Every now and then you find a tool that’s just so simple and elegant and helpful that you must tell the world about it.  World, you should check out the Goals Grid.

The Goals Grid is a strategic planning tool originally developed to help a group of senior managers establish a set of strategic goals.  It seems to me like it will have lots of uses in strategic planning and elsewhere.

I first came across the grid in an article by Fred Nickols and Ray Ledgerwood in the February 22, 2006 issue of the journal, Consulting to Management.  Alas, it will cost you real money to view the article there.

But there is a version on Fred Nickols' site. 

When you're done with that article, poke around the site bit. There are lots of helpful articles there including one on "Sir Basil H. Liddell-Hart's Eight Maxims of Strategy." I have to love any site with an article about Liddell-Hart.