Ahead of the Curve: A Guide to Applied Strategic Thinking

People are discovering they are drowning in a sea of tactical activitiesand short-term operational demands. They find themselves left behind when the needs of their customers change. This book will show you how to allocate time and energy to think ahead, add value, and innovate for the future. It addresses the need to carve out time, learn to tame the operational beast, and get our strategic bearing in life.

Today, managers and individual contributors alike are redefining what it means to truly be successful. People are discovering that too much emphasis is placed on the now; winning and performing current roles and activities. Many people in the workplace have discovered that they are drowning under the weight of tactical activities and short-term operational demands. This book will show you how to allocate some time and energy to think ahead, add value, and innovate for the future. To be exceptional, we need to be effective at both strategy and execution. We need to be great today and prepared to be great tomorrow. This means that we have to carve out some time, learn to tame the operational beast, and get our strategic bearing in life.

Nearly all of the popular books, articles, and training focus on the grand strategic planning at the senior level. There is no question that many organizations have a need for high level corporate strategic planning. However, it is just as important to have everyone in the organization thinking strategically and applying these principles in their own world. If organizations want to be proactive and forward thinking, then its members at all levels will need to think about the future in entrepreneurial and innovative ways, especially in their individual areas of responsibility. The question is, how can team leaders, project managers, sales representatives, engineers, and others start thinking strategically? What skills are needed? How can one apply them at a practical level? How can organizations get their employees to be more innovative, look around corners, plan ahead, and bravely take on the future?

This book is for anyone who is looking for answers to these questions, for those who want to be on track, in control, and prepared for the future. Through real life experiences, illustrated examples, and straightforward activities and tools, Ahead of the Curve will enlighten readers; cause them to think, plan, and act more strategically at the individual level and on the front lines of work.

Steven J. Stowell, Ph.D. is the founder and president of the Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness. He is the co-author of The Coach, Creating Partnerships for a Competitive Edge; Win-Win Partnerships, Be on the Leading Edge with Synergistic Coaching; Teamwork, We have met the Enemy and They Are Us;Leading Groups to Solutions, A Practical Guide for Facilitators and Team Members. Steve has published articles in Development and Training, ASTD, ASBA, and Executinve Excellence Magazines. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife, Debbie, and their four children.