Execute. or Be Executed

Strategy alone does not determine business success. It s how well you implement that strategy, how well you execute those ideas and plans. Effective execution requires looking at your entire business and finding ways to improve each part of the process your leadership, your people, your business process, your partners, your technological skill. It requires really implementing the improvements you see necessary, getting your employees to fully participate, measuring your progress, adjusting, correcting, applauding, and then repeating the process all again... and again... and again. This book will help you, your organization, and your people to use the organizational tools you already own to close the gap between your dreams and reality. This book is filled with do-able ideas. It will assist you to look outside your traditional viewing (and thinking) platform. Research information and examples abound. Use them not only to consider changing your modus operandi, use them to help you decide how to change your approach. Execution is touched by so many factors, from the style of the leader, to the mindset of the people from the skills brought to the table to the environment in which execution is to take place from the partners involved to the technology utilized. Each part of the book focuses on one area of execution. Part One: Examines the characteristics of today s organizations, today s leaders and today s people. Part Two: Looks at the members of the execution team. Part Three: Highlights in detail the skills required for effective execution to take place. Part Four: Focuses on the partners in execution from the resources to the technology. Part Five: Concentrates on the execution experience. At the conclusion of each part there are Marketplace Lessons that offer up valuable learning experiences. All together the book discusses significant elements of execution and offers many invaluable suggestions you will use on an ongoing basis. These will assist you to move from strategic thinking to strategic doing. Take charge of execution!

Sam Geist's business roots were first established in a small sporting goods store in Toronto, Canada. With his belief that at start-up, business operation is 90% hard work, 10% know-how, he gradually grew The Outdoor Stores into a 15-store national sporting goods chain. In 1980, he sold his multi-million dollar organization to his largest competitor. That experience was invaluable in clarifying his understanding of sales and marketing, the marketplace and its customers. Capitalizing on this extensive experience, Sam opened his own advertising, marketing and consulting firm. His 14 years of agency experience taught him well about the rigors of marketplace demands and marketplace unpredictability. He was able to hone his marketing skills, while he developed a valuable double-edge perspective that of client and marketer. He closed the agency in 1994 to concentrate on lecturing, presenting seminars and consulting. For the last 13 years, he has worked as a professional speaker, consultant, and facilitator to companies and associations across the globe. He has extensive experience consulting to companies involved in restructuring and is the author of a book on business strategy entitled Why Should Someone Do Business With You...Rather Than Someone Else? and one on leadership entitled Would You Work for You? His customized programs focus on business strategy, leadership, customer service, the changing marketplace and maximizing staff productivity. Before each session, Geist conducts industry-related and company-specific research. Utilizing his years of experience he prepares and presents a variety of specialized actionable programs. While he has, over the years, spoken to organizations in a great many industries, recently he has stood in front of clients in the automotive, finance, insurance, banking, construction, manufacturing, government, retail, franchising and service sectors. His most requested programs include: Why Should Someone Do Business With You...Rather Than Someone Else? (strategies to get and keep customers); Execute...or Be Executed (implementing specific actions) Look Out! Here Comes Tomorrow (managing change actively); Would You Work For You? (preparing for leadership); If I Hear Customer Service One More Time, I ll . . . (customer service); and Differentiate . . . or Die (marketing to maximize competitive advantages). As a facilitator during hands-on, interactive discussions and brainstorming workshops, Sam uses the Socratic method to encourage participants to question themselves, to think about their business in new ways in order to change, improve, and grow. He insists that asking tough questions and answering them honestly is crucial to the well being of every organization. He shows participants how to capitalize on their resources, and how to turn their knowledge into action. By each program's end, participants have so much more than just stuff to think about. They have the ammunition, know-how, and incentive to turn their strategic thinking into strategic doing.