Part III. How You Can Evaluate Six Disciplines - Risk Free?

CEO Gary Harpst explains how you can evaluate the Six Disciplines strategy execution coaching program - risk free.



If you'd like more information, visit www.SixDisciplines.com.

Part II: What Can We Do About The Problem Of Strategy Execution? (Video)

CEO Gary Harpst describes what can be done about the biggest problem in business, and introduces Six Disciplines.

Part I: The Biggest Problem in Business - Video

What's the biggest problem in business? It ISN'T what you think!

CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst explains what the biggest challenge in business is, and why we can finally attack this problem in a revolutionary new way.

Strategy Execution and High-Impact Firms

In June 2008, the SBA published a new report: High-Impact Firms: Gazelles Revisited.

This new study revisits and expands upon some of the conclusions about rapidly growing firms conducted in the 1980s. Specifically, this report examines firms with significant revenue growth and expanding employment.

The revealing research findings about “high-impact firms” are summarized as follows:

• They are relatively old, rare and contribute the majority of overall economic growth.
• They exist in all industries, in almost all regions, states and counties.
• They represent only 3% of all firms, yet they account for almost all private sector employment and economic growth in the economy.
• On average, they are 25 years old.
• They usually go through a 4-year growth phase, in which time, growth doubles.
• In the four years after a high-impact firm undergoes its high-growth phase, only about 3 percent die.
• 75% of them fail to sustain their high-impact status after the 4-year growth phase.

For community organizations that have a strategy focused on an economic development platform, the implications and benefits of acting on this data are significant. Those who do will recognize the value of cultivating high-growth firms versus trying to increase entrepreneurship across the board, or trying to attract relocating companies.

Following are some game-changing implications for your community organizations to consider, particularly before going into next year’s strategic planning process:

• What kind of impact could your organization have on your community’s economic development if you could help to cultivate the number of local high-impact firms from say, 3% to 4%, or perhaps even 5%?
• What if your community organization could recommend systematic approach to enable companies to get to the high-impact stage sooner -- and stay there longer?

BOTTOMLINE: The answers to both of these questions are outlined in the new bestselling book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution. Growing the number of high-impact firms, getting them to the high-impact stage sooner, and getting them to stay there longer, are all essential drivers behind the revolution in strategy execution that’s already underway.

Find out more by attending an upcoming webcast.

10 Ways to Increase Passion at Work

Michelle Neujahr is an expert in Organizational Excellence Development.

In a recent post, she offers her take on "10 Ways to Increase Passion at Work."

1. Hire smart.
2. Get a good fit.
3. Train.
4. Communicate with passion.
5. Set goals.
6. Recognition.
7. Use surprise.
8. Ask.
9. Care.
10. Take risks.

BOTTOMLINE: "Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.” Or in other words – nothing great will be accomplished in your business without passion."

The Six Disciplines Business Opportunity

Watch this 6 minute slidecast "The Six Discipines Business Coaching Opportunity", presented by CEO and Founder, Gary Harpst.

View more presentations from Skip Reardon.

The Balance of Strategy and Execution - Video

The balance of strategy and execution is one of the toughest challenges in business.

But there is now a revolution taking place in the way your business can approach it.

In support of Gary Harpst's new book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, watch this short video and see him explain how you can tackle this toughest challenge in business.

Business Acceleration Comes To Pittsburgh

CEO and Best-Selling Author Gary Harpst Brings
The “Business Acceleration” Tour To Pittsburgh

Keynote Speaker Brings Revolutionary New Approach To Accelerate Business Performance and Predictable Growth In Local Communities

April 23, 2009 —CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst will continue his 50-city speaking tour “Business Acceleration: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit,” in Pittsburgh, PA on June 3, 2009 at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township from 8:00 am - 10:00 am. The event is being co-sponsored by Pareto Consulting, a Pittsburgh-based consulting firm, and licensed Six Disciplines coaching provider.

“Pittsburgh currently ranks 4th in the nation among large metropolitan areas for its number of “high-impact” companies, those that produce both significant revenue growth and expanding employment,” said Harpst. “Yet only 3% (2.45 percent) or 2,675 our of Pittsburgh’s 109,040 businesses are considered to be high-impact. Why does it have to be less than 3%? And perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97 percent of businesses in Pittsburgh? That’s specifically what I’ll be revealing at the Business Acceleration event on June 3th,” added Harpst.

To register for the Pittsburgh event, visit: http://50citypittsburgh.eventbrite.com.

Pareto Consulting Joins the Six Disciplines Business Coaching Network

Pittsburgh-based Firm Sees Growth through Strategy Execution Coaching Program

FINDLAY, OHIO - April 20, 2009 — Six Disciplines announced today that it has added Pittsburgh-based Pareto Consulting to its nationwide network of business coaching organizations that offer the Six Disciplines® strategy execution coaching program to its clients. Six Disciplines is unique in the burgeoning industry of business coaching because of its completeness, which involves the synergy of a repeatable business-building methodology, accountability coaching, an execution software system, and a shared community to accelerate organizational learning.

“Forward-looking CEOs are starting to understand that their biggest challenge is not what they think it is,” said Gary Harpst, founder and CEO of Six Disciplines. “They’re finally figuring out that it’s all about the balance of strategy and execution,” “Pareto Consulting understands the tremendous opportunity ahead of them with Six Disciplines, and because of their expertise and proven success, we’re excited to welcome Pareto to our coaching network.”

“Being able to offer the Six Disciplines Program to our clients adds an adjacent service focused on execution to our consulting practice and the marketplace desires an execution-focused service” said Fiore Londino, Partner with Pareto Consulting. “By using Six Disciplines, our clients will be able to connect their vision to their strategies, and align their plans and activities for more consistent and predictable execution,” said Sherryl Nufer, Partner with Pareto Consulting.

As an introduction to the Greater Pittsburgh area, Pareto Consulting will be hosting an exclusive presentation by Six Disciplines CEO Gary Harpst on June 3, 2009 from 8:00 am – 10:00 am, at the Regional Learning Alliance, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Township, PA 16066. The event in Pittsburgh is a continuation of Harpst’s 50-city speaking tour. His insightful presentation, “Economic Acceleration: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit” is based upon his best-selling book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution. To register for the event, visit: http://50citypittsburgh.eventbrite.com/.

About Pareto Consulting, LLC
Pareto Consulting, located in Pittsburgh, PA, provides consulting services to assist organizations in strategic and business planning, talent management, meeting facilitation and executive development and coaching. Pareto helps organizations concentrate on the 20% of the efforts that will achieve 80% of the needed results. Visit http://www.pareto-consulting.com/.

About Six Disciplines
Six Disciplines offers a complete strategy execution coaching program, optimized for small and midsized organizations. The Six Disciplines program enables organizations to get better – and stay better – with less stress and more fun. The breakthrough program is detailed in the best-selling book “Six Disciplines Execution Revolution” by founder and CEO Gary Harpst. Six Disciplines is offered exclusively through a growing nationwide network of franchised Six Disciplines coaching practices. Visit http://www.sixdisciplines.com/.

80% of Companies Thinking More Strategically During Downturn

A recent poll of the Strategic Planning Community (SPC), a business social network of strategic planners hosted by the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP), shows that for the most part, the knee-jerk reactions to the downturn have passed and most companies are moving towards more strategic moves.

Key findings:

• 82% reported that their companies are now thinking more strategically. Companies still operating in a purely tactical and survival mode, will likely find themselves being left behind when the economy turns.
• This result matches well with a recent Bain Consulting survey of global corporations where they report that “Almost eight of ten executives agree “our company will use this recession to improve our competitive position”

BOTTOMLINE: "For those who plan to exit this downturn successfully, now is the time to be repositioning for the new market realities and beginning to execute on steps to ensure successful exit."

(Hat tip to Michael Kanazawa)

Change Management IS Changing How You Manage

Why do so many change management programs fail?

In their new book, Transforming Your Leadership Culture, authors John McGuire and Gary Rhodes, of North Carolina's Center for Creative Leadership argue that it's because they focus too much on changing systems, processes and procedures -- and not enough on changing the people and the culture of the organization.

Key findings from their research:

• Effective change management has to start from the top.
• Leaders cannot delegate transformation to others and, without leading first by engagement and example, success is very unlikely.
• Culture change has to be a personal process first and foremost.
• Change also comes when beliefs change.
• Successful change starts with the beliefs of the senior leadership team and spreads into the middle of the organization. From there, it is likely that momentum will build as successive levels of employees buy into change.

BOTTOMLINE: In essence, change management is about doing exactly that: changing how you manage.