boards and leadership teams setting or renewing their strategic direction.
Outcome: an agreed working strategy with annual and 90-day priorities, tailored to the scope.
Investment: quoted to your scope.
Explore Planning Workshops →Quarterly Strategy Days
The continuation between strategic plans. Review progress, tackle important issues, develop leadership capability and reset the next 90-day priorities.
For: executive and leadership teams maintaining focus and shared accountability.
Outcome: an updated 90-day plan with clear ownership, measures and deadlines.
Investment: from A$5,000 + GST per day.
Explore Strategy Days →Who we help
Built for ambitious owner-led businesses.
Strategic planning is especially valuable when a business is growing, facing a major decision, navigating a transition or looking to align a leadership team.
The core fit is an owner-led business typically turning over A$5m to A$50m. Russell works with owners, directors and senior leaders across Australia and New Zealand, with delivery agreed around your team and location.
Business ownersLeadership teamsGrowth and transition
Your facilitator
Experience matters when the decisions matter.
Russell Cummings is a business management consultant, coach and strategic planning facilitator with more than 40 years of experience. Based on the Gold Coast, he works with owners and leadership teams across Australia and New Zealand.
His experience spans family businesses, manufacturing, food production, horticulture and professional services. His approach brings together strategic challenge, leadership capability and commitment to execution.
You work directly with Russell to prepare the straw man, facilitate the important decisions and connect the agreed strategy to practical action. His books and journals support implementation alongside the facilitated process.
Planning resources
Clear answers before you commit.
What is straw man strategic planning?
Understand the draft-first method, how assumptions are challenged and why leadership input matters.
Explore the approach →
Workshop or Quarterly Strategy Days?
Compare the purpose, preparation, outputs and investment for the two related services.
Choose your starting point →
How do you cascade a strategic plan?
Follow one priority from strategy through annual outcomes, 90-day plans and individual actions.
See the worked example →Common questions
Planning and Strategy Days FAQs
What is straw man planning?
Straw man planning starts with a working draft strategy that your team can test, debate and improve. Russell uses it to bring assumptions into the open and move the discussion towards useful decisions and action.
What is the difference between the two products?
A Strategic Planning Workshop establishes or renews direction through the straw man process. Quarterly Strategy Days continue the work between strategic plans by reviewing results, updating assumptions and agreeing the next 90-day priorities.
Can we book Strategy Days if we already have a plan?
Yes. Strategy Days can use your existing strategic or annual operating plan. Russell will agree the scope with you and your leadership team.
How do plans cascade through the business?
Business direction informs annual outcomes and quarterly priorities. These then become team plans and individual actions, supported by weekly reviews. People can see how their work contributes to the business priorities.
Can you facilitate a workshop away from the Gold Coast?
Yes. Russell works with leadership teams across Australia and New Zealand. Location, format and any travel requirements are agreed in the proposal.
What happens in the introductory strategy call?
The free 20-minute call explores your priorities, challenges and the decisions your team needs to make. You can discuss which service fits and whether a tailored proposal is the right next step.
Start with a conversation
Find the right next step for your business.
A free 20-minute call with Russ to understand your situation and explore the right scope. No commitment to a programme.
- Discuss your priorities and the decisions you need to make.
- Explore the best starting point for your leadership team.
- Agree whether a tailored proposal is the right next step.
Prefer to contact Russ directly?
0414 929 585
russell@shifft.com.au