Book Description

Thompson/Strickland has always included the most recent research in strategy in a way that students can understand and apply it to business cases and problems. In addition, Thompson offers more coverage of strategy implementation than most other texts, which many instructors think is critical if students are to understand the “how” and not just the “what” and “why”. Thompson’s coverage of Michael Porter’s classic 5-forces model is clearer and more detailed than in other texts, according to reviewers. With this edition the market leader looks better than ever before, offering a new 4-color design, improved writing style, and two new chapters on global and e-commerce strategy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Management cliches extravaganza
Well having this book as course material in International Marketing, we have concluded that this book actually drained knowledge from us. The management cliche extravaganza in this book is abundant. Howabout: A successful global marketing program is preferrable to an unsuccessful one. Wow, this taught us lots. Ok, so the introduction states that the book is meant for CEO's, we guess their knowledge is far superior to us mere mortals, so this book makes sense to them.
Do not bother reading beyond chapter one, what is presented in this chapter is repeated throughout the book. In order to support what is presented, the book grabs examples from the air in order to fit the theory.
In conclusion, we recommend not to buy this book. If you want a couple of hundred pages saying basically nothing in management language, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Book Description

Get a concise, hands-on, and applied approach to project management with the new edition of Core Concepts.  The authors take a computer program orientation, focusing on doing Project Management.   They organize the book around the project management life cycle, provide you with essential project management concepts, and tie them into the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Project Management Institute runs the PMBOK certification program).   This edition includes revised discussion of the integration of parent organization's strategies into project selection and management; and greatly expanded coverage of risk management and assessment in the project management process. ... Read more

Book Description

Millions of people around the world participate daily in network marketing sales. This book offers, for the first time, a step-by-step plan for building a profitable, long-lasting network marketing business. This simple, proven system—from an author who built his own million-dollar network marketing business—gives everyone in the network marketing industry the tools and tactics they need to succeed spectacularly. Rubino’s seven-step system covers every aspect of the network marketing business, from planning to prospecting to training, and gives you the confidence and attitude you need to make your business work and keep it profitable. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is a blueprint for success!
Regardless of what business you are involved in, there are fundamental laws of success that govern all endeavors. If you know and follow these laws, your likelihood of success grows exponentially. Even though this book is written from the point of view of the Network Marketer, the fundamental principles discussed in this book are all encompassing. We all deal with people as a matter of course throughout our lives and our careers, and we are constantly marketing ourselves and our products. Whether you find yourself in Network Marketing, general sales, management, education, or manufacturing, you will find one or more of the principles discussed here relevant to your line of work. Enjoy this book, dissect it, and profit from it. It will lead you to the top.

This is THE network marketing Bible
In the network marketing industry, it's often difficult to find someone who you can trust to mentor you. There are so many "fake it till you make it" clowns out there that the waters are often muddied.

Thank Goodness for Joe Rubino. Joe has a way of cutting through the fluff and delivering the goods. Joe is the real deal and he puts his money where his mouth is. Joe's living proof that his system works. He really walks the talk.

For anyone who wants to build a real network marketing empire, read The 7-Step System to Building a $1,000,000 Network Marketing Dynasty : How to Achieve Financial Independence through Network Marketing, apply the steps Joe tells you about and collect your paycheck.

Wealth made simple!
Dr. Rubino, Thank you for making success and wealth possible for the average person! I am so inspired. Anyone can do it following the guidelines in this book. A definite winner!

Must read for the business professional
What else can I say? Bravo Mr. Rubino. Buy this book! ... Read more

Book Description

Many organizations understand the benefits of a longer-term approach to staffing: reduced turnover and hiring costs, improved efficiencyand morale, and ultimately greater profits.

Unfortunately, traditional approaches to strategic staffing are often more effective on paper than in the workplace.

This essential book-and-CD-ROM package shows how to identify staffing needs and opportunities through qualitative and quantitative measures, andpresents several effective, nontraditional approaches to strategic staffing. Featuring full case studies and dozens of examples, the book is both enlighteningand practical. And to help readers create their own staffing plans, the CD-ROM is a trove of invaluable tools, including:

* PowerPoint(TM) slide presentations * Customizable Excel(TM) spreadsheets * Assessment and evaluation forms * Calculations and analyses * Sample staffing plans, and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Insightful!
Human resources strategist Thomas P. Bechet provides a comprehensive guide to planning your staffing. He includes a CD with PowerPoint slide presentations, adaptable Excel spreadsheets, and assessment and evaluation forms. The book has ample examples and case studies of how to set up staffing, and tons of charts, graphs and formulas. But, you cannot apply his models and practices without this detailed hands-on workbook of his scorecard strategy, where you enter relevant data in a matrix that provides staffing direction. Warning: if your basic assumptions are wrong or if your situation changes quickly, you could take a wrong turn, so proceed carefully. While this is not a fun read - in fact, it can seem convoluted - Bechet's intent is practicality, not recreation. This is a hardcore resource for hiring decision-makers. So we suggest that you pour yourself a stiff cup of coffee, grab a thick notepad and muscle up to the staffing task with serious, strategic intent.

A Practioner's Guide
Tom Bechet has set a new standard for workforce planning books.He walks the reader through his practical user guide to think about about workforce planning as solving a business issue.The result of following Tom's well articulated "strategic staffing" process will help enable the business to meet it's strategic goals by understanding the "people implications" as part of their strategic business planning process. Workforce planning becomes "helping the business to solve business talent issues"! The book systematically walks the reader from step one all the way through the strategic staffing process, and he even includes powerpoint slides to review with your organization and spreadsheets that will assist in capturing your organizational data! The book is a terrific toolkit for staffing/HR professionals.

Insightful!
Human resources strategist Thomas P. Bechet provides a comprehensive guide to planning your staffing. He includes a CD with PowerPoint slide presentations, adaptable Excel spreadsheets, and assessment and evaluation forms. The book has ample examples and case studies of how to set up staffing, and tons of charts, graphs and formulas. But, you cannot apply his models and practices without this detailed hands-on workbook of his scorecard strategy, where you enter relevant data in a matrix that provides staffing direction. Warning: if your basic assumptions are wrong or if your situation changes quickly, you could take a wrong turn, so proceed carefully. While this is not a fun read - in fact, it can seem convoluted - Bechet's intent is practicality, not recreation. This is a hardcore resource for hiring decision-makers. So we from getAbstract suggest that you pour yourself a stiff cup of coffee, grab a thick notepad and muscle up to the staffing task with serious, strategic intent.

Valuable Tool for Business--easy to use
As corporate leaders look into the future, developing strategic plans, human resources must be a vital component. Without people, most organizations would be unable to meet their objectives, pay their bills, and satisfy their owners. Many corporations have difficulty getting properly organized and filling positions with the right people even in present-day terms. Looking into the future, even a few months into the future, is beyond the scope of most human resource departments. They're too busy scrambling to address current problems.

There are three components necessary for solid strategic staffing-the planning for the company's future workforce needs. First, you need a CEO and senior leadership team that is future-focused. These key people must be good planners, with concern about all the resources they will need in the years ahead-including people. Second, you need human resource professionals who can business-speak, who can understand the strategic plans being drawn by those top executives. These professionals must be able to determine what kinds of people will be needed-when, where, and why. Third, you need a good tool to forecast workforce supply and demand, be flexible in response to changing plans, and be highly usable. "Strategic Staffing" is that tool.

Written by a human resource strategist with decades of experience under his belt, this book has it all-in writing and on an accompanying CD-ROM. Included in the easy-to-read pages are forms, examples, and diagnostics to help readers evaluate their own workforce strategies and preparedness. The CD-ROM includes templates, graphs, formulas, Excel spreadsheets, and even slide presentations to convey the vital message to others in the organization.

The book is organized into four sections: Setting the Context, Developing the Strategic Staffing Process, Implementing and Supporting Your Strategic Staffing Process, and Beyond Staffing Plans: Analyzing and Applying the Results. Three Appendices add more value, addressing frequently asked questions and providing guidance to using the extra material on the CD-ROM. A glossary and an index contribute to the usefulness of the volume.

The sixteen chapters of the book are well-defined, enabling the reader to work from the Table of Contents to move to sections where help might be found for specific problems.Readers will learn about how to make strategic staffing a part of the organization, how to define staffing levels, and how to make the whole thing work. Included are chapters about how to involve other mangers (buy-in is important) and how to use the web for staff acquisition over the long term. Solid costing information brings a cold sense of reality to the picture. The cost of not doing what this book advises can be considerably higher than following the author's helpful guidelines.

Bonus: The book's type size and design makes it easy to read and work with. ... Read more

Book Description

“Economic Foundations of Strategy uniquely contributes to the strategic management discipline by discussing and integrating the most important theoretical approaches in strategic management research. The book articulates the essence of these theories creatively and eloquently. Currently, our field lacks a scholarly book that brings together these theoretical building blocks of strategic management research.  Mahoney’s book is a superb guide for doctoral students and scholars who are entering the discipline of strategic management.  I conjecture that this book will become a must-have guide for seasoned strategy researchers as well... scholars from related disciplines such as industrial organization economics, international business and organization would also want to have a copy of this phenomenal guide… It was a pleasure to read this book.” -- Yasemin Y. Kor, University of Delaware

Economic Foundations of Strategy provides not only the essential basic tenets of strategy, it also shows the inter-relationships of five major theories of the firm: the behavioral theory; transaction costs theory; property rights theory; agency theory; and dynamic resource-based theory.  Even though technological, organizational and institutional change advances breathlessly, the theories of the firm provided in this research book are durable principles that have stood, and the author maintains will continue to stand, the test of time.  Economic Foundations of Strategy emphasizes the complementarities among these five theories of organization, and the potential for integrating these theories in the evolving science of organization.  Applications of these theories to business practice are emphasized throughout the book.  

Key Features:   • Provides an integrative approach -Covers economics (e.g., transaction costs, property rights and agency theory); -Covers finance (e.g., real options theory) -Covers organization theory (e.g., the behavioral theory of the firm); and -Covers modern strategic management theory (e.g., dynamic resource-based theory).   • Connects “Know-why” and “Know-how” -Covers the theoretical material deeply enough to be of use to advanced students -Connects this research to business applications to be of use to those interested in business practice ... Read more

Book Description

This tenth edition of Strategic Management Cases offers a practitioner-oriented perspective; focuses on skill-building in all major areas of strategy formation, implementation, and evaluation; and contains the most up-to-date compilation of cases available. The 43 featured cases include Verizon, Nextel, American Airlines, E-Bay, Wal-Mart, Target, Mandalay Resort Group, First Reliance Bank, Revlon, and many more companies. For consultants and other strategic planners. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Deeply and updated cases on strategy
Very good book, comprehending cases for many global and local industries, small and big companies, with sales risisng or declining, facing pressure from substitutes, intense rivalry and demanding customers.Summary of the Industry situation are helpful guides to solve the cases with the financialstatements, frequently included, helping to providedeeper data. ... Read more

Book Description

"Sometimes a book appears on your desk that successfully defines a field. You look at the book and say "thank you." Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments is such a book. . . . This book is clearly grounded in program planning and is not an afterthought or add-on to some other field. . . . I am excited to see this book appear in print. It clearly fills a niche that has been empty for some time: a practical approach to learning about and conducting needs assessments. . . . This is a marvelous book that should make a significant contribution to the field." --From the Foreword by Nick Eastmond, Utah State University "While it has the depth and breadth to be used in a classroom, Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments is written simply and directly enough to be a hands-on guide for needs assessment users and practitioners. The framework proposed by the authors is excellent in that it is readily understood and focuses attention on the most important details/issues in needs assessment practice. The fact that they also present an explanation of so many tools, including examples, makes the book required reading for anyone intending to plan or contract for a needs assessment." --John Theiss, Director of Planning and Evaluation, Texas ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Dense
It gets a 3 because it is full of information but no more because it is a dense and dreary text. Reading the postscript a few times helps put it in perspective but that is no substitute for good editing. The "practical guide" subtitle is not appropriate. ... Read more

Book Description

ARE YOU MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR CAREER OR BUSINESS? Do you love your work? Does your job and business truly make a difference? Are your passion, dreams, and vocation aligned?

The On-Purpose Business helps you answer these and other critical questions. Written in a story format, this book will help you make the most of your God-given talent to take your career or business charging to the next level.

The principles found in The On-Purpose Business are clear and easy to apply. What you learn will forever change your business, career, and life! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Finally -- a business book with a heart
Rarely have I been moved by reading a "business" book -- until now.This book touched me -- explaining in logical detail why it isimportant to align our head, hands, and heart in our business endeavors, asin all areas of our lives.Businesses who follow these guidelines will besuccessful -- both financially and with an abundance of happy, motivated,enthusiastic employees.Written in story format, this book is a quick readwith a marvelous lesson for anyone involved in any kind of business. Individuals can also apply the lessons to their daily lives to increasetheir personal sense of fulfillment and happiness.I'm sending a copy ofthis book to the CEO of the company I used to work for! The book's messageis wonderful -- and very motivational.

An outstanding book that clarifies many important issues!
So many organizations today are trying to do "more with less" and are trying to be "all things to all Customers."This book provides insight into why you cannot experience long-term success without being On-Purpose.I wish Corporate American, from the top-down, would use this book as a strategic "blue print!" ... Read more

Book Description

Realistic, intermediate-length cases make up this inexpensive casebook. Based on real events but with all names changed, the cases either illustrate theory or describe a recent real-life dilemma requiring a decision.Cases are long enough to require significant analysis from the reader, but short enough that a wide variety of topics can be covered. Describes the full range of management, systems, group, interpersonal, and individual topics; also highlights international business, globalization, diversity, ethics, communications, and human resource decisions. References each case to several leading management and organizational behavior books. Offers a versatile range of material and organization, making book suitable for a variety of uses.An inexpensive, handy reference for trainers, organizational development consultants, and other Human Resources professionals. ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing on more than twenty-five years experience consulting and training on project management in companies such as NCR, AT&T, and 3M, J. Davidson Frame updates and expands what he introduced in the first edition of The New Project Management in 1994-a set of core competencies for managerial success in a corporate climate where downsizing, outsourcing, and employee empowerment are a way of life. This new edition focuses on the hottest areas in project management today-augmenting and expanding the existing coverage of risk management and estimating, and including three all-new chapters on critical issues that did not even exist in 1994.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

The best book for org change & reengineering projects
This second edition is a minor update to the original that was published in 1994. When the first edition was published business process reengineering was in vogue. Today we're still doing reengineering, but it goes by the moniker of "organizational change management". A rose by any other name; however, this book remains one of the only project management texts that stays focused on reengineering and organizational change projects while including traditional project planning, scheduling and control techniques.

What makes this book unique is the way the author tackles organizational politics head on, and the sage advice given to deal with it. These comprise the main theme of Part I's first three chapters, which address the business environment, how to bring order out of chaos and engaging change. The final two chapters in Part I cover risk management and customer satisfaction - two main critical success factors for any project, but are especially important in organizational change projects.

Part II starts with a chapter that is boldly titled "Acquiring Political Skills and Building Influence" and segues into another topic that most PM books sidestep: "Building Teams with Borrowed Resources". If you've ever attempted employing matrix management or virtual teams you'll appreciate the advice given in this chapter. The author also gives an excellent discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of self directed teams, which may be ideal in theory, but are not easy to achieve in practice. Chapter 8 in this part is a well written piece on project selection techniques, which reflects the author's approach that is better documented in a book that he coauthored titled "The Project Office".

The remainder of the book is focused on traditional PM techniques, including estimating, outsourcing considerations, earned value (now part of the PMI PMBOK), and project metrics.

If you are involved in organizational change projects this book is the best resource because of the way it combines organizational change management with traditional PM techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Winning Ways for Planning Pilots
Strategic planning was once the sole responsibility of senior management. In today's business climate of shortened product cycles, ruthless price competition and global access to markets, the burden has spread to include middle managers. This new Portable MBA volume is the eighth in the series. It offers insights from 16 leading business school professors at Harvard, Boston University, Maryland, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Michigan, Stanford, Wharton and the Cranfield School of Management in England and five prominent consultants. Each contributor is not only an expert, but experienced putting into practice the principles and methodologies discussed in the chapter.

Whether tackling business, corporate or global strategy issues or analyzing industrial, technological, organizational and political factors, The Portable MBA in Strategy defines the planner's current vocabulary. It also offers practical solutions to implement plans in any business environment.

The book reduces a successful strategy to its four component parts -- the marketplace for the strategy; the inputs required for a successful plan, the opportunities for corporate transformation and the steps required to transfigure the plan into reality. Each chapter starts with an engaging case study to illustrate its theme. The result is a practical, readable, and comprehensive look at business strategy; appropriate whether the reader is the owner of small business or the manager of a vast global enterprise.

Best one volume introduction to this subject.
The title is misleading. The careful reader will develop a more thorough grounding in business strategy than any MBA course can provide. Especially useful for non-MBAs who want to understand the concepts that get tossed around during strategic planning. ... Read more

Book Description

Write an Effective Business Plan in No Time Flat!

Sixty percent of all new businesses go under in the first five years. Why? Many business owners fail to plan. Streetwise® Complete Business Plan with Software helps you write a business plan that will address the issues financiers, stockholders, and customers really care about.

Streetwise® Complete Business Plan with Software gives you the insight your business needs to withstand the rigors of today’s marketplace. Whether you’re an entrepreneur starting a new business-or an owner trying to improve the performance of an existing company-this savvy kit makes writing a business plan effortless.

Some of the essential business issues addressed include:

-Budgeting and financials

-Competitive analysis

-Management

-Marketing

-Sales and marketing

-Strategic planning

Filled with sample business plans and financial worksheets, this guide and CD-ROM does the work for you and lets you easily create a powerful business plan that will position you and your organization for success.

Thorough Instructions and Examples

Unlike other books, Streetwise® Complete Business Plan with Software gives you multiple choices of prewritten text for every part of your plan. You’ll spend less time searching for the right wording-and you’ll produce a better plan!

Includes a CD-ROM That Does the Hard Work for You!

Compatible with Windows 95 and Windows 98, Streetwise® Complete Business Plan has software that creates a picture-perfect business plan from information you input. You can also export finished plans to Word, Wordperfect, Lotus, and Excel. By just plugging in your numbers, you’ll be able to create budgets and turn projections into reality. You’ll be able to really control your business-and drive it to high growth and profitability.

Projecting Finances Has Never Been Easier!

Just insert your numbers into the formulas provided, enter the results on the worksheets, and add up the columns—and you’re done! It’s that easy.

Includes Complete Sample Business Plans!

As an added bonus, you get two complete sample business plans, both created using the prewritten text options and financial worksheets included in this book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Perfect for Novices and Pros
From time to time I have a client who needs a business plan. Most have no idea where to begin and really no desire to write a plan. I would often be asked to write the plan for them, but without a real template or software geared to it, it was like re-inventing the wheel everytime.

A few months ago I picked up this book, and the accompanying software, and my job was suddenly made easier. The instructions are easy to folllow and the software is easy to use, a plus for a non-technical type like myself. Right now I'm even using it to put together my own business plan.

If you are seeking an easy to read and use guide to business plans, I recommend this one.

Where to begin?
Me and an associate wrote our business plan using this book as our reference. Neither of us had any experience writting a business plan and didn't know where to begin. This book helped us get off the ground in no time. If your new to writting business plans or you're just not sure where to begin, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What Your CEO Needs to Know!
Finally something I can use to convince my CEO that reputations can and should be managed! The book provides a comprehensive overview of the critical success factors of reputation management and discusses a number of interesting case studies to underline key points. Though its a complex subject the book reads pretty easy and I could relate most of it to my daily work as a communications professional. To me, the bottom line is I can now start a discussion in my firm about the need for managing reputation and use solid arguments based on both research and other companies' best practice. It seems that being able to explain what drives reputation and who should be involved in managing it is half the work... ... Read more

Book Description

Strategize! allows learners to try out the strategy models and concepts and get feedback regarding their understanding and application of strategic management theory. The book presents a number of experiential exercises and projects for use in class and assignments.Because the exercises include thought, action, and feedback-assessment components, they promote an understanding of strategic management through comprehensive active learning. Strategize! offers an important complement to any standard strategic management text. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Management consulting is big business. Consultants often make very good money, and the good ones throw intriguing ideas on the table and get people excited about their work. But is any of their advice actually useful? Does it get implemented and lead to more productive workplaces? Chris Argyris thinks that most of it doesn't work, because it has too many "abstract claims, inconsistencies, and logical gaps to be useful as a concrete basis for concrete actions in concrete settings." No matter what managers hear from consultants, they ultimately resort to these five behaviors, according to Argyris: State a message that's inconsistent ("You're in charge of this, but check in with Steve"); act as if it's not inconsistent; make the inconsistency undiscussable; make the undiscussability undiscussable; act as if you're not doing any of the above. Flawed Advice and the Management Trap shows managers how to break out. He shows that a choice is sound when the emphasis is on facts and accumulated data and isn't influenced by the relative power positions of the people involved.

Top company managers and human-resources professionals will probably find this book most interesting. For them, the ideas in Flawed Advice and the Management Trap show the path away from a management style that breeds resentment and internecine warfare and points toward one that allows the facts to speak for themselves. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Very good!
This is another fine book by Argyris. I think this, in addition to "Strategic Organizational Change" by Beitler, is very helpful. (Beitler has an outstanding chapter on how to evaluate consultants.)

Valuable insight!
I recommend everything that Chris Argyris writes. This is no exception. This book has insight about management advice that reminds me of the work of Alfred Kieser at the University of Mannheim (Germany). I highly recommend the work of both Argyris and Kieser.

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

tools to examine advices
The author presents tools to examine advices from executives, change consultants, academics, etc., and offers four basic tests for the actionability of advice. The good advice should specify the detailed, concrete behaviors required to achieve the intended consequences; it must be crafted in the form of designs that contain causal statements; people must have, or be able to be taught, the concepts and skills required to implement those causal statements; and the context in which it is to be implemented does not prevent its implementation.

Argyris' theory of good advice, being highly practical and actionable, is based on the author's theoretical framework of "Model-II", exposed in his book "Organizational Learning II", co-authored with Donald Schoen.

The book does also contain a brilliant section about effective strategic choices, written by Roger Martin in very friendly tone. A high-quality strategic choice, according to Martin, possesses four key attributes: it is genuine; it is sound; it is actionable; and it is compelling. The section uncovers these principles in details.

The book shows the difference between external and internal employee commitment to the advices and helps to create and foster internal commitment.

You can test the actionability of the advices given in this book using these advices themselves.

I would recommend "Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method and Practice" prior to reading this book. I would also recommend "Leading the Revolution" by Gary Hamel in addition to these books.

Read this book after you read all the others....
Since you have an idea what this book is about from the other reviewers, I'll stick to my opinion of it rather than rehash what others have written.

It helped me a lot to know a bit of Argyris' other works (see his articles in Harvard Business Review for the quickest review), and also, to have read the works he critiques. While he always has such superb insights, including asking all the right questions that expose gaps in the business guru's works, because of the writing style (what it leaves out and what jumps it makes), it requires a bit of background if you're not familiar with his main points.

In any case, anyone who fancies him/herself a business consultant, or anyone who gives advice in any context, professionally or even to partners/kids/neighbors, should check out what Argyris has to say. You may find that you're not having the effect you believe you are. And that effect is like waking up from sleepwalking down the middle of a dark but busy road at night, without a flashlight.

A Good Read!
Chris Argyris says that management advice - the content of countless seminars by management consultants and human resource professionals - rests upon a discrepancy. The goal of a more democratic workplace with empowered, internally-driven workers contradicts the actual actions executives take to produce this result. Argyris contends that much leadership, decision-making, corporate change and management advice lacks critical thinking. He urges executives to seek specific, testable, actionable advice. Role-playing and numerous examples show how advice givers may fail to understand the nature of the problems they're addressing. This book is valuable in helping managers identify flawed advice and understand why so many management initiatives fail. However, the author's own recommendations suffer from the same lack of testability. It just may not be possible to test for the effects of specific advice in complex situations. Still, this is an important book because it urges executives to think critically about the guidance they are given. We at getAbstract recommend this book to managers and to those who advise them. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall....
Ruthless Execution

Ignore this book's somewhat overheated title and concentrate on Hartman's core concepts which he develops with meticulous care. He suggests a number of strategies and tactics by which business leaders can respond effectively when they encounter what Hartman calls the "rude awakening that occurs when a company has enjoyed consistently high-level performance, but comes up against some new factor: a downward turn in the economy, a lack of product innovation, growth that occurs too rapidly, a missed market opportunity, or as is most often the case, ineffective execution." Hartman organizes his material within five Parts which consist of a total of 12 individual chapters: Managing Through Tough Times, Leadership: Dealing with Rude Awakenings, How to Play the Game, Breaking Through the Wall, and What It All Means. The focus of Hartman's book is on "business reversals and the need to shepherd business leaders through those reversals because, quite frankly, corporations are passing through a new, more complex, more worrying age. The long and short of it is that it's far more difficult to be a successful business leader today than ever before."

The statistics support Hartman's last observation. In 2001, for example, 257 public companies (with a total of $258 billion in assets) declared bankruptcy. In 2002, another 67 did so. Go back even further to the 43 companies which Peters and Waterman quite properly praised in In Search of Excellence (1982). Most no longer qualify according to the criteria by which they were selected...and several do not exist at all. Scary? You bet.

In Chapter 8, Hartman offers a "Ruthless Execution Checklist" which can be of substantial value to all organizations, regardless of size or nature:

1. Do you have a cost and working capital management program that is driven through the business?

[NOTE: For small companies, the more appropriate question is "Is there a sound reason for the expenditure of each hour and each dollar?"]

2. Do you have a proactive and disciplined approach to identifying and assessing potential acquisitions and divestitures?

[NOTE: For small companies, the more appropriate question is "What should you add to what you now offer? What should you eliminate?"]

3. Do you regularly assess whether the corporate center is adding distinctive value to each business unit?

[NOTE: For small companies, the more appropriate question is "Does everything you do add value to each customer relationship?"]

4. Do you effectively and swiftly manage out non-performers?

[NOTE: Extensive research indicates that, on average, each mishire costs 24 times her or his annual salary. Hire slowly but fire FAST.]

Most organizations now face serious challenges. Many of those organizations will not survive. For their decision-makers, what to do? To his credit, Hartman does not propose a series of specific (one size fits all) answers to that question. Rather, in the final chapter, he includes a "Ruthless Execution Index" with instructions as to how to use it. It remains for each reader to provide correct responses to the 54 statements which comprise the "Index." Once this exercise has been completed, the far greater challenge -- obviously -- is to take appropriate action. Hartman can assist with that process. I also recommend a careful reading of Bossidy and Charan's Execution, Hammer's The Agenda, Collins' Good to Great, and Kaplan and Norton's The Strategy-Focused Organization.

Familiar stories, great execution strategies
What do you do if your company has been a high performer but then hits the wall? The economy may have slowed down, your product innovation has dropped off, growth has been too fast, or execution has been ineffective. According to Amir Hartman, what your company needs is ruthless execution (a term Hartman coined with John Sifonis while working with Hewlett-Packard). This consists of the method and strategies that Hartman's research suggests business leaders have employed to break through performance walls.

Ruthless execution consists of strategies organized into three categories: leadership, governance, and critical capabilities, each of which contains several practices. Hartman does not guarantee success in breaking through the wall if you use any of these strategies. But these approaches are common to those who have succeeded in the past and were used in the order presented in the book.

When troubled or uncertain times arrive, leaders typically but fruitlessly adopt either the "Run-and-Gun strategy" or the "Slash-and-Burn" strategy. According to Hartman, a third approach of ruthless execution works far better for most business leaders. In this book, he has no interest in identifying the major causes of companies hitting the wall. No matter what the cause it is an inability to focus and execute that is at the core of the problem.

By studying a diverse set of industries and companies of all sizes, using surveys, company documents, research reports, publicly available financial data (10-Ks), and interviews with key business leaders, Hartman believes he has discovered the practices used by those companies who succeeded in breaking through the wall. Much of the book consists of overviews of these efforts, many of them familiar to business readers, including Jack Welch's time at GE, Louis Gerstner's turnaround of IBM, Larry Bossidy's famous execution at Honeywell, along with Baxter, Novartis, and Cisco.

Ruthless execution proceeds through the stages of leadership, governance, and critical capabilities. The first part of the leadership aspect is strategic recalibration: the act of validating the direction and focus a company is going to take. This involves rearranging the portfolio of business initiatives (Hartman offers four rules for portfolio management), assessing how resources are allocated to initiatives, and setting a course while finding a healthy balance between performance and growth efforts.

After strategic recalibration, the second leadership practice is devising a business philosophy. Hartman prefers "business philosophy" to "organizational culture" because a culture may endure over generations but he is referring to the view that comes from the top and typically is identified with the CEO. He holds up Jack Welch as exemplifying the creation and promulgation of a business philosophy.

The second part of ruthless execution is governance. This consists of: Accountability - using a set of "alignment" strategies; Performance management system - using a small number of critical financial, strategic, and operating metrics (10 principles are offered); Discipline - communicating messages that are consistent, straightforward, and easily comprehended.

The final part of ruthless execution is critical capabilities: These are the specific actions that executives drive to break through the wall. They are the three critical skills and delivery capabilities with which business leaders need to be equipped: Productivity management - cost and working capital management, productivity management inc. technology-driven productivity improvement (which is aimed at optimizing, reconstructing, inventing and for which Hartman outlines six principles); Talent management - hiring the best talent and getting rid of underperformers; Focused corporate transactions - mergers and acquisitions, and divestitures.

The final chapter introduces a Ruthless Execution Index intended to help executives who want to understand where to improve their ruthless execution. While some executives will find much of the material familiar, the book gathers and organizes many aspects of the execution so vital to continuing and recapturing success.

Waste of money!
Ruthless Execution is a simplistic view of leadership 101 topics. If your company needs this to break through the wall, you have much deeper problems. It seems that Mr Hartman is trying to write to the uneducated or non-professional. Don't waste your money!

Practical and Insightful, a Must for Business Execs
Too often business books fall into one of two categories: 1) the kind that provides practical information but is lacking any kind of new insight, or, 2) the kind that's packed with new ideas but is painfully short on actionable info you can really put to use.

Ruthless Execution by Amir Hartman is that rarest of business books that delivers the best of both worlds: It's loaded with new ideas and fresh insights, yet throughout the author firmly grounds his working philosophy in practical tools and proven methodologies for getting the job done.

Let's face it: Even the best-managed companies hit a wall at some point. Ruthless Execution spells out a proven framework for swiftly analyzing your strategic options in a rigorous and thorough manner. As any veteran of the business world knows, strategic recalibration is a challenge that's easier said than done. This book explains how it's done.

Great stuff. Hugely helpful to any company that needs to take a good, hard analytical look at which initiatives they should nurture, and which they should kill in order to get back on track.

Are you Ruthless? A must read for all leaders!
Are you Ruthless? A must read for all business leaders!

This could not have come at a better time. Hartman clearly articulates the methods and strategies on how to recover after hitting performance walls. Ruthless Execution dives into this described methodology within each chapter developing itself into a comprehensive workplan for success.

As a former military officer, the major obstacles that I faced when entering the corporate world were the lack of focus, discipline and accountability within the corporate framework or organization. I applaud Hartman's approach to tackling these problems head on. As he states, leaders must be proactive, focused, disciplined and held personally accountable for all respective successes and/or failures.

These are just a few points that I will file into my business tool kit. Additional points to file will include Ruthless Execution Principles (leadership, governance, and critical capabilities), The Ruthless Execution Checklist, Case Studies and Interviews with some of the top business leaders (Jack Welch, John Chambers, and Lou Gerstner), and the Performance Portfolio Framework.

Special Note: For all military officers exiting the military, this is a must read.

Outstanding! ... Read more

Book Description

Developed at warp-speed and designed for overwhelming victory, the Desert Storm air campaign lit up the skies of Baghdad and changed strategic thinking forever.Now, John Warden - architect of the Desert Storm air campaign - and his partner, organizational consultant Leland Russell, have applied this proven approach to success to another kind of intense competition: the fast-changing world of 21st century business.Understand why the Prometheus Process is vital in today's world of crisis.

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf gave a ringing endorsement to John Warden’s new book, Winning in FastTime, with co-author Leland Russell.David Halberstam’s new book, War in a Time of Peace, suggested Col. Warden should have been on the cover of Time following the Gulf War

The system - Prometheus - is a mindset and a method for rapid, decisive strategic action.Its essence is simple: think strategically, focus sharply and move quickly.Leaders and managers of big-cap, mid-cap and startup companies, in high-tech finance, health care, and many other industries, have successfully applied Prometheus to meet the same kinds of challenges that you face.

Now, through clear, step-by-step directions and dramatic, behind-the-scenes stories, Winning in FastTime will explain Prometheus to you.Whether you are a CEO, a manager, a project leader, of simply a dedicated employee, this book will help you:

*Transform your organization into a nimble, market-leading winner;
*Design a Grand Strategy that everyone from the boardroom to the front line can share;
*Shape tomorrow...before it shapes you.

Winning in FastTime has a powerful message.You can control your destiny...if you are willing to shed yesterday's thinking about business strategy and organization...move fast and decisively...and make the future what you want it to be.Welcome to the world of Prometheus. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great practical advice from America's top strategic thinker
John Warden was the architect for the most successful campaign in the 90 year history of air combat. He has brought his insights to the corporate world. A truly original thinker, Warden not only thinks outside the box but helps others do so. Highly recommended for leaders at all levels and for courses at business schools and corporate universities.

If Sun Tzu had been an entrepreneur:
If Sun Tzu had been an entrepreneur this book would have been written centuries ago.

Using a concise war-winning paradigm, Warden and Russell have successfully captured the essence of designing a business strategy that will work every time. There are three things that make this book a proverbial "must read."

- It cuts to the chase by explaining what a business strategy needs to provide to everyone in the organization and does this in way that everyone from the mail clerk to the CEO can understand.
- It proves the KISS principle doesn't have to produce a "Business for Dummies" approach.
- You can start reading the book on Monday, finish it on Tuesday, begin to institute change on Wednesday, and by Friday be making a difference.

Frankly, I think it's the best book I've read since "Thriving on Chaos" by, Tom Peters. ... Read more

Book Description

The Fastest, Easiest Way to Write a Business Plan! The One Page Business Plan Book 3rd Edition now includes the Entreprenuers ToolKit CD-ROM with Interactive Templates, Budget Worksheets, Sales Calculators, Sales Budgeting Tool, Scorecards, and additional Bonus Tools. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Great business planning tool for stockbrokers!!!
It's easy for a stockbroker to get wrapped up in the market and lose the perspective that you are in business for yourself. In order to be successful for the long run, one must have a plan and The One Page Business Plan is a great tool. This book really help me pull together my business plan quickly.

Ralph Miljanich, Vice President, Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.

Great template/guide for planning projects/businesses
I enjoyed the fresh & light approach of this book. Doesn't bog you down with too many rules and must-do's and lets you bring out your thoughts directly onto paper. I think its especially helpful in the starting stages of a business where you don't yet have the information to build a full business plan but need to organize your thouhts. It is also a great ongoing condensed format for a business plan that can keep your actions/strategies in line.

Powerful stuff - all on 1 page!
Any business document should be effectively conveyed on a single piece of paper. Even a business plan? YES indeed.

Winston Churchill was asked how long he would need to prepare a speech. Churchill asked how long he had to speak. He was told 2 hours. "I can do that immediately." When asked about a 10-minute speech, he replied, "In that case, I should need a fortnight to prepare."

That's the idea behind The One Page Business Plan. If you can put the time, effort, and concentration in (which the book clearly and simply guides you through) to 1 page, you've got a killer document that can serve as your touchstone within your group, your department, division, and whole company.

Another thing - lots of people think this book is only for entrepreneurs. Not so. It's perhaps most valuable inside corporations, where it can be used to quickly get everyone on the same page (literally!)

Great book, great concept. Plus you can reuse the format for all kinds of plans - for a project, for a new brand, for a spinoff, even for finding a new job!!

What 13 years in a F500 Company don't teach you...
...You can find here! I came across this book through a mention on Tom Peters Website and could not get myself to spend the 35$ until last week. Big mistake! It is exactly what I needed to focus my thoughts in a clear and concise manner...and turbofast too. The questions are sharp and intense, the results are astonishing. If you are an accidental entrepreneur buy this book! Oliver Fritsch, www.vocationlab.com

Great first step to planning
We've just finished a semester using this book with undergrads (at Marquette), in conjunction with Bulger's The Enlightened Entrepreneur. Both are full of questions to answer; this one also has a nice protocol for going from answers to the plan. In one page, obviously you only set a broad direction, but that's vital. I added sections on Customers, Competitors, Capabilities, Channels, Commitments, and Capital to get closer to a full plan. Overall, it worked extremely well, and business clients who've used it also found it works well. ... Read more

Book Description

Successful business alliances today are critical to the competitive advantage of many companies. Mastering Alliance Strategy presents state-of-the-art thinking and practices for using partnerships effectively. This essential resource will help you understand and use alliances better, whether you are a new or seasoned alliance professional, a business-development specialist, a line manager, or a top executive. The authors argue that the secrets to success lie not solely in the intricacies of a deal but also in the strategy and organization behind the deal. They draw ideas and tools from years of research and reporting on four elements that are key to an effective alliance strategy:

• Designing the alliance and crafting the agreement
• Managing the alliance after it is launched
• Leveraging a constellation of alliances
• Building an internal alliance capability

Reviews (1)

Inject Risk into Business Relations for Higher Return
James D. Bamford, Benjamin Gomes-Casseres and Michael J. Robinson have put together an interesting collection of essays about the life cycle of alliances and the people in charge of these alliances. Rightly, the authors emphasize alliance strategy rather than strategic alliance. The essays are grouped around four themes: designing alliances, managing alliances, competing in constellations and building an alliance capability. Practitioners can reflect on their own alliances to see what they eventually can do better to further improve their performance in each of the four areas. The authors close their treatise by looking at some master builders. The authors correctly point out that there is no one solution for all. What works in one company can fail in another. Corporate culture plays a key role in making difficult to successfully borrow alliance best practices from other companies for another organization usage. As a side note, "Building, Leading and Managing Strategic Alliances" by Fred A. Kuglin is a good complement to the topics covered in "Mastering Alliance Strategy." ... Read more