Seek Perfection But Settle For Excellence

Congratulations to the University of Findlay's men's basketball team - 2009 NCAA Division II National Champions.

A perfect season (36-0) - culminating is a National Championship.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Want an even better story of leadership about game winner Tyler Evans? Read "University of Findlay basketball player a class act."

If that story doesn't get to you, check your pulse!

Management Tools for 2009

Over the past three decades, management tools have become a common part of executives' lives. Whether trying to increase revenues, innovate, improve quality, increase efficiencies or plan for the future, executives have looked for tools to help them. The current environment of globalization and economic turbulence has increased the challenges executives face and, therefore, the need to find the right tools to meet these challenges.

To help inform managers about the tools available to them, in 1993 Bain & Company launched a multiyear research project to gather facts about the use and performance of management tools.

Every year or two since, Bain conducted research to identify 25 of the most popular and pertinent management tools. Their efforts to understand the continually evolving management tools landscape have led them to add five tools to this year's guide:

• Decision Rights Tools
• Downsizing
• Online Communities
• Price Optimization Tools
• Voice of the Customer Innovation.

Three of these tools are relatively new and two, Downsizing and Price Optimization Tools, may be increasingly relevant to managers in the current economic environment.

Download the PDF of the Management Tools 2009 Guide from Bain - here.

Why Is Strategy Execution So Hard - Part II

Effective execution of strategy seems to be an elusive goal. As Fortune Magazine noted in 1982, "Less than 10% of strategies effectively formulated are effectively executed."

After two decades of the application of modern business principles, the problem remained. Fortune again noted in 1999, "In the majority of cases - we estimate 70% - the real problem isn't bad strategy -- it's bad execution."

Consider these alarming research findings:

• 90% of well-formulated strategies fail due to poor execution. [1]
• 85% of leadership teams spend less than 1 hour per month discussing strategy.[2]
• Only 27% of a typical company’s employees have access to its strategic plan. [3]
• Only 5% of employees understand their corporate strategy.[4]
• 92% of organizations do not measure performance indicators.[5]
• 75% of business improvement (change) initiatives to solve these problems fail due to lack of sustainability. [6]

BOTTOMLINE: So…what is the solution? Six Disciplines is the first complete strategy execution program for small and midsized businesses that focuses on the four required elements of a sustainable business excellence.

In his first book, Six Disciplines for Excellence author and CEO Gary Harpst describes the fundamental disciplines that organizations must learn in order to balance strategy and execution. In Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, Harpst's unveils the reasons why execution is much tougher than strategy, and presents a complete formula for attacking this biggest challenge in business.

Cited Sources:
[1] (R. Kaplan and D. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, The Strategy-Focused Organization, 2001)
[2] (R. Kaplan and D. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, The Strategy-Focused Organization, 2001)
[3] (Strategy & Leadership Journal, May/June 1999)
[4] (Renaissance Solutions Survey, 1996)
[5] (Renaissance Solutions Survey, 1996)
[6] (J. Kotter, Leading Change, 1996)

How to Spot the "Uncoachables"

In this Harvard Business Publishing article "How To Spot The Uncoachables" renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith offers his insight on which business leaders are - and are not - coachable:

1. She doesn't think she has a problem.
2. He is pursuing the wrong strategy for the organization.
3. They're in the wrong job.
4. They think everyone else is the problem.

BOTTOMLINE: Marshall's take? "Save time, skip the heroic measures, and move on. These are arguments you can't ever win."

COSE To Co-Sponsor Economic Acceleration Tour in Cleveland

COSE, one of Ohio's largest small business support organizations, with 17,000 member companies, is co-sponsoring the "Economic Acceleration" presentation by CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst.

The event in Cleveland on May 5, 2009, is the continuation of Harpst's 50-city speaking tour.

For full details, agenda and registration information, visit: www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/Cleveland.

Excellence of Execution Is Again The Top Challenge of CEOs

According to a November 2008 study by The Conference Board, (as published in The AICPA Journal of Accountancy), when asked to rank their greatest challenge from a list of 94 challenges, the sample of CEOs chose "excellence of execution" as their top challenge - for the second year in a row.

Other findings:

• 46.7% of survey participants—up from roughly half that (24.5%) in a summer survey of the same CEOs—were most concerned about speed, flexibility and the ability to adapt to change.
• There were no people-management issues in the top 10 of the year-end survey

Economic Acceleration Tour Comes To Louisville

CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst will continue his 50-city speaking tour “Economic Acceleration: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit,” in Louisville, Kentucky on April 15, 2009 at the Marriott East in Louisville, from 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.



The event is sponsored by ENTERPRISECORP, the enterprise development arm of Greater Louisville Inc., The Metro Chamber of Commerce.

“Louisville currently ranks 42nd 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 percent (2.09 percent) or 1,251 out of Louisville’s 59,745 businesses are considered to be high-impact. Why does it have to be less than only 3 percent? And perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97 percent of businesses here in Louisville? That’s specifically what I’ll be revealing during the Economic Acceleration event on April 15th.”

About ENTERPRISECORP (sponsor of the event)

ENTERPRISECORP is the enterprise development arm of Greater Louisville Inc., whose mission is to dramatically increase the number and quality of fast-growth companies headquartered in the Louisville region – companies that create the vast majority of new wealth, new revenue and new jobs. For existing businesses that want input and guidance on how to generate growth, ENTERPRISECORP offers Business Advising, which uses detailed assessments and case review by an advisory council of seasoned professionals to create custom recommendations on how businesses can take advantage of opportunities for growth. When a management team is ready to embrace change and pursue the next level of performance, we are the place to start. Contact David Oetken at DOetken@ENTERPRISECORP.com.

Four Fatal Flaws of Strategic Planning

Ed Barrows recently published an article on HarvardBusiness.org entitled "Four Fatal Flaws of Strategic Planning."

Here are four fatal flaws that consistently creep into strategic planning processes that, if avoided, can significantly improve both the process and the results.

1. Skipping Rigorous Analysis
2. Believing Strategy Can Be Built in a Day
3. Failing to Link Strategic Planning with Strategic Execution
4. Dodging Strategy Review Meetings

Read the entire article here.

CEO and Best-Selling Author Gary Harpst Sets April Speaking Schedule

After successful visits to Columbus, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, (as well as Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville in mid-March,) veteran CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst will be continuing his 50-city speaking tour “Economic Acceleration: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit” in North Carolina, Southern Ohio and Kentucky in April.

To review the agenda and to register for these events, visit:

• April 1 - Raleigh, NC


• April 14 - Cincinnati, OH


• April 15 - Louisville, KY


• April 16 - Lexington, KY

Exclusive Worldwide Webcast - March 26

As an exclusive event for all Be Excellent readers, CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst will continue his 50-city speaking tour with a special worldwide webcast of his presentation “Economic Acceleration: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit”, sponsored by Six Disciplines, on March 26, 2009, from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Eastern Time.

Register here for this exclusive webcast.

The content of the webcast comes from Harpst’s newest book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier, which has been named a nationwide bestseller by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and BusinessWeek. The book details the elements of a complete strategy execution program, clarifies why it could only have happened now, and explains why such a program will soon become a mainstream requirement for all successful businesses in the future.

Register here for this exclusive webcast.

CEO and Strategy Execution Expert Gary Harpst To Speak in Raleigh

Veteran CEO and best-selling business author Gary Harpst will continue his 50-city speaking tour in Raleigh, NC on April 1, 2009 at the Brier Creek Country Club from 7:00 - 9:30 AM.

The event is being hosted by Business Clubs America-Triangle Chapter, Brier Creek Country Club, Six Disciplines North Carolina, and Gary Tomlinson of Tomlinson & Associates.

Cost is $25.00 for members and invited guests; $30.00 for non-members.

TO REGISTER, call 919-206-4600.

Agenda

What is the biggest problem facing your business today? Is it the economy? Is it cash flow? Is it the competition? Is it strategy? Is it execution? Regardless of your answer, Gary Harpst believes what most business leaders think their greatest challenge is, isn’t. And, whatever their problems are today, they’ll be different tomorrow and they will be bigger too. Gary believes there is one business problem that if solved, will make solving all other problems easier.

On April 1, Gary will share his belief that excellence requires on-going balance between strategy and execution. Of the two, execution is far more difficult to achieve, but it is impossible without solid strategy. Join us on April 1 and hear Gary’s presentation about a next-generation approach to building organizations that learn to execute strategy in a fundamentally new way. It’s a message of hope!

Best Practices for Employee Performance Management

Bersin & Associates conducts dozens of meaningful research projects each year, specifically in the areas of organizational learning and workforce management.

Here's their Top 22 Best Practices for Talent Management" - a list of 22 talent management processes that drive highest business impact.

Of particular interest are those with the Performance Management tag:

#1. Coaching programs for employees
#6. Cascading goals - aligning individual goals with corporate goals
#7. Creating consistent plans across the entire organization
#8. Establishing clear and measurable goals for all employees
#12. Assessing performance (appraisal and evaluation)
#15. Performance-based compensation

Building Engagement in This Economic Crisis

Solid advice here from Jennifer Robinson with the Gallup Management Journal on "Building Engagement in This Economic Crisis."

Includes reference to one of Gallup's most significant management tool ever published: "The 12 Elements of Great Managing."

Also listed are six tips that can help managers keep employees focused and engaged in times of change:

1. Tell employees what you expect from them
2. Make sure employees have the right materials and equipment
3. Give people the opportunity to do what they do best
4. Don't forget to give recognition or praise
5. Let your employees know you care about them
6. Keep encouraging their development

Keeping Up with Workforce 2020

Strategy+Business recently published a thought-provoking article by Daniel Rasmus, "Keeping Up with Workforce 2020", in which he asserts:

"...success in the next decade will depend on how well they implement information technologies that transform when and how people do their jobs."

Daniel's key premise:

• By 2020, innovative competitors — and inevitable gains in remote, mobile, and virtual devices — will make it impossible for most companies to deny that information technology is profoundly reshaping the workplace.

Rasmus established a number of likely scenarios that depict the workforce of 2020 and the strategic implications for employers looking not just to stay ahead of the curve but to shape it to their competitive advantage.

Insightful reading at the jump.

When Goal Setting Goes Bad

Harvard Business professor Max H. Bazerman and colleagues explored the hidden cost when stretch goals are misguided in the HBS article "When Goal Setting Goes Bad".

Key findings:

• Used wisely, goals can inspire employees and improve performance.
• But goal setting must be prescribed in doses, not as a standard remedy to increase productivity.
• When employees care exclusively about reaching a goal, and bad things can happen if they fail, cheating goes up.
• Goals are appropriate when you know exactly what behaviors you want, you aren't concerned about secondary behaviors, and unethical behavior is not a big risk.

Full working paper, "Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting" can be downloaded here.

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution Takes The Bronze

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, by CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst, has received the Bronze in the Entrepreneurship category of the 2009 Axiom Business Book Awards, designed to honor the year's best business books and their authors and publishers.

The Axiom Business Book Awards, sponsored by The Jenkins Group, are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary business books and their creators, with the understanding that business people are an information-hungry segment of the population, eager to learn about great new books that will inspire them and help them improve their careers and businesses.

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution was also named a Finalist in the Entrepreneur & Small Business category of the National “Best Book” 2008 Award from USABookNews.com.

The book, published by Six Disciplines Publishing in 2008, is listed as a best-seller on The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and BusinessWeek. Amazon customers ranked it in the Top 10 of all Business Books for 2008, and, it was named a top best-seller for 2008 by business book specialist, 800-CEO-READ.

See the entire list of all 2008 Axiom Business Book Award winners here.

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes

"Nothing changes if nothing changes."

Sounds obvious. Even Einstein's definition of insanity was:

"Doing the same things over and over but expecting different results."

But the truth is that nothing changes... if nothing changes.

Here's Dan Bobinski's (Center for Workplace Excellence) take on change:

• People willingly engage in change if they have genuine input to the process.
• What people don't like is having change forced upon them with little advanced notice. Or worse yet, no notice at all.

So we need to try something different.

• According to researchers at Harvard University studying change practices in business, getting people to change is best accomplished by including an emotional connection.
• When communicating change, "the story must be simple, easy to identify with, emotionally resonant, and evocative of positive experiences."
• Behavior change happens mostly by speaking to people's feelings (even in organizations that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement.)

BOTTOMLINE: "The fact is that nothing changes if nothing changes. And maybe, if we want a successful change effort, we need to change how we implement (execute) change."

Economic Acceleration Tour Continues Into Tennessee

After successful stops in Columbus, Austin, San Antonio, (and later this month, Houston and Dallas), veteran CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst will be continuing his 50-city speaking tour “Economic Acceleration: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit” in Tennessee.

Gary will be speaking in Memphis, TN on March 17, Nashville, TN on March 18, and Knoxville, TN on March 19.

Here's the issues that frustrate Gary, but he has a plan, and wants to share it with you:

• Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?
• Why is that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community?
• Why does it have to be only 3%? Can’t we do any better?
• Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97% of businesses?

In attendance at the Tennessee Economic Acceleration events will be CEOs of small and midsized businesses, chamber of commerce executives, economic development executives, civic leaders, business incubator professionals, college and university business program chairs and faculty, quality program professionals, venture capitalists, private equity and angel investors, business coaches, management consultants, and professional service firm partners.

To review the agenda and to register for these events, visit:

• www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/Memphis


• www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/Nashville


• www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/Knoxville

Gary Harpst - On Execution (Podcast)

Dan Mulhern, the First Gentleman of Michigan, hosts Everyday Leadership: Making Work Work, a weekly look at leadership in business and the issues that impact the workplace.

In the first hour, Dan talks with CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst (author - “Execution Revolution"), Jim Epolito (President/CEO - Michigan Economic Development Corporation), and Bill Emmerson (CEO - Quicken Loans).

Listen to the podcast here.

Growing Your Business Methodically - Video

In this video, published on Thrive America, angel investor Alan Urech, from Stoney River Capital Partners in Roswell, GA, talks about the importance of growing your business methodically.

At the beginning of the video, Alan references Six Disciplines for Excellence, by Gary Harpst .

Take a look at this 8:00 minute video here.

Game-Changing Small Business Intelligence

In the Winter issue of Chamber Executive magazine, the official journal of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), veteran CEO and best-selling author Gary Harpst published an article, "Game-Changing Small Business Intelligence" in which he begins by saying:

"...Even during the tough times we're confronted with now, there's actually good things that come from crises: they force us to make choices, sometimes tough choices. Crises force us to make a choice between vacilating among options, and taking action."

Read the entire article online here.

The Quality Most Valued in Leaders? Execution

The 2008 Best Companies for Leaders survey—conducted by management consultancy Hay Group and Chief Executive Magazine—identifies the top 20 best-in class companies as well as the attributes that make these companies known for great leadership.

Key findings of the Hay Group's research:

• When asked what organizations value the most in leaders, 83 percent of the best in class organizations as compared to others said “execution.”
• Organizations value leaders who can achieve results through others.
• In tough economic times, employees’ desire more communication and clarity around goals. They want their leaders to become more visible and to be leading from the front.
• During tough economic times, best-in-class companies create clarity, encourage development, drive accountability and recognize successful leaders.
• The top 20 best companies for leaders make leadership development a priority

Executive Coaching - Worth The Price?

In a January 2009 article "What Can Coaches Do for You?" published in the Harvard Business Review, HBR conducted a survey of 140 leading coaches and invited five experts to comment on the findings.

Some of the more interesting findings:

• The reasons companies engage coaches have changed.
• Ten years ago, most companies engaged a coach to help fix toxic behavior at the top.
• Today, most coaching is about developing the capabilities of high-potential performers.

Do companies and executives get value from their coaches? When HBR asked coaches to explain the healthy growth of their industry, they said that clients keep coming back because “coaching works.”

BOTTOMLINE: "Coaching as a business tool continues to gain legitimacy, but the fundamentals of the industry are still in flux. In this market, as in so many others today, the old saw still applies: Buyer beware."

Strategy and Execution At Its Best - A Picture of Excellence

Congratulations to Ben, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, on winning SuperBowl XLIII.

From all your friends and fans at Six Disciplines (a Findlay, Ohio-based company - hometown of Pittsburgh Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger...)

(Source: Simon Bruty, Sports Illustrated)

Economic Acceleration Tour Continues Into Houston and Dallas

Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?

Why is that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community?

Why does it have to be only 3%? Can’t we do any better?

Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97% of businesses?

These are the issues that frustrate CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst, but he has a plan, and wants to share it with you.

That’s why he's continuing his 50-city speaking tour “Economic Acceleration: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit”, sponsored by Six Disciplines, in Houston, Texas on February 24th at the Hyatt Regency Houston, from 7:30 a.m - 11:00 a.m, and in Dallas, Texas on February 25th at the Hyatt Regency North Dallas , from 7:30 a.m - 11:00 a.m.

In attendance at the Houston and Dallas Economic Acceleration events will be CEOs of small and midsized businesses, chamber of commerce executives, economic development executives, civic leaders, business incubator professionals, college and university business program chairs and faculty, quality program professionals, venture capitalists, private equity and angel investors, business coaches, management consultants, and professional service firm partners.

To review the agenda and to register for these events, visit:

www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/Houston and www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/Dallas.

A New Age - A Time For Action

As a recap of the historical past several days, please allow me to recap the core words and phrases of the new age:

"Responsibility....transparency....accountability.."

"Our collective failure to make hard choices..."

"Unpleasant decisions we'll need to make..."

"The time has come to set aside childish things..."

"A call to end an age of overconsumption..."

"An era of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some"

"A time to choose our better history..."

"Embrace pragmatism..."

"A time to reclaim values..."

"Extend a hand...to those willing...to unclench your fist"

BOTTOMLINE: "He simply promised to strike the balance differently, as America tries to hew to its ideals while pursuing a strategy of silent strength. Whether he can execute that change is a test that begins Wednesday morning."

Actions, not just words, make the difference. It's a matter of balancing both strategy and execution.

Now, it's time to do OUR part. So, it's time to do YOUR part.

2008 Top 25 Best-Sellers from 800-CEO-READ

800-CEO-Read just released their Top 25 Best-Sellers list for 2008.

Among them?

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, by veteran CEO and strategy execution expert, Gary Harpst.

Hope Is NOT A Strategy

Especially during tough times, hope is NOT a strategy!

When times are good, business seems to hum along, team members and customers tend to be happy, access to capital is plentiful, and prices are reasonable. During such times, business plans don't often change, and when a change is necessary, there is time to think, react and realign.

However, during times of economic uncertainty, letting business just "happen" is no longer an option. The need for strategic planning and execution is even more critical. Businesses can't expect to survive during this tough time, or thrive in the next upswing, without a comprehensive strategic plan.

Read the entire article here.

Joining The Six Disciplines Clients Community

In November, Ohmart/VEGA (Cincinnati, OH) and Sisler Companies (Marion, OH) became part of the growing Six Disciplines client community. Both organizations look to Six Disciplines for accountability and help focusing their organizations on what's most important.

About Ohmart/VEGA
For over 50 years, Ohmart/VEGA has provided industry-leading products for the measurement of level, density, weight, and pressure. An international corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohmart/VEGA combines manufacturing, distribution, and service for products that represent the most sophisticated process measurement technologies anywhere in the world. Learn more at www.ohmartvega.com.

About Sisler Companies
Sisler Companies is a second generation family business. Their diverse company portfolio includes a variety of business entities supplying and manufacturing components and parts for the appliance industry, real-estate development and their latest venture, Blue Fusion family entertainment centers. The management team consists of three Sisler brothers, Jon, Lee and Brett and Chris Naumovski. Together this team has built on the success their father started some 40 years ago. They selected Six Disciplines as a means to gain control over the complexities of a diverse company portfolio and to profitably grow their business interests.

New Entrepreneurship Blog Debuts

The good folks from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation have started the "Entrepreneurship.Org" blog.

Lots of good resources, articles, news and event listings for entrepreneurs.

Well worth a look!

How Companies Make Good Decisions

Companies get a lot of advice about how to make good decisions. Which decision-making disciplines really make a difference?

The good folks at McKinsey have some insights. (You'll need to register to read the entire article, but it's free.)

Key findings of their survey:

• More than three-quarters of investments were aimed at revenue growth, and among decisions related to human resources, the majority aimed to improve efficiency or productivity.
• A majority of decisions were undertaken at the request of the CEO or the executive committee
• More decisions were made outside an annual planning process than within one.
• Nearly two-thirds of respondents say they expected their decision to pay off within two years of implementation.
• Operations executives had significant influence on only about a third of the most financially unsuccessful decisions, reinforcing findings from other surveys that companies frequently overlook execution when making decisions.

The Economic Acceleration Tour Rolls Into San Antonio

Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?

Why is that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community? Why does it have to be only 3%? Can’t we do any better?

Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97% of businesses?

Well, these are the issues that frustrate CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst, but he has a plan, and wants to share it with you.

That’s why he's continuing his 50-city speaking tour “Economic Acceleration: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit”, sponsored by Six Disciplines, in San Antonio, Texas on January 28th at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio, from 7:30 a.m - 11:00 a.m.

Consider these facts about San Antonio:

• San Antonio ranks 36th in the nation among large metropolitan areas for its number of “high-impact” companies, those that produce both significant revenue growth and expanding employment.


• Yet only 3% (2.13 percent) or 1,687 of San Antonio's 79,232 businesses are considered to be high-impact.


• On average, it takes a company almost 20 years to enter this high-impact stage.


• Yet, three out of four companies cease to be high-impact after just four years.

On January 28, Gary will be sharing this new vision and a specific plan for accelerating the economic development equation with business and community leaders in San Antonio.

In attendance at the San Antonio Economic Acceleration event will be CEOs of small and midsized businesses, chamber of commerce executives, economic development executives, civic leaders, business incubator professionals, college and university business program chairs and faculty, quality program professionals, venture capitalists, private equity and angel investors, business coaches, management consultants, and professional service firm partners.

To review the agenda and to register for this event, visit: www.GaryHarpst.com/Tour/SanAntonio.

The Economic Acceleration Tour Comes To Austin

Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?

Why is that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community? Why does it have to be only 3%? Can’t we do any better?

Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97% of businesses?

Well, these are the issues that frustrate CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst, but he has a plan, and wants to share it with you.

That’s why he's continuing his 50-city speaking tour “Economic Acceleration: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit”, sponsored by Six Disciplines, in Austin, Texas on January 27th at the Hyatt Regency Austin, from 7:30 a.m - 11:00 a.m.

Consider these facts about Austin:

• Columbus ranks 26th in the nation among large metropolitan areas for its number of “high-impact” companies, those that produce both significant revenue growth and expanding employment.


• Yet only 3% (2.2 percent) or 2,048 of Austin's 90,720 businesses are considered to be high-impact.


• On average, it takes a company almost 20 years to enter this high-impact stage.


• Yet, three out of four companies cease to be high-impact after just four years.

On January 27, Gary will be sharing this new vision and a specific plan for accelerating the economic development equation with business and community leaders in Austin.

In attendance at the Austin Economic Acceleration event will be CEOs of small and midsized businesses, chamber of commerce executives, economic development executives, civic leaders, business incubator professionals, college and university business program chairs and faculty, quality program professionals, venture capitalists, private equity and angel investors, business coaches, management consultants, and professional service firm partners.

To review the agenda and to register for this event, visit: www.GaryHarpst.com/Tour/Austin.

2008 Best Business Books - Reader's Choice

Anita Campbell, editor-in-chief at Small Business Trends, recently asked for input into the top business books for 2008.

She polled people on the social media site Twitter, and chose 10 responses.

The Smallbiztrends Readers’ Choice Nominees for 10 Best Business Books, 2008 edition, includes Six Disciplines Execution Revolution by Gary Harpst.

Stability - A Top Hot Investment Trend for 2009

One of the top three hot trends for investors in 2009?

According to this investment specialist: inflation, food, and ....stability.

Stability. Companies able to deliver solid revenue and earnings at or maybe even a little above expectations are rare as hens' teeth at this stage of the recession. Companies with those kinds of results are also in a position to use the current global slowdown to attack weaker competitors, buy market share and aggressively develop new products. That's a combination investors particularly prize in the current uncertainty.

BOTTOMLINE: How can you help to ensure the stability of your organization? By balancing both strategy formulation and strategy execution. It's what Six Disciplines is all about.

Why Is Change So Hard - Part IV

"For most of us, the New Year is synonymous with change. We use today as a benchmark to usher in a list of lofty resolutions. Pay off debt. Spend less. Work out. Lose weight.
Yet most of us fail, petering out after only a few days or, at best, weeks."

Here at Be Excellent, we focus on business and organizational goals. For those of you wanting to bring it home more personally, I offer up this link to a Boston Globe article about why personal change is so hard.

BOTTOMLINE: I also suggest that you take a look at the many other blog posts here at Be Excellent on "why change is so hard" - just use the handy search box at the top left!

Economic Acceleration Tour Continues In Texas

Six Disciplines, sponsor of the 50-city "Economic Acceleration: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit" speaking tour, has announced that best-selling author Gary Harpst will continue to spread his positive economic acceleration news during 2009 - this time, in Texas.

On January 27, Gary will be visiting Austin, TX at the Hyatt Regency Austin, and on January 28, he will be bringing the speaking tour to San Antonio, at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio.

"Only 3 percent of Austin's and San Antonio's businesses are considered to be high-impact. Why does it only have to be 3 percent? More importantly, what are we going to do to accelerate growth for the other 97 percent of businesses? That's specifically what I'll be revealing during the Economic Acceleration events on January 27 and 28," said Harpst.

The Economic Acceleration Tour continues in February, as Harpst will be speaking in Dallas and Houston.

For a detailed agenda and registration intructions, visit www.GaryHarpst.com/tour/.

Top 10 Books for 2008 from ASTD

2008 was a great year for books on business, management, and learning.

Here are 10 that made the ASTD's (American Society for Training and Development) T+D readers’ lists over the last 12 months.

Among them?

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution by Gary Harpst.

CEOs: Time To Rethink Your Strategy

The December issue of Strategy+Business includes an article, "Rethink Your Strategy: An Urgent Memo to the CEO."

According to the memo, your first objective is to become as strong as possible, as fast as possible, with these five main lines of action.

1. Focus on your future.
2. Prepare to weather the storm.
3. Anticipate the future industry structure.
4. Resolve your game plan.
5. Prepare to take intelligent risks.

BOTTOMLINE: "The current economy will not get better immediately. We are in for more rough seas. But we are also entering a period during which the value of being able to act strategically and decisively for the long term will increase enormously. Preparing for this moment of opportunity is of paramount importance for your businesses’ position for years to come."

Best Business Book of 2008

According to an article published in Management-Issues, Dan Bobinski, CEO of the Center for Workplace Excellence, has released his annual recommendations for best business books.

According to Dan, "My number one recommendation this year is Gary Harpst's Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All the Other Problems Easier. by successful entrepreneur, CEO, and strategy execution expert, Gary Harpst.

Excerpt of Dan's review:

"If you are a business leader or if you run a business unit, you will be impressed with Gary Harpst's down-to-earth, practical, and very workable solutions. This book is number one on my list for several reasons. First, it's aimed directly at small and mid-sized companies - the majority of businesses. Second, Harpst emphasizes the need for a balance between execution and strategy, and never have I seen it explained so well.

Using clear instructions with easy-to-understand examples, Harpst shows that achieving excellence is not enough. Many companies reach what they define as excellence, but then fall out of it, usually floating back and forth between strategy and execution. Harpst explains how to avoid that and create enduring excellence. Also, the book has well-thought out diagrams that help readers "see" what to do."

Read the entire review here.

North Carolina CEOs Remain Confident & Focused

On October 29, best-selling author, serial entrepreneur, strategy execution expert and CEO Gary Harpst spoke at a Six Disciplines North Carolina event in the Research Triangle Park area to local business owners and chief executives.

After Gary’s presentation, Six Disciplines North Carolina surveyed this elite group of executives about the business climate and their plans for the upcoming year. To summarize, business owners were generally upbeat despite the economic situation. Most expect revenues this year to be higher than last, and they project that 2009 revenues will top those of 2008. More than 50 percent expect to add employees in 2009.

Below are the results from the survey:

1. How will your 2008 revenues (this fiscal year) compare to 2007?
36 percent said lower, and 64 percent said higher.

2. How do you expect 2009 revenues to compare with 2008?
36 percent said lower, and 64 percent said higher.

3. How will your employment change in 2009?
7 percent expected lower employment, 36 percent said about the same, and 57 percent said higher.

4. What will be your organization's top priorities for 2009?
(Respondents were asked to check all that apply.)

• 64 percent responded sustainable execution (improving team capability)
• 57 percent responded top line growth (investing in sales and/or marketing)
• 36 percent responded profitability/cost reduction commensurate with expected sales
• 14 percent responded stabilization of the organization (hunker down; avoid big risks)

5. Which of the following topics would be of most value to you in Q1 2009? (Respondents were asked to check all that apply.)

• 79 percent responded enhancing execution and performance
• 43 percent responded effective strategic planning
• 36 percent responded mining the customer's unspoken needs
• 14 percent chose stimulating and focusing on innovation
• 14 percent said marketing in a down economy
• 14 percent selected succession planning

For additional insights from this survey, contact Craig Landwehr, Managing Partner of Six Disciplines North Carolina.

Six Myths of Strategic Business Planning

Eric Kurjan, President of Six Disciplines - The Ohio Group, offers this article in the Toledo Free Press, entitled "Myths of Strategic Business Planning".

Myth No. 1: “We’re too small of an organization to need strategic planning.”
Myth No. 2: “Strategic planning should only be done once a year.”
Myth No. 3: “We don’t need a strategic plan! Plans are too restrictive; we are entrepreneurial!” Myth No. 4: “We can do it ourselves — without any help.”
Myth No. 5: “Strategic planning interferes with our real jobs; we don’t have time.”
Myth No. 6: “Strategic planning is done when the retreat is over.”

Read the entire article here.

Gaebler Ventures Interviews CEO Gary Harpst

Gaebler Ventures, a Chicago-based partnership that has invested in companies since 1999 and has established numerous innovative and market-leading enterprises, is a business incubator and holding company that develops and nurtures companies that are shaping the future.

To assist budding entrepreneurs, Gaebler interviews successful entrepreneurs and posts dozens of their stories here.

Recently, Gaebler interviewed serial entrepreneur and best-selling author Gary Harpst. You can read their interview, "Starting a Business Strategy Firm" here.

The Economic Acceleration Tour Comes to Columbus

Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?

Why is that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community? Why does it have to be only 3%? Can’t we do any better?

Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97% of businesses?

Well, these issues frustrate CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst, but he has a plan, and wants to share it with you.

That’s why he's kicking off the 50-city “Economic Acceleration Tour: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit”, sponsored by Six Disciplines, in Columbus on December 10, 2008 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton, from 8:00 – 10:30 AM. This event is co-sponsored by TechColumbus.Org.

Consider these facts about Columbus:

• Columbus ranks 7th in the nation among large metropolitan areas for its number of “high-impact” companies, those that produce both significant revenue growth and expanding employment.
• Yet only 3% (2.43 percent) of Columbus’ 82,810 businesses are considered to be high-impact.
• On average, it takes a company almost 20 years to enter this high-impact stage. Yet, three out of four companies cease to be high-impact after just four years.

On December 10, Gary will be sharing this new vision and a specific plan for changing the economic development equation with business and community leaders in the capital of his home state of Ohio.

To register for this event, visit: www.GaryHarpst.com/Tour/Columbus.

In attendance at the Columbus Economic Acceleration Tour event will be CEOs of small and midsized businesses, chamber of commerce executives, economic development executives, civic leaders, business incubator professionals, college and university business program chairs and faculty, quality program professionals, venture capitalists, private equity and angel investors, business coaches, management consultants, and professional service firm partners.

You're also invited to join Gary at an intensive private workshop (after the event) where he'll be coaching a select group of Columbus CEOs on how to craft a powerful strategic position – one that produces breakthrough results. Gary personally guarantees the return you’ll get by attending this workshop, as many of our clients would testify.

Hurry - space is limited to the first 7 participants! Register today at www.GaryHarpst.com/Tour/Columbus.

Gary Harpst Video - Explains Execution Revolution

Watch this short video of CEO and Six Disciplines founder Gary Harpst, as he briefly explains some of the concepts from his best-selling book Six Disciplines Execution Revolution (a 2008 Top 10 book from Amazon).

Six Disciplines Showcased in Entrepreneur Magazine

The November 2008 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine showcases an article about Eric Kurjan, President of Six Disciplines Northwest Ohio.

In the article, Business Mentoring: Years of managing and running businesses inspired one man to help others do the same, Kurjan describes his journey, and why he's chosen to run a Six Disciplines Center.

The article ends with Kurjan saying he has no regrets about his decision:

"There is nothing more rewarding than to be sitting across the desk from my CEO client, and he or she looks me in the eye and says, 'You have made a difference in our business.' That is the best paycheck of the day."

CEO Gary Harpst Named To “Excellence 100” Top Thought Leaders List

CEO, strategy execution expert, and best-selling author Gary Harpst was recently named to the “Excellence 100” top thought leaders list by Leadership Excellence magazine. The publication, with a readership of over 250,000, has ranked the top thought leaders in management and leadership for the past 25 years.

The entire list of the top 100 thought leaders can be found at http://www.eep.com/Merchant/newsite/best_100.html.

“Those who make our Excellence 100 list possess a rare combination of traits and abilities,” says Ken Shelton, founding editor of Leadership Excellence. “They display both depth and breadth, local and global awareness, conceptual originality and practical experience with application, implementation and execution.”

The annual ranking of thought leaders who make the Excellence 100 list today possess a rare combination of traits and abilities. Here are the eight criteria:

1. Preparation: academic and professional.


2. Character: values, ethics, beliefs, purpose, mission, integrity, walk the talk.


3. Principles: big message, point of view, tenets, main points.


4. Personality: charisma, style, originality, authenticity, one of a kind.


5. Performance: inspiring action, real-world performance, work ethic.


6. Experience: beyond local and regional, more national and international.


7. Expression: substance and style in writing, speaking, coaching, consulting, mentoring, training, or teaching.


8. Influence: difference, results, change, transformation.

Harpst recently launched a 50-city speaking engagement tour, entitled “Economic Acceleration Tour: Breaking The 3% Speed Barrier,” where he is sharing this new vision and a specific plan for changing the economic development equation among America’s top communities. The tour is sponsored by Six Disciplines. To learn more about the 50-city Economic Acceleration Tour, visit www.GaryHarpst.com/tour.

The economic acceleration plan comes from Harpst’s newest book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier,which has been named a nationwide bestseller by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and BusinessWeek, and was named a finalist in the Entrepreneurship & Small Business category of the National “Best Books” 2008 Awards by USABookNews.com. The book details the elements of a complete strategy execution program, clarifies why it could only have happened now, and explains why such a program will soon become a mainstream requirement for all successful businesses in the future.

Amazon's Best Business Books of 2008

Amazon recently released their "Best of 2008" top 10 lists for Business & Investing.

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, by Gary Harpst, was named #10 on the list of "Customer Favorites".

This year, they put their editors' picks and the year-end bestsellers for each category on the same page together, so you can easily compare. Click on "Editors' Picks" to see the editors' list of the best business and investing books of 2008. And click on "Customer Favorites" to find the bestselling business and investing books at Amazon.com during 2008.

New Book Review: Six Disciplines Execution Revolution

The November 2008 issue of Smart Business Miami offers a book review of Six Disciplines Execution Revolution by bestselling author Gary Harpst.

The review begins:

"There’s an old saying that once identified, a problem is already half-solved.The challenge is diagnosing and treating the right disease and not the symptoms.In today’s convulsive economic environment, that effort is growing increasingly difficult as business leaders confront challenges literally screaming for their attention. If asked, these leaders likely would describe their biggest problem as the issue they’re facing right at the moment.

While, on the surface, you can make a compelling case to tackle immediate issues,they are not the primary focus of running a business.

“No matter what the problems are today, they’ll be different tomorrow, and they will be bigger. There is onebusiness problem that, ifsolved, makes solving all other problems easier,” says Gary Harpst in his new book,“Six Disciplines Execution Revolution.”.....

Read the entire review here.

Avoiding The Epic Fail - Part II

Venture capitalist John Doerr with Kleiner Perkins lists the top things that start-up CEOs should do, based on a survey of his own start-up firms, and here’s what they suggest:

1. Act now. Act with speed. Raise money. Get a loan, secure financing. Focus, cut or sell.
2. Protect the vital core of the business. But use a scalpel not an ax. Be surgical. Protect the vital core of the company. Cut once, deeper than you think.
3. Make sure you have at least 18 months of cash. Or more — on a conservative revenue forecast.
4. Defer facility expansions. Don’t spend money on tech infrastructure, such as new software or computers.
5. Reevaluate your R&D priorities.
6. Renegotiate any contracts that you can. Everything is negotiable.
7. Remember, everyone in the organization should be selling, from the receptionist to the engineers.
8. Offer people equity instead of cash e.g. in place of bonuses. (You can do this with outside vendors as well).
9. Secure your cash. Treasuries, or treasury backed securities, are more secure than money market funds.
10. For your revenue plan, develop and obsess on leading indicators — e.g. bookings, unique visitors, conversions.
11. Over-communicate with everyone – employees, investors, partners and particularly customers. Don’t sugar coat things, communicate your resolve

The Art of Successful Innovation

Towers Perrin, a global professional services firm, recently published an innovation study and found that companies are adept at generating innovative ideas, but are far less effective at turning those ideas into reality.

Their findings suggest that the next battleground for companies will be around innovation sustainability -- building a “machine” to institutionalize and formalize innovation processes and outcomes in a more structured way

The biggest problem? They may be overly invested in the creation phase and significantly short-changing the implementation (execution) phase.

• 44% of survey respondents felt their company was not good at moving quickly from idea to implementation outpaced slightly the percentage (42%) who felt their companies did this well.

BOTTOMLINE: "The finding that organizations rate themselves relatively poorly when it comes to implementation is a serious concern because taking action -- commercializing an idea -- is what innovation is all about. We see a noticeable disconnect between organizations’ desire to innovate and their ability to do so effectively."

Creativity and Discipline - Keys To Radical Service Innovation

"Strategies on the frontiers of service design demand a blend of creativity and discipline."

So begins a recent article in BusinessWeek, which details a five-step framework for implementing innovation projects successfully, by offering "radical service innovation".

The five steps for radical service innovation:

1. Develop insight about the market
2. Create radical value propositions
3. Explore creative service models
4. Bend the rules of delivery
5. Iteratively pilot and refine the new service

BOTTOMLINE: "The market landscape for services is evolving constantly and rapidly. Both the market and customers expect nimbleness when it comes to innovative services. Frequent and radical innovations are key to being relevant in such a landscape. "

Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution Named Finalist in National “Best Book” 2008 Award

Best Selling Author Gary Harpst’s Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution Named Finalist in National “Best Book” 2008 Award

Harpst named a finalist in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business category

FINDLAY, Ohio, October 21, 2008 — Six Disciplines announced today that the bestselling book, Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier by author and CEO Gary Harpst, was named a finalist in the National “Best Books” 2008 Awards by USABookNews.com. Harpst’s latest book, published in July 2008, was named a finalist in the Business category: Entrepreneurship & Small Business.

“It’s an honor to receive the award and to know the Execution Revolution content and concept has been so well received,” said author and Six Disciplines CEO Gary Harpst. “Business owners across America are desperate for ways to rise to the top of their industry and stay there through consistent execution. Economic development can be accelerated, and sustainability is achieveable -- with the right process and support network to encourage accountability.”

Based on breakthrough research, field testing and proven best-practices, the thought-leading vision described by Harpst in Six Disciplines Execution Revolution sets a new course for how small and midsized businesses can finally confront the never-ending challenge of executing strategy.

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution details the elements of a complete strategy execution program, clarifies how it could only have happened now, and explains why such a program will soon become a mainstream requirement for all businesses.

In addition to this award, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution has been named a nationwide bestseller by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and BusinessWeek.

This year, Harpst has addressed industry leaders on business sustainability and the importance of small businesses in economic development at events including the American Chamber of Commerce Executives and the Association of Small Business Development Centers.

Harpst’s first book, Six Disciplines for Excellence, published in 2007, was previously named a Finalist in the National “Best Books” 2007 Awards, by USABookNews.com, in two Business categories: Entrepreneurship & Small Business, and Management & Leadership.

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution are available from Six DisciplinesPublishing.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 800-CEO-Read, or from any bookstore nationwide. Hardcover, 208 pages, $12.95, ISBN 978-0-9816411-0-2.

About Gary Harpst

Gary Harpst, a highly successful entrepreneur and CEO, spent twenty years as leader of Solomon Software, which implemented more than 60,000 businesses management systems in small and midsized businesses, before it was eventually sold to Microsoft. Today, as founder and CEO of Six Disciplines, Harpst and his team have developed the first complete strategy execution program, designed specifically for small and midsized businesses. The Six Disciplines® Program includes a repeatable business-building methodology, local external accountability coaching, an innovative execution management software system, and the advantages of a broad learning community.

Harpst is also the author of two award-winning business improvement books, Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution and Six Disciplines for Excellence. A highly sought-after keynote speaker, Harpst uses his 30 years of business leadership and entrepreneurial experience to provide a fertile inventory of hard-hitting, real-world examples that pepper his presentations and engages his audiences. Visit http://www.garyharpst.com/.

About Six Disciplines
Six Disciplines, founded in 2000, has developed the first complete strategy execution program, specifically for small- and midsized businesses. The Six Disciplines program integrates a repeatable methodology to drive organizational learning, ongoing external coaching to ensure accountability, an execution software system to align daily activities of every stakeholder, and community learning to accelerate and sustain business excellence. The program is offered exclusively through a growing national network of locally-owned Six Disciplines Centers. Businesses that have implemented the Six Disciplines program include those from the Inc. 500, ISO-9000 certified companies, and a 2007 Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award recipient. Visit http://www.sixdisciplines.com/.

About the National Best Books Awards
USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA) on October 20, 2008. Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books. Visit http://www.usabooknews.com/.

Communication Essential During Economic Downturn

Consulting firm Watson Wyatt offers these best-practices for keeping communication as a top priority during tough economic times:

• Be a leader. Leaders don’t have to have all the answers. Tell employees what you know and what you don’t. Explain the steps the organization is taking to identify issues and resolve problems. Knowing senior executives are there to lead through uncertain economic times is crucial to your people.
• Show your strengths. Reinforce the core competencies and values that make your organization successful. Talk about how they will help the organization thrive in the future.
• Be visible. Credibility, conviction and passion are important messages that only actual presence can convey. Employees can benefit from seeing engaged and informed senior leaders through Webcasts or other interactive vehicles.
• Use your team. Make sure the management team knows how and what to communicate, and that no one is a bystander. Limit potential damage from leaders’ informal conversations that are overheard and ripple through every organization.
• Be coordinated. Coordinate your internal and external messages. Employees should hear company news from the company first.
• Share responsibility. Be clear about what you want your managers and your workforce to do. People want to help — tell them how. It’s never a bad time to reinforce customer focus.
• Give up the myth of message control. Find ways to listen to what is on employees’ minds. Monitor the press and social media for what is being said about your company and your industry. Have a process for quickly developing and distributing answers to rumors and for clarifying inaccurate statements, such as possible layoffs.
• Be humane. Some employees are experiencing personal trauma from falling 401(k) account balances and home prices. Acknowledge their pain.

Six Disciplines On The Amazon Kindle

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, rated as a bestseller by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and BusinessWeek, is now available for the Amazon Kindle - for only $9.99.

• Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
• Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
• Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
• Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
• More than 180,000 books available, including more than 98 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers

More about the Amazon Kindle - here.

Gary Harpst - Podcast on PriceWaterhouseCoopers Startup Show

Gary Harpst, CEO of Six Disciplines, recently was interviewed on the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Startup Show.

You can listen to the conversation here.

Gary Harpst Podcast: How Smart Businesses Succeed

“Don’t think of your biggest problem as the thing in front of you,” says best-selling author and Six Disciplines CEO Gary Harpst. “Your biggest problem is that as you solve problems and overcome hurdles, bigger ones will come and until you build an organization that recognizes that, you’re going to have this up and down reaction-oriented type of business.”

Harpst talks about how he built his business, Six Disciplines, in this podcast by Central Valley Business Times.

Six Disciplines Audio Books - Now Available

Audio books of the best-selling "Six Disciplines Execution Revolution" and the award-winning "Six Disciplines for Excellence" are now available - exclusively from Six Disciplines Publishing.

Each audio book is on 4 CDs, and each are available for U.S. retail $24.95. Order your audio books here!

The Benefits (?) Of The Networked Workforce

According to the latest Pew Internet research report on networked workers, people who own BlackBerrys and similar devices (Smartphones) pretty much never stop working.

Some findings from their research:

• 62% of employed adults use the internet or email at their job, and many have cell phones and Blackberries that keep them connected even when they are not at work
• 45% of employed Americans report doing at least some work from home
• 18% of working Americans say they do job-related tasks at home almost daily
• 70% of device owners check work-related emails on the weekend
• 55% check work-related email on vacation
• 70% check work-related email when they’re taking a sick day
• 43% check work-related email when they’re shopping or commuting
• 49% of workers say that technology has made their lives more stressful.
• 71% said it has increased their flexibility.

Suprising? Not anymore.

It's a Digital Life - and there's no going back!

A Leadership Crisis?

With all the bad news coming eminating from Wall Street, here's some refreshing news about leadership.

Our research shows the top most commonly mentioned attributes of an admired Leader:

• Integrity
• Honesty
• Inspirational
• Competent

Any more that have to be near the top? I encourage your Comments!

Small Business Television Network Features CEO Gary Harpst

Small Business Television Network (SBTV) features five podcasts with CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst.

The podcasts cover the following topics:

• Setting Business Strategies
• Execution Revolution and the Challenge
• Surviving Slow Down Times
• Sometimes It Is Time To Fire Your Client
• Motivating the Workforce

Listen to these podcasts here.

Managing Teleworkers

As gas prices continue to skyrocket, more and more companies are using "teleworking" as an option for knowledge workers. Studies have demonstrated that increasing the number of teleworkers would ease the demand for gasoline, lowering fuel prices and lessening rush hour traffic.

In fact, about 28 million American workers do at least part of their jobs from home offices, telework centers, or other remote locations, according to a recent survey by the International Telework Association and Council.

Sometimes referred to as telecommuting or remote working, the benefits of being able to work from anywhere is just one more tool organizations are using to attract, motivate and retain talent and to foster a healthy work-life balance.

Fortunately for savvy managers, there's actually little difference between managing the performance of a teleworker and managing the employee who works at the main office.

Here are some guidelines for managing teleworkers:

• Break employee work into objectives, projects, tasks, and action items. Assigning, tracking, evaluating, and rewarding work output using these specifics dramatically improves your knowledge of work activities, and helps with consistency in establishing expectations.
• Telework needs to be performance-based - not activity-based. Just because you can't see an employee doesn't mean he's not hard at work. Tasks and projects must have clear goals, deadlines, and outcomes - they must be measureable. Results are more important than the activities themselves. Focus on the results of work performed not where it is performed.
• Keep connected through technology. Phone, email, instant messaging - all driven by the Internet - are enabling teleworkers to be connected - and stay connected.
• Establish a regular means of communications. Status updates and progress reporting needs to be done regularly and consistently.

Strategy Execution in Leadership Excellence

Read Gary's Harpst's newest thought-leadership article "Strategy Execution: Go With A Complete Program" - as published in the September issue of the highly-respected Leadership Excellence magazine.

Introducing Change Into Your Organization

In a new article published in IndustryWeek, lean manufacturing expert Jamie Flinchbaugh
offers suggestions on how to introduce lean into your manufacturing operations. Flichbaugh's suggestions have broader implications for all organizations.

The assumptions:

• Employees are naturally resistant to change. That's why when companies first introduce lean into their operations, it's often necessary to gain buy-in from the staff to facilitate real change.

The suggestions:

• Plan a common 90-second to three-minute standard communication message that will leave a lasting impression with workers
• Use the informal time to explain what will change and why it's necessary rather than as a teaching session.
• Make these messages consistent to build understanding and support from employees.
• Ensure the staff understands that lean is being implemented because the process is flawed; not the employees doing the work.

Leadership Development Crisis?

Consulting firm DDI set out to examine why confidence in leaders is declining despite a heightened focus on developing leadership talent.

After surveying almost 1,500 HR professionals and more than 12,000 leaders from 76 countries, DDI's survey (as featured in Management Issues) reveals what it described as "major shortfalls in leadership development initiatives around the world".

Key findings:

• Although 75% of the executives surveyed said that improving leadership talent was a top business priority, just 40% were satisfied with what their organizations were actually doing to help them.
• Amost 60% of executives said that they and their manager had not agreed on a formal written plan for their development.
• Just 25% of organizations monitor their leadership development programs or formally measure their results.
• Another problem area seems to be succession planning, with only 50% of organizations globally have succession plans for their leadership team -- and US organizations even lower than the global sample.

Reason for the dissatisfaction? While executives want more opportunities to learn on the job, such as special projects or moving to a new assignment, their senior management seldom takes responsibility for making this happen.

BOTTOMLINE: According to DDI's president: "When times get tough, leadership skills are really put to the test and organizations with the right quality and quantity of leaders will weather the storm better than those less well- prepared. In the face of pressure to reduce costs, organizations must remain firm in their commitment to invest in leader assessment and development."

Small Business Advantages for Talent Management

What is the most productive way to invest in your workforce, and what are the chances you will see a tangible return?

A new study conducted jointly by IBM's Institute for Business Value and Washington-based think tank Human Capital Institute (HCI) has yielded promising answers to those questions.

Respondents scored their companies in 30 specific competencies, which fell into six key practices of talent management: strategy development, attracting and retaining, motivating and developing, deploying and managing, connecting and enabling, and transforming and sustaining.

Some of the key findings:

• Companies with high scores across the board were more likely to have strong financial performance.
• Organizational size was a main difference-maker between companies that did well on the survey and those that did poorly.
• Organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees were 4% better than the total sample at collaboration and sharing knowledge, 6% better at promoting virtual working, and 4% better at identifying relevant skills.
• Surprisingly, medium-size companies—between 1,000 and 10,000 employees—were less likely to have implemented five out of the six talent management practices in the study.
• Knowledge-intensive businesses tended to focus on development and collaboration, while service-intensive ones emphasized employee attraction and retention.

BOTTOMLINE: According to their research, "The best way to invest in talent management depends greatly on the size and industry of a company. And there's no easy fix for the human resources woes that are becoming more common in all business.

But for those looking to link talent to profits, there were two competencies that a majority of the best-performing companies had in common: understanding and addressing workforce attitudes and engagement levels; and aligning employee incentives with appropriate business goals."

Execution - And Building A Learning Organization

Many executives believe that relentless execution—efficient, timely, consistent production and delivery of goods or services—is the surefire path to customer satisfaction and positive financial results.

Yet, according to Harvard professor Amy Edmonson, placing value only on "getting things right the first time", organizations are unable to take the risks necessary to improve and evolve.

However, firms that put a premium on what Edmondson calls execution-as-learning focus not so much on how a process should be carried out as on how it should evolve.

Organizations that foster execution-as-learning provide employees with psychological safety. No one is penalized for asking for help or making a mistake. These companies also employ four distinct approaches to day-to-day work:

1. They use the best available knowledge (which is understood to be a moving target) to inform the design of specific process guidelines.
2. They encourage employee collaboration by making information available when and where it’s needed.
3. They routinely capture data on processes to discover how work really happens.
4. Finally, they study these data in an effort to find ways to improve execution.

Taken together, these practices form the basis of a learning infrastructure that makes continual learning part of business as usual.

Inspiration from the Olympics

One day last March, at the University of Michigan, where Michael Phelps and several of his Club Wolverine teammates were training, the whiteboard poolside bore this message.

"In business, words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality."

The quote originated from Harold S. Geneen, former president and CEO of ITT, but, in sports, it's the same.

Enjoy the Olympics - truly the ultimate inspiration in performance excellence!

Innovation and Execution - Part II

There's a perception that large companies are the primary drivers of innovation. Reality, however, tells us that it's the small and midsized businesses that provide most of the innovation that propels economic growth.

In the July/August issue of The American, CEO Carl Schramm and researcher Robert Litan from the Kauffman Foundation offer their take in "The Growth Solution."

In the article, they lay out a seven step plan for achieving a high-growth, entrepreneurial economy through “radical innovation.”

Here's a quick summary:

1. Create a skilled work force.
2. Embrace high-skilled immigrants.
3. Rethink the intellectual property system.
4. Embrace global trade.
5. Reform health insurance.
6. Reduce poverty.
7. Address climate change.

BOTTOMLINE: While these are all worthy steps in the march toward an entrepreneurial economy, it seems that the brush is broader than any one organization can paint. In order to participate in the next wave of innovation, organizations must understand that to innovate, all members of the organization need to fully understand its strategy and how their daily activities support that strategy. Aligning every person every day with the goals of the organization, and measuring progress continually, is the first step toward innovating purposefully.

The Challenges for Tomorrow's CEOs

From Harvard Business Publishing, comes a new article "Four Challenges for Tomorrow's CEOs" in which author Umair Hague argues that the following are four of the most critical challenges:

1. A crippled global financial system.
2. Endemic underinvestment in innovation.
3. Accelerating disequilibrium.
4. Shallow strategy.

His assessment?

"Business hasn't changed much, but today's array of tectonic global shocks demands a different, radically better kind of business. Yesterday's corporations visibly cannot meet today's economic challenges."

BOTTOMLINE: I'd argue that there are many challenges for today's and tomorrow's CEOs, but NONE is more vital or critical than the ability to execute strategy. It's what the Execution Revolution is all about!

Six Disciplines Execution Revolution on New York Times Bestseller List

The new book by CEO Gary Harpst, "Six Disciplines Execution Revolution" has been named to the New York Times Bestseller list for Hardcover Business Best Sellers.

Six Disciplines CEO Gary Harpst Appears on FoxBusiness

On July 31, Six Disciplines founder, CEO and bestselling author, Gary Harpst, appeared on the "Money for Breakfast" show on FoxBusiness TV, discussing the timely topic: "Recession: Yes or No?"

View the entire video clip of the interview here.

Exquisite Writing Reviews Six Disciplines Execution Revolution

The folks at Exquisite Writing have published their review of Six Disciplines Execution Revolution.

The review begins:

"The latest book by Gary Harpst, "Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier" is a follow-up for his successful previous book, "Six Disciplines for Excellence". In a high-tech world, executing stategy is not only mind-boggling but seems to be set only for high level businesses. Harpst's book sets the course for small and mid-sized businesses instead, detailing the entire strategy program and how important it is for a business as a mainstream requirement."

Read the entire review here.