New summary available for The Strategist

Entrepreneurs, business owners, and company presidents have big dreams. Dreamers often birth successful businesses, make countries great, revolutionize the marketplace, and in many cases, improve the quality of life for each generation. Entrepreneurs are trailblazers and often leaders, but they are not necessarily strategists. When leadership changes, it can mean the end of a company’s era, unless the next generation of leaders learns the secrets of becoming the strategists for their businesses. In The Strategist, Cynthia A. Montgomery offers insights into how leaders can become strategists, build successful companies, and create unique, valuable services that can stand the test of a downward economy and changing times.

Baked In

In Baked In, Alex Bogusky and John Winsor apply their expertise as marketing and advertising veterans who are able to feel the pulse of the changing 21st-century business world. They guide the reader in understanding the most intuitive, efficient, and modern methods of marketing, which is to “bake it in,” or to design products and services that market themselves.

In How to Present, certified speaking professional Michelle Bowden demystifies the art of delivering a clear and compelling message to which the target audience responds positively. She breaks the process into three phases: analysis, design, and delivery. Presentations fall flat when presenters focus on what they have to say, without addressing what the audience wants and needs to hear. They fail to convince when they are unclear on where their audience is, where they want them to be, and how to get them there. Bowden explains how to understand an audience, how to structure a message to reach it, and how to deliver the message in a confident, consistent manner. She debunks persistent myths about public speaking, substituting sound advice about warming up mind, body, and voice, so that every presentation produces positive results.

In Managing Projects, Lou Russell employs a four-phase project management model: define, plan, manage, and review, to illustrate the nuts and bolts of project management. She prefaces the discussion with a review of the relevant terminology, distinguishing between tasks, projects, and processes. She then devotes a chapter to each of the four phases, followed by chapters dealing with the problems of change associated with projects and the basics of a project management office (PMO) for coordinating multiple projects. The book closes with a review of the basic principles of project management, including a list of ten important principles to keep in mind on any project.

Maximizing Personal Productivity

The author notes that success in business planning and execution relies heavily on personal productivity skills. These skills help individuals get organized for implementation, improve their time utilization, present ideas effectively, and increase their ability to delegate work.

The most common time-wasters that plague managers are crisis management, procrastination, ineffective meetings, interruptions, and lack of plans and priorities.

Individuals who are successful at time management work on priorities that are both mission-critical and time-sensitive. According to Capezio, there are three primary types of meetings in the workplace: informational meetings, advisory meetings, and problem-solving meetings.

To make meetings more productive, Capezio recommends using the TOO Method, which stands for Topic, Objectives, and Outline.

The first step is to identify the topic. A best practice is to allow only one topic to be covered per meeting.

The second step is to establish the objectives. These are the expected outcomes from the meeting.

The final step is to prepare the outline. This contains the steps that the meeting leader and attendees will follow to accomplish the objectives.

Another important skill is making effective presentations. To communicate effectively with audiences, it is essential to analyze oneself, the audience, and the situation.

After conducting this analysis, it is possible to begin formatting the presentation. Work should focus on three key components: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

During the presentation, managers should consider how to create a presence through appearance, language choices, pacing, and volume. After the presentation is complete, a Lessons Learned Analysis should be conducted.

When developing business plans, negotiation will inevitably occur. This type of discussion can be used to resolve a dispute, to reach an agreed-upon direction, or to satisfy diverse interests.

The negotiation style that is used will often determine the outcome of the discussion. There are three major types of negotiation styles: competitive, avoidance, and accommodating.

The competitive style focuses on winning at all costs. In contrast, the avoidance style seeks to avoid conflict and any engagement in a substantive discussion. The accommodating style focuses on pleasing the other party, but it can easily develop into a competitive style.

The most effective negotiations incorporate the interests of both parties. While this approach may be more time-consuming, it tends to create more enduring agreements.

The last way to enhance personal productivity is to strike a balance between work and one’s personal life. Capezio recommends assessing whether one’s current balance is appropriate.

It may be necessary to set explicit goals to free more time and to create a better balance. Other suggestions are to create a more flexible work schedule and to integrate work and family wherever possible.

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