Storm Rider: Becoming a Strate

"Strategic thinking is not the lighthouse in a storm. It’s the storm—dynamic, dangerous and all-powerful."

Strategic thinking can catapult you from the safe, mundane and fatal world of doing the same things in the same manner as your competition into the rewarding role of a Storm Rider. For the first time, the abstract concept of strategy has been chiseled away to reveal the tangible skill sets of strategic thinking. The result is a clearly defined roadmap to becoming a more effective strategic thinker. Becoming a great strategist will enable you to distance your company from the competition and help you stand out from your colleagues.

In this practical and content-rich guide to becoming a more effective strategic thinker, Rich Horwath identifies the five primary skill sets of strategic thinking:
1. Discovering purpose
2. Creating differentiation
3. Decision making
4. Problem solving
5. Sculpting strategy

Mastering these skill sets will enable executives at all levels to:
-create powerful mission, vision and value statements to unleash and channel the energy of the organization;
-identify and effectively utilize differentiation to separate your company, product or service from the competition;
-make better and more consistent decisions;
-innovatively solve problems and overcome obstacles;
-develop breakthrough strategy using a three-step process that results in a concise two-page blueprint for your business.

Horwath shares his innovative concepts and tools, including the Strategy ProfileSM, Strategy RecipeSM, StrategySphere System®, and StrategyPrint®. These tools and a host of others will enable you to significantly increase your ability to develop and leverage strategy to grow your business. Anyone seeking to reach their full potential as a business strategist will greatly benefit from the book’s insights.

Rich Horwath is the Founder and President of Sculptura Consulting, Inc., a firm dedicated to helping companies maximize their business and managerial potential through strategic thinking. He is as an international consultant, trainer, speaker and author, having worked with clients ranging in size from Fortune 100 companies to emerging growth companies located in the U.S., Canada and Europe. As a former Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for a marketing consultancy, he has assisted dozens of companies with the strategy development process.

His sole focus on strategy has led him to develop the StrategySphere System®, a proprietary strategy development process that includes a software program consisting of 40 interactive models designed to stimulate strategic thinking; and the StrategyPrint®, a proprietary strategic planning framework that creates a powerful, two-page blueprint for a company, product or service.

In addition to consulting on the strategy development process, he provides customized training programs to help managers become more effective strategic thinkers. Along with the training programs, he is frequently asked to deliver keynote speeches on strategic thinking and business strategy.

Rich earned an MBA with Distinction from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University and has received executive education program certificates in strategy from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.