165: Rich Horwath—Be Strategic Or Be Gone

Hear how strategy is the way to get to where you want to be!

As you know, we are Blue Ocean Strategists. As such, we love to talk with like-minded folks who help companies and their staff re-think their strategies, fill unmet needs and carve out unoccupied market space. That’s why Rich Horwath is such a great guest today. One of the biggest challenges for companies is how to craft an appropriate strategy for today’s fast-changing times. Another is how to get the entire organization to embrace that strategy, live it and evaluate whether it’s working. Both play into Rich’s forte—helping people understand how to think strategically regardless of what type of strategy they have. Lots for you to learn and apply!

The #1 cause of business failure is bad strategy

And only 3 out of 10 managers are strong at strategic thinking, according to Rich’s website, Strategic Thinking Institute. No wonder his mantra is “Be strategic…or be gone.”

Rich was inspired to start the Strategic Thinking Institute by a question a manager asked him during a break at a strategic planning retreat 20 years ago. The question: “I had my performance review and my boss said I’m too tactical. How can I become more strategic?” Rich realized that at the time, there wasn’t a roadmap to help managers move from tactical to strategic. So, he created one.

In today’s talk, Rich and I focus on 3 important themes:

1. Strategy is a simple, coherent story that captures a true visualization of where you want to be and how you are going to get there

2. How you want your employees to change their thinking and their doing if they are going to change their strategy

3. Tools and tips on how to make it all happen

Some background on Rich Horwath

As Founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, Rich has helped more than 100,000 managers develop their strategic thinking skills. He guides executive management teams through the strategy process and provides coaching to senior leaders to maximize their strategic potential.

Rich has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX TV, and his work has been featured in such publications as Fast Company, Forbes and Harvard Business Review. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of seven books on strategic thinking, including “StrategyMan vs. The Anti-Strategy Squad” (Best Strategy Book of 2018, Axiom Business Book Awards).