 Be Strategic...or Be Gone.
"Strategic thinking is the most valued Which of these challenges is your group facing?
Your Solution is Rich Horwath: Author, Strategist, Speaker
50% of bankruptcies are caused by bad strategy. 
Latest From The Blog There's growing support for the "fail fast" mantra as a means to ultimate success. In the most current edition of Businessweek, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz encapsulates this philosophy in her guest editorial. She says, "My motto is 'fail fast forward.' You can fail, just do it fast and move forward. I think people get better when they fail."
Certainly, we all fail at some point or another, at this or that. The obvious key in those situations is to learn from the experience and succeed in future efforts. However, the reason many people fail is because they don't actually think about what they want to accomplish and the most effective way of going about it. In our action-oriented society, we ignore the preparation required for "ready...aim...fire" and just "fire!" In the strategic thinking developmental sessions I lead, I ask participants, "How many of you take time each week to think about your work, what you've learned and how to do it more effectively?" Less than 10% do. The reason why the "fail fast" mantra has gained in popularity is because it's much easier to just do something and fail, then to actually have the discipline to take time out individually and collectively to think about the issues, develop a plan of action and then act. Does this guarantee success? No. But it does greatly improve your chances of success. I'm not sure about where you work, but my experience is people who are continually failing at what they do become known as failures. And in today's economy, someone who is always failing is a prime candidate for the door the next time the company decides to cut costs. It's one thing to fail occasionally when taking a smart, calculated risk. Great strategy requires risk. It's another thing entirely to not have the discipline to take time to think about what you should do and how to do it effectively. Think before you act, fail a little and succeed a lot. Tag CloudAl Ries amazon.com Apple behaviors benchmarking Blockbuster Bridget Brennan business model BusinessWeek Carol Bartz Cash-for-Clunkers Chicago Chicago Tribune Chrysler Chuang Tzu CIO Cirque du Soleil Clayton Christensen competition competitive advantage competitive strategy Context Culture Daily Herald Damien Hirst decision making Deep Dive Devo GM Goals Harvard human resources innovation Netflix objectives resource allocation strategic strategic planning strategic thinking strategy SWOT analysis Tiger Woods trade-offs Wall Street Journal Yahoo |
"Rich Horwath helped us take all that is typically generalized by 'strategy' and turn it into practical solutions for our management, and eventually, our entire company. In a relatively short timeframe, Rich helped us utilize a common set of tools and a common language to develop a consistent strategic understanding throughout our organization. We now have a repeatable process to capture key business insights, ensure strategic alignment, develop the company's leaders of tomorrow, and most importantly, profitably grow our business."
Tim O'Connor "Your work had a dramatically positive impact on our business. In addition to the strong strategic plan we developed, you infused a new mind set into our organization that has created the strategic discipline to make important trade-offs and has unleashed a powerful energy of confidence. You've truly made a difference to our business."
Don Pogorzelski "Your strategy program was inspiring and right on point. My team was able to take the concepts and tools you presented and immediately apply them to our business during the meeting. Your practical explanation of strategy concepts made the difference. I honestly believe that all participants left this week as better 'strategists' with a clear understanding of how strategic thinking is an ongoing process that, when properly employed, will lead us to the competitive advantage we seek."
Steve Lamb
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