Deep Dive
The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action
By: Rich Horwath
Published: August 2009
Format: Hardcover, 214pp
ISBN-13: 9781929774821
ISBN-10: 1929774826
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group, LLC
"So, technically, all managers are strategists. The reality, however, is that all managers are not good strategists", writes President of the Strategic Thinking Institute Rich Horwath, in his innovative and groundbreaking book Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action. The author describes the critical importance of strategic thinking within an organization, and describes how this essential skill can be learned and practiced at every level of the company.
Rich Horwath understands that companies are forced to achieve greater results with ever less amounts of resources. As a result, an organization where the executives fail to use these limited resources effectively, will fail to remain competitive. In a down economy, a company that lags behind its competitors may find itself out of business entirely. Because of the ability to think strategically is vital to the very survivability of a company. Rich Howarth emphasizes that strategic thinking is no longer an optional skill, or one for only members of top management. Instead, strategic thinking is an essential leadership and management skill necessary at all levels of an organization. The author describes in detail how to turn the theory of this crucial skill into an integral part of every company's thinking and management process.
Rich Horwath (photo left) uses a scuba diving analogy effectively to describe the different levels of strategic thinking skills that exist within an organization, as well as between its executives. A manager who is able to dive deeply and freely within a company and then resurface with pearls of insights will be very valuable executive. The author quotes extensive organizational research by both academics and industry people that concludes that strategic thinking is rarely seen in most companies. As Rich Horwath points out, the ability to teach and instill a strategic thinking mindset throughout the company will pay huge dividends. The result will be achieving that ever elusive goal of competitive advantage within the industry.
For me, the power of the book is how Rich Horwath blends effectively the theory of strategic thinking with practical, hands on skills training. The author describes why strategic thinking is is critical for an organization and all of its employees, and then demonstrates how these importance skills can be learned and applied to the business. The author takes the reader through the entire skills learning process, and punctuates each chapter with a valuable summary that restates the crucial points of each chapter. As a result, the book is a powerful teaching and learning tool for managers throughout a company. By developing the vital skills, every manager can become a proficient strategic thinker, pushing the company to the forefront of its industry.
I highly recommend the company performance boosting book Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action by Rich Horwath, to anyone seeking to elevate their own level of strategic thinking skills. as well as those within the entire company. This definitive book will turn an average manager into an insightful leader, better able to manage scarce resources more effectively, and to turn the business into an industry leader.
Read the important and easy to apply book Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action by Rich Horwath, and put the innovative concepts found within strategic thinking to work for your company. Learn how to discover and apply deeper insights into the business to all aspects of the organization. Instead of settling for mediocrity, turn your organization into a strategic thinking industry leader, in any economy.
