First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 17, 2014

The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs & Boost Profits Zeynep Ton New Harvest/Amazon Publishing and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2014) The best strategy to achieve business success?

TQM 75

TQM Strategy Airlines Retail 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 14, 2012

So, this week I presented my synopsis on the terrific book Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. The group was the entire team at a growing firm, one that is vibrant, alive, energetic… The kind of place people like to show [.].

Blue Ocean Strategy 136

Blue Ocean Strategy Mauborgne Marketing Strategy 136

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 19, 2013

Bob''s blog entries Clear the underbrush FutureThink Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley Harvard Business Review HBR Blog Network HBR email alerts IBM Kill the Company KPMG Lisa Bodell Ron Ashkenas Schaffer Consulting Seven Strategies for Simplifying Your Organization Simply Effective Take an outside-in perspective The Boundaryless Organization (..)

Organization 70

Organization Strategy Review Blog 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

OCTOBER 10, 2013

The Joy of Strategy: A Business Plan for Life Allison Rimm bibliomotion books + media (2013) “There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all.”

Drucker 75

Drucker Review Strategy Books 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Of all the ideas in this terrific book, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt, (my selection for the October 7 First Friday Book Synopsis), this one seemed [.]. Are we living in the era of Fluff? — an era of Fluff in a time when Fluff simply won’t cut it?

Strategy 93

Strategy Books Blog 93

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 19, 2012

To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * Michael Porter, the world’s leading authority on competition and strategy, [.].

Porter 75

Porter Strategy Review Blog 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 28, 2011

The CEO’s Strategy Handbook: How to create, sustain and accelerate profitable growth Stuart Cross Global Professional Publishing (2011) How to manage strategy effectively and on a continuous basis In fact, everyone in a given enterprise (including but not limited to C-level executives) should be actively engaged in effective management of strategy.

Handbook 80

Handbook Strategy Review Books 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

The author of Spreadable Media, discusses why content strategies that focus on keeping conversations artificially contained are outmoded. Here is a brief excerpt from an article written by Sam Ford for Fast Company magazine. To read the complete article, check out others, and obtain subscription information, please click here.

Content 89

Content Strategy Magazine Media 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 19, 2014

All of these are “strategy” questions. You’ve got to have a strategy. So, what is it you are doing (in your organization?) What is it you are not doing? What is it that you need to quit doing? What do you need to start doing? You’ve got to sell/push/communicate — to the point of buy-in […]. Randy''s blog entries'

Strategy 90

Strategy Blog Organization 90

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 22, 2013

Here is sign #3: A healthy organization has a clear, challenging organizational strategy. Sorry for the delay). In my introductory post, 12 Vital signs of Organizational Health, I listed the 12 signs. Back in my graduate school days, I remember the day that […]. Randy''s blog entries'

Strategy 110

Strategy Organization Blog 110

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 15, 2011

The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton Harvard Business Press (2000) The Perilous “Journey&# to Breakthrough Performance Note: This is another “business classic” I read when it was first published and then recently re-read it.

Balanced Scorecard 89

Balanced Scorecard Norton Kaplan Strategy 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 10, 2011

To stay ahead of the pack, you must translate your organization’s competitive strategy into day-to-day actions. That means channeling resources into the right efforts, achieving the right balance between innovation and control, and getting everyone pulling in the same direction. How can you keep all this on track?

Strategy 80

Strategy Simon Company Resources 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Roger Martin for Harvard Business Review and the HBR Blog Network. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * I must have heard the words “we [.].

Rogers 89

Rogers Planning Strategy Review 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Harvard Business Review on Aligning Technology with Strategy Various Contributors Harvard Business Review Press (2011) How and why technology should support your organization’s strategy…not the other way around This is one of the volumes in a series of anthologies of articles that first appeared in Harvard Business Review.

Review 80

Review Technology Strategy Books 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 16, 2011

Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, Energy, Leverage, and Clarity David A. Aaker Free Press (2004) Note: I read this book when it was first published and recently re-read it. If anything, Aaker’s insights are even more valuable now than they were then.

Aaker 75

Aaker Brand Strategy Books 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 29, 2011

It takes a mix of leaders and talent to pursue a variety of growth strategies simultaneously. Few executives can do it all. Here is an excerpt from another outstanding article featured online by McKinsey & Company’s Quarterly magazine, co-authored by Katharina Herrmann, Asmus Komm, and Sven Smit.

Strategy 75

Strategy McKinsey Magazine Article 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 7, 2011

HBR’s Ten Must Reads on Strategy Various contributors Harvard Business Press (2011) How to create “a unique and valuable position” by deciding what to do…and not do This volume is one of several in a new series of anthologies of articles that initially appeared in the Harvard Business Review, in this instance from 1960 until [.].

Review 85

Review Strategy Books Positioning 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 24, 2011

To read the complete article, check out other resources, obtain subscription information, and sign up for free email alerts, please click here. * * * Few companies create strategies that deliver more value than the sum of their business unit [.]

McKinsey 89

McKinsey Survey Strategy Globalization 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 9, 2011

In her recently published book, Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy, Joan Magretta has much of value to say. Each has an especially effective strategy based [.].

Porter 75

Porter Slywotzky Airlines Strategy 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 18, 2011

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Joan Magretta for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * I just finished a two-year project looking at Michael Porter’s [.].

Porter 75

Porter Strategy Review Blog 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 14, 2012

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Amy C. Edmondson for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * The wisdom of learning from failure is incontrovertible. Yet [.].

Strategy 85

Strategy Edmondson Review Blog 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

It’s actually a two-part question) The questions are: When your leadership team sets your strategy, are you succeeding in these two ways: #1 – Are you listening to the “troops” (everyone in the organization) before [.]. I’ve been asking the same question(s) to the leadership teams of a few different groups over the last few weeks.

Strategy 110

Strategy Organization Execution Team 110

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 15, 2014

The Gazelle’s Coaching organization (Growing Leaders – Growing Companies) – an affiliation of trained, forward-thinking coaches, help their clients in many ways, but in this specifically: they help their clients make four key decisions.

Execution 106

Execution Strategy Blog Training 106

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 9, 2011

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Walter Kiechel for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out other articles and resources, and/or sign up for a free subscription to Harvard Business Review’s Daily Alerts, please click here. * * * Like Satan in the book of Job, [.].

Consultative 80

Consultative Strategy Review Article 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 12, 2011

Over the recent years, I have read dozens of excellent books in which their authors offer advice on how to make effective presentations in one form of another (e.g. in-person, teleconferencing, electronically recorded). None offers more and better advice that does As We Speak: How to Make Your Point and Have It Stick, co-authored by [.].

Power 89

Power Strategy Advice Books 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 20, 2011

Here is an article written by Marcia Xenitelis for Talent Management magazine. To check out all the resources and sign up for a free subscription to the TM and Chief Learning Officer magazines published by MedfiaTec, please click here. * * * The frequency at which the word “engagement&# appears in any discussion about employee [.].

Magazine 75

Magazine Strategy Talent Management Resources 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 13, 2012

Here is an excerpt from another outstanding article featured by The McKinsey Quarterly, published by McKinsey & Company. It was co-authored by Stephen Hall, Dan Lovallo, and Reinier Musters. Most companies allocate the same resources to the same business units year after year.

McKinsey 80

McKinsey Strategy How To Resources 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 20, 2014

“Any time you’re playing in a game this big, you don’t want to make any mistakes, and I made one. And as a team we didn’t execute the plays that were called well enough.”

Execution 90

Execution Planning Strategy Blog 90

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

Here is an article written by Steve Tobak for BNET, The CBS Interactive Business Network. To check out an abundance of valuable resources and obtain a free subscription to one or more of the BNET newsletters, please click here. * * * Are you up a tree? Stuck in your career? Still looking for that dream [.].

Career 85

Career Strategy Newsletter Resources 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

Arlene Johnson has just launched a new website that combines her own material with material from different sources. I urge you to check it out by clicking here.

Execution 70

Execution Strategy Project Article 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Operational effectiveness (OE) means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them. Operational effectiveness includes but is not limited to efficiency. It refers to any number of practices that allow a company to better utilize its inputs by, for example, reducing defects in products or developing better products faster.

Porter 115

Porter Reference Strategy Efficiency 115

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 24, 2015

There’s something about fundamentals that basketball players love. Phil Jackson — Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success You can’t skip fundamentals if you want to be the best. The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether it’s proper technique, work ethic, or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out… You have to monitor […].

Ethics 70

Ethics Strategy Succession Blog 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 17, 2014

Between 2000 and 2008, just 2 percent of all American workers – those with a professional post-graduate degree such as doctors, lawyers, and MBA’s – saw gains in their “mean real money income.” Every other group, including college graduate and those with PhDs, saw their income decline. Economic growth is increasingly powered not just by […].

Strategy 110

Strategy Blog Power 110

First Friday Book Synopsis

OCTOBER 4, 2013

I was honored to speak to the GOVERNOR’S Conference yesterday in Indianapolis. The commitment to this conference by Governor Pence himself, who opened the conference, and then the entire staff of folks collaborating to lead and provide this conference, was impressive.

Conference 106

Conference Open-book Execution Strategy 106

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 25, 2014

Rich Horwath is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author on strategy. As the CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, Rich leads executive teams through the strategy process and has helped more than 50,000 managers around the world develop their strategic thinking skills.

Strategy 80

Strategy Blog CEO Execution 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 16, 2012

First, read these excerpts and points from Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters: A leader’s most important responsibility is identifying the biggest challenges to forward progress and devising a coherent approach to overcoming them. A good [.].

Strategy 125

Strategy Goal Motivation Blog 125

First Friday Book Synopsis

MAY 29, 2015

” She is the founder of Peninsula Strategies LLC, a strategy consulting firm. The Peninsula Strategies website is [link] Her clients have included large organizations like Netflix, SurveyMonkey and Yahoo!, Robbie Kellman Baxter created the popular business term “Membership Economy.”

Consultative 70

Consultative Strategy Career Course 70