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Recommended Resources – The Strategist

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StrategyDriven Recommended ResourcesThe Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs
by Cynthia Montgomery

About the Book

The Strategist by Cynthia Montgomery challenges readers to ask “Am I a strategist?” and goes on to provide illustrated examples and insights into the skills and sensibilities all senior leaders must possess in order to guide their organization to ongoing growth and success. Cynthia presents the lessons learned from leading executives while teaching at the Harvard Business School. Within her book, Cynthia covers topics including:

  • Strategy & Leadership
  • Are you a strategist?
  • The Myth of the Super-Manager
  • Begin with Purpose
  • Turn Purpose into Reality
  • Own Your Strategy
  • Keep It Vibrant
  • The Essential Strategist

Why You Should Read This Book

StrategyDriven Contributors like The Strategist for its insights to a key skill every successful executive possesses. Cynthia brings readers a vast collection of experiences from hundreds of senior corporate leaders and well researched case history. Her concepts come to life through a myriad of detailed case studies like those the Harvard Business School is known for.

If we had one criticism of The Strategist it would be that the book is too academic, lacking the real-world insights only an author who has ‘been there’ can provide.

The Strategist conveys to readers the key skills and thought processes they need to succeed as organization leaders. It challenges the conventional, tactical thinking so many managers get locked into. For its executive-level insights and illustrative examples to the critical challenges faced by all organization leaders, The Strategist is a StrategyDriven recommended read.

How to Stress-Test Your Strategy

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Robert Simons, the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, explains why management teams must ask themselves tough strategy questions. During this interview, Robert covers:

  • obstacles business leaders face when executing their business strategy
  • why companies need to focus on one primary customer
  • the importance in choosing which among shareholders, customers, or employees are most important to the company’s success
  • how executives should decide which few metrics to focus on
  • key approaches to effectively making tough priority selection decisions

Robert Simons on the StrategyDriven Podcast

Last month, we were privileged to talk with Robert about his new book, Seven Strategy Questions, on the StrategyDriven Podcast. Listen as we explore the seven strategy questions that can help an organization’s leaders identify gaps within their strategy and its execution.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:38 — 53.1MB)

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StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 57 – An Interview with Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 57 – An Interview with Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions explores the seven strategy questions that can help an organization’s leaders identify gaps within their strategy and its execution. By asking and effectively answering these questions, executives and managers gain the insight necessary to better align their organization’s day-to-day operations to the optimal achievement of mission goals; thereby enhancing overall bottom line results. During our discussion, Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, shares with us his insights regarding:

  • the benefits of routinely asking the right strategy questions
  • the key Seven Strategy Questions and what makes them so important
  • how leaders can formally incorporate the Seven Strategy Questions into their business processes
  • actions executives should take to develop rising managers so that they instinctively ask the Seven Strategy Questions as a part of their internal thought process and the way they interact with their staffs

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Robert shares in Seven Strategy Questions and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his Harvard Business School Working Knowledge website.   Robert’s book, Seven Strategy Questions, can be purchased by clicking here.

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About the Author

Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions, is the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. For twenty-five years, he has taught accounting, management control, and strategy implementation courses in the Harvard MBA and Executive Education programs. Robert’s research has been published in the Harvard Business Review and the Strategic Management Journal, among others. To read Robert’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:38 — 53.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS