The inability to set good strategy can sink a company - and a leader's career. A recent "Wall Street Journal" study revealed that the number one most sought after executive skill by organisations is strategic thinking, but few leaders have that skill set. In this book, Rich Horwath dissects the three most important elements of strategic thinking, breaks them down into simple and attainable skills, and shows readers how to apply them every day. He provides managers with a clear path to mastery of three disciplines: Acumen - generate critical insights through a step-by-step evaluation of the business and its environment; Allocation - focus limited resources of time, talent, and money; and, Action - implement a system to guarantee effective execution and communication of strategy throughout the organisation. This book is based on research with senior executives from more than 150 companies and Horwath's own experience as a professional strategist. Armed with the knowledge from this book, every reader can become an expert strategist and an invaluable member of his or her organisation.
Deep Dive
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More About the Author
Rich Horwath helps people live strategically--to get more out of their business and more out of their life. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best selling author on strategy. As the CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, he leads executive teams through the strategy process and has helped more than 50,000 managers around the world develop their strategic thinking skills. As a former chief strategy officer and professor of strategy, he brings both real-world experience and practical expertise to help groups build their strategy skills. Rich's work has been profiled on CNBC, Investor's Business Daily, CBS, NBC and FOX TV. His most recent books include "Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy" and "Strategy for You: Building a Bridge to the Life You Want."
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In business, have a plan. Apply strategic thinking to the plan. Implement.
That about sums up this common sense book.
Books that tout a methodology for business success are always problematic, in my view. They point out failed companies because they've failed, saying, "See, if the company's leaders only did x, y, and z, they'd still be in business." And, "Now, these companies, still in business, are obviously applying x, y, and z correctly." 20-20 hindsight.
Take General Motors. In 2009 General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Before this time, it was an example of a company with a strategic plan (which apparently was to sell large, gas-guzzling cars and trucks). You hear that call from the stands for fuel efficiency? Author Rich Horwath writes that Bob Lutz, former chairman of GM, stated "The customer is at best just a rear-view mirror. He can tell you what he likes among the choices already out there. But when it comes to the future, why expect the customer to be the expert in clairvoyance or in creativity? After all, isn't that really what he expects us to be?" (p. 64). The Wall Street Journal lamented, "For the many individual General Motors Corp. shareholders wondering what their stock is still worth, the answer looks pretty bleak." So, what does this mean? Before, they were strategic thinkers, and then they were not strategic thinkers, and then they failed, and if they reemerge from their new organizational structure then they must be strategic thinkers again?
I have a diver's headache.
Here's what I want, one time. I want authors like Horwath to make predictions. "Companies A, B, and C are not applying the type of strategic thinking that I believe is required for their success. Ninety percent of their employees don't even know that they have a strategic plan. Therefore, they will fail, or fail to grow." And "Companies D, F, and G are applying the type of strategic thinking that I believe is required for their success. Ninety percent of their employees know that they have a strategic plan. Therefore, they will succeed, and grow."
Is that asking too much? After all, this book IS subtitled "...The Proven Method..."
Horwath also tries too hard to use the "dive" analogies throughout. It feels like an scheme to make his diving hobby a legitimate business-related expense. Seriously! And I winced at his attempts to co-mingle biological concepts into the discussion. For example:
For microorganisms in a test tube, "If the animals were of the same genus and a different species, they were able to live together peaceably. However, if the animals were of the same genus and the same species, they were not able to coexist. This led to the Principle of Competitive Exclusion (POCE), which states that no two species can coexist that make their living in the identical way. Open the newspaper and read about the companies that are struggling and it's a good bet one of the reasons is their failure to heed the Principle of Competitive Exclusion" (p. 29). The principle really states that two species that compete for the exact same resources cannot stably coexist. So two different species, using the same exact (and limiting) resources, cannot coexist. Horwath wrote, "If the animals were of the same genus and a different species, they were able to live together peaceably." No, that's not what the POCE says... they DON'T coexist. And he writes, "However, if the animals were of the same genus and the same species, they were not able to coexist." No, that's not what the POCE says... if they are the same species, they are... the same species! There's no interspecific competition by definition! So when Horwath states, "Open the newspaper and read about the companies that are struggling and it's a good bet one of the reasons is their failure to heed the Principle of Competitive Exclusion," this may or may not be true. However, clearly Horwath doesn't understand the concept. Ecology 101.
Frogs changing "... into another form of life..." (p. 36)? I think they are still frogs, not domestic aliens. Horwath also stated "Failure to understand and adapt to the changing context can ruin even the most successful of companies. As Charles Darwin said, 'It's not the strongest of the species who survive, nor even the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change'" (p. 56). Darwin was not discussing business strategy. Natural selection works because more organisms are produced than can survive, and there is differential mortality and reproduction based on heritable characteristics. There is no Darwinian goal to be the most successful company.
Finally, Horwath uses an example from an alleged 2500 year old story about Chinese General Sun Tzu executing two women to make a point to the king (p. 115). Horwath concludes "Now that's strategy execution" (execution is italicized). It is difficult for me to understand why Horwath would use the horrific execution of women (as concubines, they were probably slaves), to make a point. There's a level of insensitivity here that bothers me.
Another 20-20 hindsight business book...
That about sums up this common sense book.
Books that tout a methodology for business success are always problematic, in my view. They point out failed companies because they've failed, saying, "See, if the company's leaders only did x, y, and z, they'd still be in business." And, "Now, these companies, still in business, are obviously applying x, y, and z correctly." 20-20 hindsight.
Take General Motors. In 2009 General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Before this time, it was an example of a company with a strategic plan (which apparently was to sell large, gas-guzzling cars and trucks). You hear that call from the stands for fuel efficiency? Author Rich Horwath writes that Bob Lutz, former chairman of GM, stated "The customer is at best just a rear-view mirror. He can tell you what he likes among the choices already out there. But when it comes to the future, why expect the customer to be the expert in clairvoyance or in creativity? After all, isn't that really what he expects us to be?" (p. 64). The Wall Street Journal lamented, "For the many individual General Motors Corp. shareholders wondering what their stock is still worth, the answer looks pretty bleak." So, what does this mean? Before, they were strategic thinkers, and then they were not strategic thinkers, and then they failed, and if they reemerge from their new organizational structure then they must be strategic thinkers again?
I have a diver's headache.
Here's what I want, one time. I want authors like Horwath to make predictions. "Companies A, B, and C are not applying the type of strategic thinking that I believe is required for their success. Ninety percent of their employees don't even know that they have a strategic plan. Therefore, they will fail, or fail to grow." And "Companies D, F, and G are applying the type of strategic thinking that I believe is required for their success. Ninety percent of their employees know that they have a strategic plan. Therefore, they will succeed, and grow."
Is that asking too much? After all, this book IS subtitled "...The Proven Method..."
Horwath also tries too hard to use the "dive" analogies throughout. It feels like an scheme to make his diving hobby a legitimate business-related expense. Seriously! And I winced at his attempts to co-mingle biological concepts into the discussion. For example:
For microorganisms in a test tube, "If the animals were of the same genus and a different species, they were able to live together peaceably. However, if the animals were of the same genus and the same species, they were not able to coexist. This led to the Principle of Competitive Exclusion (POCE), which states that no two species can coexist that make their living in the identical way. Open the newspaper and read about the companies that are struggling and it's a good bet one of the reasons is their failure to heed the Principle of Competitive Exclusion" (p. 29). The principle really states that two species that compete for the exact same resources cannot stably coexist. So two different species, using the same exact (and limiting) resources, cannot coexist. Horwath wrote, "If the animals were of the same genus and a different species, they were able to live together peaceably." No, that's not what the POCE says... they DON'T coexist. And he writes, "However, if the animals were of the same genus and the same species, they were not able to coexist." No, that's not what the POCE says... if they are the same species, they are... the same species! There's no interspecific competition by definition! So when Horwath states, "Open the newspaper and read about the companies that are struggling and it's a good bet one of the reasons is their failure to heed the Principle of Competitive Exclusion," this may or may not be true. However, clearly Horwath doesn't understand the concept. Ecology 101.
Frogs changing "... into another form of life..." (p. 36)? I think they are still frogs, not domestic aliens. Horwath also stated "Failure to understand and adapt to the changing context can ruin even the most successful of companies. As Charles Darwin said, 'It's not the strongest of the species who survive, nor even the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change'" (p. 56). Darwin was not discussing business strategy. Natural selection works because more organisms are produced than can survive, and there is differential mortality and reproduction based on heritable characteristics. There is no Darwinian goal to be the most successful company.
Finally, Horwath uses an example from an alleged 2500 year old story about Chinese General Sun Tzu executing two women to make a point to the king (p. 115). Horwath concludes "Now that's strategy execution" (execution is italicized). It is difficult for me to understand why Horwath would use the horrific execution of women (as concubines, they were probably slaves), to make a point. There's a level of insensitivity here that bothers me.
Another 20-20 hindsight business book...
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having worked with management in different industries in various parts of the country it has become apartent to me that strategic thinking occurs significantly less than I first thought. Business leaders over the past couple of years seem to be very short term thinkers. While times were good it was easy to cover up bad decisions but now that revenues are down it is very obvious that their acumen was overestimated. I was some what surprread in Rich Horwath's book that 85% of executive leadership spends less than an hour a month discussing strategy, what are they doing the rest of the month? I believe all leaders can use further development in the strategic thinking arena to keep their skills sharp and to enhance their companies performance. Rich Horwath offers in his latest book, "Deep Dive", a plunge into waters of business creativity, and the unseen jewels that reside beneath the surface.
Complacency has caused more damage in corporate America than foreign competition. New strategies and ways of thinking are how we can turn things around. During an economic downturn, when all of your instinct tells you to hold onto your business model at all costs, this is the precise moment when new strategies are needed the most. What "Deep Dive" does is to identify how to maximize the productivity of a brain storming sessions and eliminate any unnecessary risk when implementing a new strategy.
Several great strategic thinking concepts and methods are introduced in "Deep Dive" and are summarized at the end of each chapter. These examples given through out the book can be utilized across any organization in any functional area. Tools such as the OODA Loop and Contextual Radar methods reveal the context in which particular ideas need to flourish. Rich drives home the fundamentals of his program, stating and restating his three central strategic points, `Acumen, Allocation, Action', which form the outline of his chapters.
Rich Horwath has created a wonderful compilation of methods for businesses that make strategic thinking more clear in this complex global marketplace we live in. He provides a complete list of references given where readers can find further information on the particular methods that suit them or their company best. What "Deep Dive" provides is a sense of focus on the importance of constantly shifting the way a business rides the rough and tumble waters of our economic reality.
"Deep Dive" is about being objective and not just following the school of fish swimming along the surface. Leaders looking to delve down below the surface and open their eyes to see what is going on around them will be justly rewarded.
Complacency has caused more damage in corporate America than foreign competition. New strategies and ways of thinking are how we can turn things around. During an economic downturn, when all of your instinct tells you to hold onto your business model at all costs, this is the precise moment when new strategies are needed the most. What "Deep Dive" does is to identify how to maximize the productivity of a brain storming sessions and eliminate any unnecessary risk when implementing a new strategy.
Several great strategic thinking concepts and methods are introduced in "Deep Dive" and are summarized at the end of each chapter. These examples given through out the book can be utilized across any organization in any functional area. Tools such as the OODA Loop and Contextual Radar methods reveal the context in which particular ideas need to flourish. Rich drives home the fundamentals of his program, stating and restating his three central strategic points, `Acumen, Allocation, Action', which form the outline of his chapters.
Rich Horwath has created a wonderful compilation of methods for businesses that make strategic thinking more clear in this complex global marketplace we live in. He provides a complete list of references given where readers can find further information on the particular methods that suit them or their company best. What "Deep Dive" provides is a sense of focus on the importance of constantly shifting the way a business rides the rough and tumble waters of our economic reality.
"Deep Dive" is about being objective and not just following the school of fish swimming along the surface. Leaders looking to delve down below the surface and open their eyes to see what is going on around them will be justly rewarded.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In Deep Dive, the author takes us into the offices of senior executives from more than 150 companies. He gives the reader the information he needs to generate critical insights, to focus limited resources and to implement a system that guarantees effective execution. You learn how to communicate your strategy throughout your company.
In my own business, writing sales copy for all types of businesses, I've learned that developing a strategy and executing it, communicating it, is perhaps the main downfall of most businesses. Armed with the information in this book, you can save your company from this disaster.
Highly recommended.
- Susanna K. Hutcheson
In my own business, writing sales copy for all types of businesses, I've learned that developing a strategy and executing it, communicating it, is perhaps the main downfall of most businesses. Armed with the information in this book, you can save your company from this disaster.
Highly recommended.
- Susanna K. Hutcheson
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book with strong ideas to follow
I think this book hits on some good points and brings up good suggestions that people can do better when looking at there business.
Published 15 days ago by Steven McCray
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written and thoughtful treatment of a very important business...
This is a well written and thoughtful treatment of a very important business topic: Strategic Thinking. Read more
Published 2 months ago by R. Martin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a great book
I was looking forward to learning a new methodology but this book isn't it. Lots of self promotion and time worn thinking. Read more
Published 5 months ago by aplayer2
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good principles for advertising research and execution
Dense, digestable, clear. A quick read for the depth of material. Obviously based on clarity gained from years of experience. Read more
Published 8 months ago by chris stadler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Deep Dive
I liked the comparison of "deep diving" like a swimmer approach to strategic thinking approach. Gives you good mental visuals while learning the process. Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. Caruso
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food for Thought
This book game me good ideas! A plan gives better results and puts everyone on the same page to the same goals. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Photo Princess
5.0 out of 5 stars
Strategy Revealed
Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action An excellent and insightful book about an abstract topic that few have clarity... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Brian K. Seitz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical, Powerful, Actionable. A must read if your serious about...
Practical, Powerful, Actionable. A must read if your serious about success.
Any business can benefit from reading and implementing the strategies from Deep Dive. Read more
Any business can benefit from reading and implementing the strategies from Deep Dive. Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Attitude and preparation determine altitude...and also depth
There are business situations in which the goal is to ascend (e.g. to reach a higher level of productivity, efficiency, profitability) and other situations in which the goal is to... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Robert Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very practical
Deep Dive is one of the most practical books written on strategy. The tools and models suggested are very simple and appeals to one's common sense. Read more
Published on April 25, 2011 by Rajesh Rangarajan
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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