Focus, 1st ed. 2021 How to Plan Strategy and Improve Execution to Achieve Growth

This book assesses the strategy challenges faced by executives in formulating strategy and driving execution. The authors present seven inhibitors of strategy effectiveness in companies large and small as well as seven actionable research-based strategy enablers to fine tune execution and rally all the stakeholders in a unified direction.

By reading this book, you will find answers to the following:

• What is the state of strategy formulation and execution in companies like mine?
• Why is the strategy process so frustrating and difficult, and how can it be simplified?
• How can senior executives on my team meaningfully improve strategy planning and execution to grow sales and profit?
• How can my company hold the strategy planning process to account?

If you are looking for guidance on leading your organization?s strategy and execution for sales and profit growth, this book will serve as a valuable resource for becoming more effective at strategy formulation.

1 Strategy Planning in the Real World

2 The CEO Perspective on Strategy Planning

3 The Perils and Promise of Strategy Planning

4 The Inspirational Executive: Strategy Planning Through Mission, Vision, and Values

6 The Analytical Executive: Budget-Based Strategy Planning

8 Strategy Planning Enablers

9 Exterior, Inc.’s Strategy Success Story

10 Increasing the Strategy Planning Quotient

Vikas Mittal is the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, USA.

Shrihari (Hari) Sridhar is Joe Foster ’56 Chair in Business Leadership at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, USA.

Highlights eleven enablers that CEOs can incorporate in their strategy process to build a focused, aligned and accountable strategy through the reduction of stakeholder divergence

Offers an assessment tool to help leaders foster the convergence of strategic goals across the organization

Describes how CEOs can improve strategy effectiveness for sales and profit growth