Focus: How to Plan Strategy and Improve Execution to Achieve Growth

Description

This book assesses the strategy challenges faced by executives in formulating strategy and driving execution. The authors present seven inhibitors of strategy effectiveness in companies large and small as well as seven actionable research-based strategy enablers to fine tune execution and rally all the stakeholders in a unified direction. By reading this book, you will find answers to the following: What is the state of strategy formulation and execution in companies like mine?Why is the strategy process so frustrating and difficult, and how can it be simplified?How can senior executives on my team meaningfully improve strategy planning and execution to grow sales and profit?How can my company hold the strategy planning process to account? If you are looking for guidance on leading your organization’s strategy and execution for sales and profit growth, this book will serve as a valuable resource for becoming more effective at strategy formulation. Preface Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1: Strategy Planning in the Real World 1.1 Understanding Strategy Planning 1.2 Eight Strategy Stories 1.3 Calculating Your Strategy Planning Quotient 1.4 Improving Your Strategy Planning Quotient 2: The CEO Perspective on Strategy Planning 2.1 Listening to CEOs 2.2 One: Lacking a Customer Lens 2.3 Two: Informed by Siloed and Bifurcated Research That Misleads 2.4 Three: No Meaningful Comparisons 2.5 Four: Analysis Paralysis 2.6 Five: Lacking a Link Between Strategy and Financial Outcomes 2.7 Six: No Meaningful Way to Focus and Sequence Executives’ Effort 2.8 Seven: Following Executives’ Personal Preferences to Define Strategy 2.9 Eight: No Blueprint for Alignment 2.10 Conclusion 3: The Perils and Promise of Strategy Planning 3.1 What CEOs Believe 3.2 What Senior Executives and Managers Believe 3.3 Executives’ Subjective Beliefs and Objective Reality 3.4 Three Studies of Executive Beliefs 3.5 National Study of Executive Beliefs 3.6 FACILITYCO Executives’ Beliefs and Customer Needs 3.7 Mitigating Perils and Maximizing Promise 4: The Inspirational Executive: Strategy Planning Through Mission, Vision, and Values 4.1 Understanding the Inspirational Approach 4.2 Evaluating the Inspirational Approach to Strategy 4.3 The Perils of Mission Statements 4.4 The Inspirational Approach: Research Evidence 4.5 Conclusion 5: The Superhero Executive: Strategy Planning Through Adhocracy 5.1 Overemphasizing Exploration 5.2 Overemphasizing Innovation 5.3 Pioneering Industries 5.4 New Research 5.5 Conclusion 6: The Analytical Executive: Budget-Based Strategy Planning 6.1 Evaluating the Budget-Based Approach 6.2 Examining New Evidence 6.3 Conclusion 7: Strategy Planning Inhibitors 7.1 Inhibitor 1: Confusing Salience with Importance 7.2 Inhibitor 2: Intuitive Leaps 7.3 Inhibitor 3: Belief in Mythical Numbers 7.4 Inhibitor 4: Staying Put 7.5 Inhibitor 5: More-Is-Better Thinking 7.6 Inhibitor 6: Inwardly Focused and Discordant 7.7 Inhibitor 7: Decoupled Measurement and Diffuse Accountability 7.8 Conclusion 8: Strategy Planning Enablers 8.1 Enabler 1: Chain-link Your Strategy Map 8.2 Enabler 2: Know the Give-Get of Each Link 8.3 Enabler 3: Achieve More by Doing Less 8.4 Enabler 4: Relentlessly Implement the Not-To-Do List 8.5 Enabler 5: Flip the Planning Template 8.6 Enabler 6: Embed Science in Strategy Planning 8.7 Enabler 7: Approach the Planning Process with Humility 8.8 Conclusion 9: Exterior, Inc.’s Strategy Success Story 9.1 Exterior, Inc.: 2008–2014 9.2 Exterior’s Strategy Planning Dilemma: 2014 9.3 Rewiring the Strategy Planning Process: 2015 9.4 Exterior’s Strategy Enabled Not Inhibited: 2015–2017 9.5 Conclusion 10: Increasing the Strategy Planning Quotient 10.1 Not All CEOs Are Strategy Leaders 10.2 How Can CEOs Increase Their Strategy Planning Quotient? 10.3 How Can Senior Executives Increase Their Strategy Planning Quotient? 10.4 Review and Refine Your Company’s Strategy Process 10.5 Creating a Robust Strategy Planning Framework 10.6 Conclusion Index