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See our experts’ latest contributions on consulting, execution, growth, simplification and other key topics in today’s industry-leading blog posts.

04.14.20  Robert Schaffer , Richard Bobbe

Rethinking Strategy: Using Incremental Successes to Achieve Major Shifts

The incremental successes approach is not just a way to achieve more correct decisions – it is a way to change strategic decision-making itself from a high risk game to a minimum risk game. It may not be applicable in every situation, but it will be a powerful meth…

Categories: Strategy Execution, Rapid Results
Comments: 0

11.01.17  Ron Ashkenas , Logan Chandler

Your Strategy Won’t Work if You Don’t Identify the New Capabilities You Need

Strategic planners and senior executives either assume that if a strategy is logical, people will figure out what to do, or they develop a “paint by numbers” approach. Neither extreme works well. If leaders want their company to sustain critical changes the strateg…

Categories: Strategy Execution, Harvard Business Review
Comments: 0

06.10.16  Ron Ashkenas

The Go-to-Market Approach Startups Need to Adopt

Figuring out a go-to-market approach is no trivial exercise – it separates the companies that will be successful and sustainable from those that won’t. Learn how to ask the right questions from your customers' perspective.

Categories: Strategy Execution, Harvard Business Review
Comments: 0

05.27.16  Ron Ashkenas

Know When To Celebrate Failure – And When To Avoid It

Failure. A way to learn? The real challenge for leaders is not to either accept or reject failure, but rather to differentiate between whether they are in execution or innovation mode.

Categories: Strategy Execution, Innovation, Operational Excellence, Forbes
Comments: 0

12.17.15  Ron Ashkenas

To Avoid Decision Spin, Managers Need To Embrace Conflict

Learn how to address indecision – from wherever you are in your organization – and work with your colleagues to develop some ground rules for constructive conflict.

Categories: Strategy Execution, Operational Excellence, Forbes
Comments: 0

11.24.15  Ron Ashkenas

To Lead Change, Explain the Context

Don't risk resistance and burnout in your employees – to keep people energized and willing to adjust, help them understand how the current focus connects with or builds upon the last set of strategic directions and imperatives. People need to know how to connect th…

Categories: Strategy Execution, Operational Excellence, Harvard Business Review, Executive Alignment and Coaching, Leadership Development
Comments: 0

01.15.15  Ron Ashkenas

We Still Don’t Know the Difference Between Change and Transformation

It’s been almost 10 years since HBR published John Kotter’s classic article,”Why Transformation Efforts Fail.” And although his suggestions for how to improve the odds have been widely accepted, the success rate of major corporate change programs remains essentiall…

Categories: Strategy Execution, Operational Excellence, Harvard Business Review
Comments: 0

08.08.14  Ron Ashkenas , Logan Chandler

Four Ways To Develop A Better Strategic Plan

No great strategy was born without careful thought. That’s why the process of planning a strategy itself is an important vehicle for setting priorities, making investment decisions, and laying out growth plans.

Categories: Strategy Execution, Forbes
Comments: 0

07.01.14  Ron Ashkenas

Why Consultants Should Be Accountable For Results, Not Recommendations

When I recently asked a group of MBA students to define what it meant to them to be a consultant, they quickly rattled off phrases such as “trusted advisor,” “problem-solver,” “objective third party,” and “subject matter expert.”

Categories: Strategy Execution, Forbes
Comments: 0

06.12.14  Ron Ashkenas

Where You Sit At Work Determines What You See

Most projects or processes require collaborative work with people who come from other parts of the organization – different functions, levels, locations, or business units – and who see the world differently.

Categories: Strategy Execution, Operational Excellence, Forbes
Comments: 0
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