Strategic: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence

This book gets 5 stars for intent and effort. It is written by an experienced strategy facilitator. Rich Horwath brings 20 years real world experience to the table. As such, this book offers tools, checklists, practices that work in the real world. The strength of the book is exactly that. The book goes wide angle helping the reader assess “fitness” in 4 areas (strategy, leadership, organization, communication). The 16 chapters in the book are full of practical checklists. The very positive reader reviews here attest to that. A down to earth primer. Strategy 101 in the best sense. The book is not high concept like much of the academic literature. A plus. It is tool driven with emphasis on leaders and management teams working through challenges they face. As such, a good resource for managers and executives. In particular, chapters 5-8 on leadership will be helpful to individuals moving from smaller manager or solo contributor roles into larger leadership roles. The author is good at synthesizing best current thinking. That said, the strength of the book is also its great weakness. Thus, my disappointment. In simple terms, there are just too many checklists here. Too many ideas and practices introduced with cursory explanation. In brief, a menu offered with too many items on it. What is missing is depth. What is missing are rich, think description, case studies drawing directly on his consulting experience. What is missing, at a deeper level, is McKinsey like content know how linked with facilitation know how (the dual perspective needed in excellent strategy work). What is also missing are deep dive reflective observations by Horwath re his own learnings as a strategy practitioner and executive coach. Clearly, he has worked this terrain and knows all tools need to be adapted and tailored. That is the craft, the bricolage, the artistry, of strategy facilitation where best current thinking is translated into client needs and linked to the know how in the room. Strategic thinking is not paint by numbers. It requires discipline and agility and learning in real time. On that front, his own tacit know how needs to be made explicit. I acknowledge his extensive on the ground experience. I applaud his energy. I think his earlier book, Deep Dive, however, is better. More focused. Shorter. Goes deeper. To be critical and direct, this book is at best a collection (albeit useful) of strategy and leadership cliff notes. A compendium of the tools and templates he uses in his consulting work. Useful but indeed superficial. Particularly missing is a thoughtful discussion of success factors and pitfalls in strategy execution. A glaring weakness. A shorter and tighter and more focused book that goes deep unpacking case studies is the book I would have liked him to write. A book profiling high levels of what the author calls “strategic fitness”. A book more akin to Ram Charan’s work where client needs are in the foreground and live issues are unpacked and the advisor’s point of view is crystal clear. A practice driven book that is indeed much needed today given all the hype and fluff in the popular literature on strategic leadership. A book another thoughtful practitioner needs to write.

Strategic is both the most comprehensive and the most practical in a detailed way book on strategy that I’ve ever read. I recommend it very highly to anyone who has the responsibility to develop and guide a strategy for a group or an organization. In terms of comprehensiveness, the book uses a very broad framework that the author, Rich Horwath, calls Strategic Fitness: Strategy Fitness, Leadership Fitness, Organization Fitness, and Communication Fitness. He then dedicates four chapters to each of those four areas of Strategic Fitness. In this way he is able to do a deep dive into each area while explaining the connection between the four areas. I found this approach to be very helpful in keeping top of mind the broad concepts in the book. In terms of practical in a detailed way, this book provides a very wide array of tools, tips, quotes, examples, and definitions. Here are a few samples of what I mean: Tool: Your Strategic Quotient (SQ): Acumen (Thinking), Allocation (Planning), and Acumen (Acting) Tool: GOST Framwork (Goal, Objective, Strategy, Tactic) Tips: Throughout the book there are a few dozen very short tips called Rocket Burns and Trail Blazes Quotes: I’ve never read a book that had so many well-placed, relevant, and powerful quotes. Here is an example. On page 108 the author wrote, “Why would we want to prevent failure when a lot of people are advocating for it? Because ‘failing fast’ as a consistent route to success is a myth.” Then he included these two quotes: “My goal is not to fail fast. My goal is to succeed over the long run. They are not the same thing.” – Marc Andreesen, co-founder of Netscape. And this quote, “What is the worst advice you see or hear given in your trade? Fail fast.” – Jack Dorsey, self-made billionaire, CEO of Square and former CEO of Twitter Examples – The author makes this point: “Strategy demands trade-offs – choosing your ‘nots.’ What products will we not offer? What customers will we choose not to serve.” Then he brings in the example of Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Definitions. This is my favorite part of the book. Horwath consistently takes words that can be very confusing, and he makes them understandable. This makes it much, much easier to apply the ideas in our work and our personal lives. For example, he wrote, “Strategic thinking is the ability to generate insights that lead to advantage.” Wow, that simplified what I’ve read in more than a dozen books on strategy into something that people can take to heart and move into action. Study a topic or an industry in detail, and then look for ways to turn those insights into real advantage for your group or organization. WARNING: Here’s my one warning on this book. Don’t give this book as a quick-read to your staff the night before your Annual Strategic Planning Two-Day Retreat. This book has way too much valuable content for you to sprint through it. Instead, give this book to your staff a month before the Strategy Meeting, and encourage everyone to read one chapter a day and let the ideas sink in. In this way, each person will be vastly better prepared to have an in-depth conversation on strategy.

WHO I AM I AM AN OPERATOR, CO-FOUNDER, AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR. I read 10+ books annually, focusing on leadership and business. Initially, I was skeptical based on the cover, thinking I didn't need more strategic education. But after flipping through a few pages, I was captivated. I read the book twice, summarized it, and plan to share it with friends. THE CONTEXT - THIS BOOK AMONG OTHER BUSINESS BOOKS THIS BOOK IS THE PERFECT COMPANION TO MICHAEL PORTER'S CLASSIC "WHAT IS STRATEGY?" IN HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW. While Porter explained the "what," applying his concepts can be challenging. RICH'S BOOK BUILDS A FRAMEWORK TO EXPAND ON STRATEGY AND OFFERS A PRAGMATIC "HOW" FOR REAL BUSINESSES. His framework and examples act as a compass for assessing current status and progress toward excellence. This book aligns well with Jim Collins' Good to Great, Anders Ericsson's Peak, Verne Harnish's Scaling Up, and William Thorndike's The Outsiders while offering unique insights not found elsewhere. WHO I RECOMMEND THIS TO If you think your team is "TOO TACTICAL" AND "NOT STRATEGIC ENOUGH," THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I recommend it to SMALL- AND MID-SIZED BUSINESS OWNERS AND EXECUTIVES who aspire to elevate their companies from good to great. The frameworks help assess, align, and uplevel leadership, organization, and communication to be more strategic and effective. Examples and data are plentiful to help secure team buy-in. WHY I RECOMMEND IT • PATTERN RECOGNITION AND ACTIONABLE: The issues and fallacies highlighted in the book are likely to resonate, and Rich provides a clear direction and framework to initiate change. • TONS OF REFERENCES FOR SECURING BUY-INS: Rich includes an abundance of data and references, even more than Scaling Up by Verne Harnish. His clear purpose is to help you convincingly convey your ideas. An experienced executive coach, Rich excels at communication, and his thorough research saves time by consolidating valuable insights across sources. • CONCEPTS EXPLAINED CLEARLY: Despite attending business school, I still found myself confused by concepts like Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics. Rich explains these concepts clearly and brilliantly through relatable examples and categorization, leveraging his experience as a business school instructor and executive coach. • CRITERIA FOR STRATEGIC VS. NON-STRATEGIC: The book provides a framework to evaluate strategic acumen: Do you understand the context of the company, customer, competition, and trends to generate insights and create value? Can you allocate and plan to focus resources through strategic trade-offs and decision-making? Can you act by prioritizing and executing initiatives? These criteria help identify and quantify strategic leaders versus tactical ones. • PATH FROM TACTICAL TO STRATEGIC: Rich offers a framework to help a team of doers become more strategic by discovering insights, synthesizing them through strategic thinking, and translating those insights into an actionable plan. The process involves strategically rolling out the idea and refining it over time—simple yet effective. • HUMAN BIASES, FALLACIES, AND BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY IN MIND: The author acknowledges human resistance to change and biases like decision-making by consensus, underestimating competitors, or failing to terminate unsuccessful initiatives. He leverages research to explain why saying "no" and strategic change benefits both companies and individuals. His approach helps align executive teams to break away from default (e.g. consensus-driven decisions), ultimately elevating the entire firm strategically. WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED (FOR FUTURE EDITIONS) • TOO MANY REFERENCES: Some references can feel excessive or not academically proven, such as the idea that "working experience is the fifth-best predictor of job success." • MORE DEPTH IN ORGANIZATIONAL FOUNDATION: This concept is addressed at a high level, but practical examples of org design/reorg and their impact on strategy would be valuable. IN SUMMARY I recommend this book to leaders seeking to become more strategic and impactful. It's perfect for small- and mid-sized business leaders and executive teams to align on how we can be more strategic and grow to make a bigger impact.

Started highlighting and realized it was useless because 3/4 of the book would end up highlighted. I’ve read a lot of strategy books and this one ranks in the top.

Your book, "Strategic," has become my night-time companion, significantly impacting my sleep patterns and coffee intake. It's a refreshing change to find material that's not just filler but genuinely engaging. Since April, I've re-entered the professional jungle of LinkedIn and Indeed, with a strategy that includes not just job hunting but also personal growth through networking, interviews, and self-education. I revisited the world of libraries, devouring around 20 books on a range of topics from health to business strategies, authors like Ziglar, Maxwell, Welch, Drucker, and many others. My notebook has been my constant companion, often filling with 3-4 pages of notes per book. However, your book stood out to such an extent that I ended up buying it, as my handwritten notes were starting to resemble a direct transcript! What I'm trying to say is, thank you for crafting something not just to read but to act upon. Many concepts in your book resonated with practices I've adopted over time, yet you've also enriched my toolkit with new strategies and insights. Among the countless books and articles I've consumed, "Strategic" shines as a beacon of practical, game-changing advice.

Nail your next strategy. If you're like me, and you can't read without taking notes in the margins, STRATEGIC is well-written and the key takeaways are already captured. Horwath is clear and concise. STRATEGIC is more like a tool than a book. Not overloaded with examples you need to decipher, but clear rationale for each step you must take in implementing your winning strategy.

Rich Horwath builds on the genius of his previous work in "Deep Dive" with "Strategic". Beyond the well-curated quotations and exceptional story-telling that you've come to expect from Horwath, by creating the 4-pronged Strategic Fitness blueprint, he provides a true Master Class in what it truly requires to be strategic in all that you do. At a time when most of us are in a constant state of turmoil and tactical fire-fighting, "Strategic" provides the tools and approach necessary to elevate performance and strive for excellence! Well done!

I have owned my own successful business for 21 years, starting out very small and growing it into a very profitable enterprise. Having said that, I really wish I would have read this book 20 years ago. I could have and would have reached my current level of profit years sooner. Strategic lays out in detail the steps that you need to make for all the different areas of your business, not only to effectively compete in your industry but to excel and differentiate your business from everyone one else in the same field. Unless you went to Harvard business school you cannot afford not to read this book