Strategy Resources

Books

Deep Dive: Mastering the Three Disciplines of Strategic Thinking For Competitive Advantage
Waves of e-mail and voicemail continually crash into you. Well intentioned but unproductive meetings leave you mentally treading water. Competitors circle your business like sharks, waiting for one mistake to steal your customer. You can transform your business from mere survival to competitive advantage—if you're willing to dive deep.

Deep Dive: Mastering the Three Disciplines of Strategic Thinking for Competitive Advantage compares the varying levels of strategic thinking to four levels of divers (beach bum, snorkeler, scuba diver and free diver) to give managers a clear path to becoming "thinking free divers"—those valuable leaders that generate important strategic insights on a regular basis.

Strategy Espresso: Triple Shots of Strategic Thinking to Energize Your Business
Strategy Espresso packs powerful bursts of business insight into short, practical shots of concepts, tools and frameworks that you can immediately use to successfully grow your business. In this high-content and engaging discussion of the key aspects of strategic thinking, you'll find topics such as:

  • The Seven Sins of Strategy
  • Strategic Innovation: Putting Your Money Where Your Mind Is
  • Strategic Planning: Stopping the Zombie in its Tracks
  • Competitive Advantage: "We're Number One!?"
  • Strategy Execution: Having Your Ferrari and Driving it Too

Sculpting Air: The Executive's Guide to Shaping Strategy
We can't see it. We can't touch it. Yet, our business can't thrive without it. Strategy—an abstract concept whose real-world presence influences how each and every one of us spends our time, money and talent. With so much riding on strategy development's outcome, shouldn't we invest the time to do it well?

Sculpting Air: The Executive's Guide to Shaping Strategy provides a simple, clear and effective system for developing strategy to guide and grow your business. Whether you're developing strategy for a product, business unit or a multi-billion dollar company, you'll discover:

  • The best-of-breed strategy development process
  • Dozens of models to help you generate strategic insights
  • The StrategyPrint—a two-page, real-time strategic action plan
  • Five proven strategies to grow your business
  • The secrets to understanding and gaining competitive advantage

Audio CD's

Strategy Unplugged CD Cover
Listen to an MP3 of Rich speaking on strategy

Strategy Unplugged, Volume 1: Be Strategic or Be Gone
Rich blows the doors off the traditional (aka "boring") approach to strategy with a fresh, dynamic and educational look at the subject. You'll learn:

  • The importance of strategy to organizations and individuals
  • What strategy is... and is not
  • The three criteria of great strategy
  • Keys to executing strategy
  • Dispelling the seven strategy myths
StrategySphere System
view a demo of the StrategySphere System

Unleash the power of your team's strategic thinking using the StrategySphere System—an online software program that contains 40 different strategic thinking models. The models are strategically arranged into the four categories of any business: Market, Customers, Competitors and Company. The software is conveniently located on a secure web site, enabling your team to use it to facilitate strategic planning meetings or on an individual basis. All of your information is captured and stored in a database and the "Share" feature gives all team members the ability to review and modify the models. The software is available through an annual subscription rate on a company, business unit or individual basis.

For a free one-day trial of the software, contact us

Strategic Thinking Assessment

The Strategic Thinking Assessment is a web-based diagnostic tool used to assess an individual's strategic thinking competencies. The assessment consists of 50 questions, 5 questions for each of the 10 competencies. The application is accessed through a URL requiring a user name and password. Once the assessment is taken by an individual, the completed and scored test is sent via email to whomever you designate to receive it (i.e., HR director, test taker, etc.). The completed assessment includes the answers selected along with the optimal answers which are bolded in green. A scoring table breaks down the person's score for each of the ten competencies (out of a possible 10 points) and indicates the total score calculated out of 100 points.

Click here to submit a "Contact Us" form regarding the assessment or call Rich at (847) 756-4707.

Click the icon below to download a one-page overview of the assessment.

Strategic Counsel

As a senior executive, you may find yourself facing the following challenges:

  • Trying to find time in an already overbooked schedule to develop fresh new ideas for the business.
  • Everything you say within the organization is highly scrutinized and has significant impact on activity and the culture.
  • It's extremely difficult for you to get objective feedback on your ideas because very few people in the organization will risk disagreeing with you.
  • Because you devote so much time to leading the organization and developing the next group of leaders, you have no time to address your own skill development needs.

If one or more of these challenges sound familiar, then you may find value in outside Strategic Counsel. As a former Chief Strategy Officer and now President of the Strategic Thinking Institute, Rich has provided Strategic Counsel to C-Suite executives, Presidents, General Managers and Vice Presidents in an effort to overcome these challenges and enhance their effectiveness.

Outside Strategic Counsel has the following benefits:

  1. Provides a fresh source of concepts, ideas and strategic insights that you can use to stimulate your business.
  2. Gives you a safe harbor to "think aloud" without having to carefully edit each thought as you do when speaking to members within the organization.
  3. Allows for honest, objective feedback because there are no "politics" involved.
  4. Creates a source of developmental tools and activities to build your skill sets.

Strategic Counsel engagements are structured in six month or twelve month time frames. Please contact Rich at (847) 756-4707 to discuss your individual needs.

Position Papers
Strategic Thinker provides executives with insights on a range of strategy-related topics in a brief but powerful context. The archived library of articles is available to clients and former MBA students. If you have not worked with Rich in the past, please click here to receive the password to access the full library of articles.

Click on the "Are You Strategic?" article to view a sample.

White Papers
The archived library of white papers is available to clients and former MBA students. If you have not worked with Rich in the past, please click here to receive the password to access the full library of white papers.

Click on the white paper "The Origin of Strategy" to view a sample white paper.

Strategy Library
Click on a category of strategy to view books on that topic:

Competition
  • Wharton on Dynamic Competitive Strategy, Day, George and David Reibstein (eds.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
  • Strategic and Competitive Analysis, Fleisher, Craig and Babette Bensoussan, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
  • The New Competitor Intelligence, Fuld, Leonard, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
  • Modern Competitive Analysis, Oster, Sharon, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Competitive Strategy, Porter, Michael, New York: The Free Press, 1980.
  • Competitive Advantage, Porter, Michael, New York: The Free Press, 1985.
  • Proven Strategies in Competitive Intelligence, Prescott, John (Ed.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
General Strategy
  • Disciplinary Roots of Strategic Management Research, Baum, Joel (ed.), Connecticut: JAI PRESS LTD, 1998.
  • Economics Meets Sociology in Strategic Management, Baum, Joel and Frank Dobbin (eds.). Connecticut: JAI PRESS LTD, 2000.
  • The PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategy) Principles, Buzzell, Robert and Bradley Gale. New York: The Free Press, 1987.
  • Strategy and Structure, Chandler Jr., Alfred, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1962.
  • Strategic Supremacy, D'Aveni, Richard, New York: The Free Press, 2001.
  • Market Driven Strategy, Day, George, New York: The Free Press, 1990.
  • Mastering Strategy, Dickson, Tim (ed.), Great Britain: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
  • Strategic Renaissance, Dudik, Evan, New York: AMACOM, 2000.
  • The Portable MBA in Strategy, Fahey, Liam and Robert Randall (eds.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
  • Leading the Revolution, Hamel, Gary, Massachusetts: HBS Press, 2000.
  • Competing for the Future, Hamel, Gary and CK Prahalad, Massachusetts: HBS Press, 1994.
  • HBR Business Classics, Harvard Business Review, Massachusetts: HBS Press, 1996.
  • The Financial Time's Guide to Strategy, Koch, Richard, England: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
  • Smart Strategy, Koch, Richard, England: Capstone, 1999.
  • The 80/20 Principle, Koch, Richard, England: Nicholas Brealey, 1998.
  • Creating Strategic Leverage, Lele, Milind. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
  • Making Sense of Strategy, Manning, Tony, New York: AMACOM, 2001.
  • All the Right Moves, Markides, Constantinos, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
  • Strategy in Poker, Business and War, McDonald, John, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1950.
  • Readings in the Strategy Process, Mintzberg, Henry and James Brian Quinn, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
  • Strategy Safari, Mintzberg, Henry, New York: The Free Press, 1998.
  • Reinventing Strategy, Pietersen, Willie, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
  • Playing the Strategy Game, Thurbin, Patrick, Great Britain: Prentice Hall, 2001.
  • What is Strategy and Does It Matter? Whittington, Richard, England: Thomson Learning, 2001.
Military Strategy
  • The Art of War—War and Military Thought, Creveld, Martin van London: Cassell, Wellington House, 2000.
  • Clausewitz on Strategy, Ghyczy, Tiha von (ed.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
  • Strategy, Hart, BH Liddell, New York: Penguin Group, 1991.
  • Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace, Luttwak, Edward, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2001.
  • The Prince, Machiavelli, Niccolo, New York: Alfred Knopf, 1908.
  • The Book of Five Rings, Musashi, Miyamoto, Massachusetts: Shambhala Pub, 1993.
  • One-Hundred Unorthodox Strategies: Battle and Tactics of Chinese Warfare, Sawyer, Ralph, Colorado: Westview Press, 1996.
  • The Art of War, Tzu, Sun, New York: Delacorte Press, 1983.
  • The War Lords, Vasconcellos, Jorge, New Hampshire: Kogan Page Limited, 1999.
Strategic Planning
  • The Mission Statement Book, Abrahams, Jeffrey, California: Ten Speed Press, 1999.
  • Strategic Planning for Smart Leadership, Austin, William. Oklahoma: New Forums Press, 2002.
  • A Sense of Mission, Campbell, Andrew and Laura Nash, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1992.
  • Team-Based Strategic Planning, Fogg, C. Davis, New York: AMACOM, 1994.
  • Implementing Your Strategic Plan, Fogg, C. Davis, New York: AMACOM, 1999.
  • Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Grant, Robert, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1998.
  • Scenarios: The Art of Strategic Conversation, Heijden, Kees van der, England: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
  • The Strategy Concept and Process, Hax, Arnoldo and Nicolas, Majluf, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1996.
  • Marketing Planning & Strategy, Jain, Subhash, Ohio: South-Western Publishing, 1993.
  • The Strategy-Focused Organization, Kaplan, Robert and David Norton, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 2001.
  • The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Mintzberg, Henry, New York: The Free Press, 1994.
  • Segmentation and Positioning for Strategic Marketing Decisions, Myers, James, Chicago: American Marketing Association, 1996.
  • High Impact Tools and Activities for Strategic Planning, Napier, Rod, Clint Sidle and Patrick Sanaghan, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
  • The Mission Primer, O'Hallaron, Richard and David, Virginia: Mission Inc., 1999.
  • Strategic Management, Saloner, Garth, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
  • Strategic Insights, Spain, Caryn, Oregon: The Oasis Press, 2000.
  • The Mission-Driven Organization, Wall, Bob, Mark Sobol and Robert Solum, California: Prima Publishing, 1992.
  • Making It Work, Weiss, Alan, New York: Harper Business, 1990.
  • Strategic Management & Business Policy, Wheelen, Thomas and J. David Hunger, England: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
  • The ASTD Trainer's Sourcebook on Strategic Planning, Wills, John, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Strategic Thinking
  • Strategic Thinking: An Executive Perspective, De Kluyver, Cornelis, New Jersey: Prenctice-Hall, 2000.
  • Thinking Strategically, Dixit, Avinash and Barry Nalebuff, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991.
  • Storm Rider: Becoming a Strategic Thinker, Horwath, Rich, Chicago: SC, 2004.
  • A Guide to Strategic Thinking, Morrisey, George, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.
  • The Mind of the Strategist, Ohmae, Kenichi, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982.
  • The Power of Strategic Thinking, Robert, Michel, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
  • Strategic Thinking and the New Science, Sanders, Irene, New York: The Free Press, 1998.
  • Strategic Thinking, Wootton & Terry Horne, England: Kogan Page Ltd, 2000.

"Deep Dive can help managers differentiate themselves from that middle layer of performers by focusing on those opportunities to gain competitive advantage with relevant business processes. The innovative material, compelling concepts and exhaustive research make this arguably the best book ever written on strategic thinking."

James Floyd
Director of Operations
McDonald's

"Our managers are anxious to become better strategists, but until now have not had a good resource to help them develop their strategic thinking skills. Deep Dive gives mangers the path to develop this important skill set and will improve our efficacy in strategic thinking."

Lydia Li
Senior Sales Training Manager
Adidas

"Rich Horwath does an exceptional job taking the complex topic of strategic thinking and breaking it down to a level that all managers can understand and apply to their daily work. Deep Dive clearly lays out the steps for managers to take to become great strategists."

Khanh Tao
Specialty Product Lines Manager
Allstate Insurance

"Strategy Espresso serves up a variety of practical tools and concepts that will give leaders at all levels new ways to profitably grow their business. Rich has the rare ability to take complex strategy topics and extract their essence in an engaging and entertaining way. The result is a clear path to becoming a truly strategic leader."

Andrew de Guttadauro
Vice President, Commercial Development
Vical

"A must read for any general manager, marketer and strategist. Rich Horwath takes the mystery out of strategy and translates it into ideas and tools that you can actually use."

Dean Gregory
Vice President, Strategy
Baxter Healthcare Corporation

"Sculpting Air: The Executive's Guide to Shaping Strategy molds well in a corporate environment and culture that thrives on establishing and maintaining a competitive edge."

Dan Linden
Senior Director, Account Planning
Pfizer, Inc.

"Sculpting Air: The Executive's Guide to Shaping Strategy is a precision hit on what strategy is all about. With this book, Rich Horwath provides a comprehensive yet concise roadmap that includes all the necessary tools to help any executive develop and execute successful strategies."

Rob Schneider
General Manager, Category Marketing
Omron Healthcare, Inc.