Contents
Introduction: Putting Strategy into Action
Think like a CEO one minute, then like a project manager the next.
SECTION ONE. From Idea to Pitch
1. A Guide to Winning Support for Your New Idea or Project
Persistence is key.
BY REBECCA KNIGHT
2. How to Keep Support for Your Project from Evaporating
Don’t rely on personal relationships alone.
BY ALLISON RIMM
3. You’ve Pitched Your Initiative—What’s Next?
Whether you’re full-speed ahead or back to the drawing board.
BY RAYMOND SHEEN WITH AMY GALLO
SECTION TWO. Evaluating and Prioritizing an Initiative Portfolio
4. Which Initiatives Should You Implement?
Projects should be evaluated rigorously and rationally.
BY SAM BODLEY-SCOTT AND ALAN P. BRACHE
5. A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities
It doesn’t involve rank ordering them.
BY DEREK LIDOW
Root out the causes of initiative overload.
BY ROSE HOLLISTER AND MICHAEL D. WATKINS
7. The Initiative Portfolio Review Process
Maximize your “return on initiatives.”
BY KEITH KATZ AND TRAVIS MANZIONE
8. Rebalance Your Initiative Portfolio
Think like an investor to manage risk and maximize performance.
BY PETER LACASSE
SECTION THREE. Launching and Implementing Initiatives
9. New Project? Don’t Analyze—Act
Act, learn, and build your way into the future.
BY LEONARD A. SCHLESINGER, CHARLES F. KIEFER, AND PAUL B. BROWN
10. Monitoring and Controlling Your Project
A five-step refresher on the most critical aspects of project management.
BY RAYMOND SHEEN
11. Building a Transformative Team
Assemble the right players to thrive in uncertainty.
BY NATHAN FURR, KYLE NEL, AND THOMAS ZOËGA RAMSØY
Execute and learn at the same time.
BY AMY C. EDMONDSON
13. Why Good Projects Fail Anyway
Break huge initiatives into manageable pieces.
BY NADIM F. MATTA AND RONALD N. ASHKENAS
SECTION FOUR. Maintaining Momentum and Overcoming Challenges
14. Four Ways to Be More Effective at Execution
The most important skill to keep an initiative on track.
BY JACK ZENGER AND JOSEPH FOLKMAN
15. Learning in the Thick of It
Use AARs to aid future success.
BY MARILYN DARLING, CHARLES PARRY, AND JOSEPH MOORE
16. How to Hand Off an Innovation Project from One Team to Another
Don’t let great ideas die in the execution phase.
BY JOE BROWN
17. Making Process Improvements Stick
Why some initiatives endure and some others don’t.
RESEARCH FROM MATTHIAS HOLWEG, BRADLEY STAATS, AND DAVID M. UPTON
18. Your Initiative Needs an “Exit Champion”
Prevent struggling projects from becoming money pits.
BY ISABELLE ROYER
SECTION FIVE. Keeping Strategy and Execution Aligned
19. Good Strategy Execution Requires Balancing Four Tensions
Begin with creativity versus discipline.
BY SIMON HORAN AND MICHAEL CONNERTY
20. Five Ways the Best Companies Close the Strategy-Execution Gap
Test and learn, then test some more.
BY MICHAEL MANKINS
21. Your Strategy Has to Be Flexible—But So Does Your Execution
Strategy and execution should never be separate.
BY MARTIN REEVES AND RODOLPHE CHARME DI CARLO