Peter Duncan is the co-author of the no-nonsense, get-to-the-point book, Simplified Strategic Planning. Drawing on practical industry experience and over fifteen years of consulting, Peter presents a clear, concise approach to getting great strategic results without the all-to-common complexity and time required by traditional approaches to corporate planning.
Before establishing Fairlead Growth Partners, Peter was Vice President for the Center for Simplified Strategic Planning (CSSP), a leading consulting firm that provides the popular Simplified Strategic Planning seminar for Michigan State University’s executive education program. In his twelve years with CSSP, Peter led over 40 companies to superior results from their strategic planning efforts.
Early in his career, Peter held a wide variety of positions in several small technology-based companies. In 1984, he was an original member of the start-up team that founded a Silicon Valley semiconductor manufacturing operation specializing in custom circuits and contract manufacturing. Taking on the engineering responsibilities, his duties included installation of equipment in the manufacturing facility, process development, sustaining engineering, training, and customer interface for technical issues.
Later, he joined another tech company as part of a turn-around team. Peter reestablished customer relationships and refocused the product strategy while supervising the three-shift manufacturing operation. The operation was transformed into a customer-driven, service organization with twice the output and a 50% reduction in cycle time to achieve a "best-in-class" status as rated by key customers.
In one of his most successful ventures, Peter was the Director of Marketing for an electronic component company. He created the strategic direction for a new custom product line, built the product team, and profitably grew the business at over 80% per year during a four-year period. With another product line, Peter identified changing market trends through competitive analysis and repositioned the product line to attack a smaller segment where the company could dominate. He also directly managed a complex development project for a European customer that required coordination of component design and manufacture at multiple locations on the east and west coast of the United States.
Peter’s consulting practice spans a variety of clients including: a large branded furniture manufacturer; a very small, highly specialized publishing company; several industrial construction firms; and a service company providing temporary medical technicians and nurses to hospitals across the United States. Peter has worked with a diverse collection of companies that range from government contractors to consumer product companies, and companies with annual revenue of under $10 million to nearly a billion dollars. He has helped each develop a strategic response to rapidly changing market conditions, leading his clients to consistent and profitable growth.
Peter graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Physics, and he holds a M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
Simplified Strategic Planning: A No-Nonsense Guide For Busy People Who Want Results Fast! 2nd Ed.