Strategic

RICH HORWATH is founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute where he is a strategy facilitator, advisor, and coach to executive leadership teams. He is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books on strategic thinking and rated the number one keynote speaker on strategy at national events such as the Society for Human Resource Management Strategy Conference. Rich has helped more than a quarter million people develop their strategic thinking and planning skills over the past two decades in pursuit of his vision to teach the world to be strategic.

• Introduction 1Navigate Your Business 4Being Strategic 6The Unstrategic 7Strategic Fitness 9What’s Your Strategic Quotient (SQ)? 11Trail Blazes 14Part I Strategy Fitness 17Chapter 1 Strategy 19Strategy Is Not 20GOST Framework 22Strategy Defined 24When to Change Strategy 263A Strategic Framework 28Strategy Development 30Designing a StrategyPrint 34Trail Blazes 36Chapter 2 Resource Allocation 39Reallocation of Resources 43Discipline to Focus 46Making Trade- offs 49Trail Blazes 51Chapter 3 Decision Making 53Creating Decision Trees 56Avoiding Decision Traps 58Determining Decision Rights 60Delegation: Lead at Your Level 64Trail Blazes 68Chapter 4 Competition 71Assessing the Competition 72Competitive Positioning 75Learning to Differentiate 78Understanding Competitive Advantage 82Trail Blazes 86Part II Leadership Fitness 89Chapter 5 Leadership 91Situational Awareness 92Emotional Intelligence 96Leadership Philosophy 98Trail Blazes 101Chapter 6 Personal Performance 103Three Principles of Preparation 105Energy Management 109Executive Presence 112Trail Blazes 114Chapter 7 Mental Toughness 117Seven Saboteurs of the Mind 118Mental Training Techniques 119Nonjudgmental Observation 122Breaking the Judgment Habit 124Trail Blazes 126Chapter 8 Time and Calendar 129Eliminating Time Traps 130Three Ways to Monotask 131Optimizing Email 136Trail Blazes 137Part III Organization Fitness 139Chapter 9 Organizational Foundation 141Organizational Structures 142Purpose 143Mission 143Vision 145Values 146Culture 147Internal Obstacles 151Trail Blazes 155Chapter 10 Business Model 157Evolving Your Business Model 158Creating a Value Proposition 161Mapping a Value Chain 163Designing the Future State 165Trail Blazes 171Chapter 11 Talent and Succession 173Talent Scorecard 174Five Talent Traps 175Succession Planning 177Trail Blazes 181Chapter 12 Innovation 183Insight 184Solving Challenges 186Biomimicry 187Domain Jumping 189Catalyzing Questions 191Trail Blazes 194Part IV Communication Fitness 197Chapter 13 Strategy Conversations 199Dialogue 203Discussion 205Direction 208Trail Blazes 211Chapter 14 Collaboration 213Enhancing Collaboration 214Facilitation Framework 218Trail Blazes 224Chapter 15 Customers 227Internal Customers 228One- on- Ones 229Managing Up and Laterally 230External Customers 232Board of Directors 237Trail Blazes 239Chapter 16 Meetings 241Strategic Meeting Framework 243Strategic Approach to Meetings 247Trail Blazes 251Close 253Notes 257About the Author 271Index 273

"The term strategy has become so overused and ambiguous in meaning that crafting a coherent, actionable, and successful strategy is unclear and challenging and can lead to company and career shipwreck. Rich is a lighthouse providing process, tools, and guidance to help anyone navigate to a clear, focused, and actionable strategy. His knowledge, experience and examples of strategy in action are invaluable."—Martin Schray, Principal Program Manager, Microsoft CorporationIn his book Strategic, Rich distills the essence of strategy and strategic thinking into its constituent parts and provides a clear framework and guidelines to elevate these capabilities within an organization. While the concepts presented are clear and concise, discipline and commitment are required to apply them effectively. Rich provides readers with the tools necessary to execute and achieve their goals.”—Michael Combs, President & CEO, CorVel Corporation“Rich simplifies strategy into a universal language that anyone from anywhere can understand. In a skills-based ecosystem, Strategic provides dozens of practical principles and tools for developing, applying, and communicating with clarity your ability to be strategic while others are tactical.”  —Jason Zeman, Director, Strategic Enablement Leader, Deloitte“In the 20+ years I have known Rich, he continues to push the boundaries on what strategy truly is and what it is not. His newest book, Strategic, continues this path in providing logical, useful, and understandable tools for any leader to enhance their strategic abilities to effectively navigate all areas of their business. It grabs your attention immediately and will catapult you into the world of strategic expertise.”  —Rob Schneider, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Omron Healthcare“In his new book, Strategic, Rich Horwath presents a comprehensive guide and clear, relatable examples for strategic thinking in all facets of the business for leaders in any size organization. Drawing on his 25 years of expertise in the field of strategy, Rich outlines a clear framework for developing and executing successful strategies that will enable executives to create sound strategic direction to success. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to improve their strategic thinking and planning skills and taking their leadership to the next level.”—Shea Uebelhor, Co-Founder, Cayke