Roadmaps and Revelations Finding the Road to Business Success on Route 101

Up until now, the company's "strategic plans" were made up of visions in the former CEO's mind. Now, Rory's got five short days to develop, formalize, and deliver a winning strategic planning process. Rory planned to use a leisurely drive down the 101, en route to his wife's family reunion, to gather his thoughts, but things change when he halfheartedly agrees to pick up his wife's second cousin Sydney Wise from the airport. To his astonishment, Sydney turns out to be—instead of another maddening relative—a strategic planning guru, entrepreneur—and Rory's rescuer.

Discover, along with Rory and Sydney, what strategic planning is really about, why it is important, and how to develop a simple yet powerful strategy your company can use to set it on the course to success. Through Rory's experience, you will find out why strategic planning is not something left to the "higher ups," but something in which everyone in an organization needs to be invested.

Roadmaps and Revelations: Finding the Road to Business Success on Route 101 uses an entertaining storyline to walk you through the daunting process of creating a successful strategy. Sprinkled with practical examples and workable solutions for business executives, managers, and consultants, this motivating fable will put you on track toward creating a strategy for sustainable success.

Paul R. Niven is a management consultant, author, and noted speaker on the subjects of strategy, performance management, and the Balanced Scorecard. As both a practitioner and consultant, he has developed successful performance management systems for organizations large and small around the globe. His clients include Fortune 500 companies, public sector agencies from all levels, and nonprofit organizations. Paul's previous books include: Balanced Scorecard Step by Step (translated in over 15 languages), Balanced Scorecard Step by Step for Government and Nonprofit Agencies, and Balanced Scorecard Diagnostics. He may be reached through his Web site at www.senalosa.com.

Introduction vii

1 Emergency Meeting 1

2 The Challenge 3

3 Change of Plans 11

4 The Red Zone Is for Immediate Loading and Unloading Only 19

5 Who Is this Guy? 25

6 What Is Strategy, Anyway? 35

7 Ask a Silly Question 41

8 What You See Is Not Always What You Get 47

9 Getting to the Core 61

10 Think Fast 73

11 A Push in the Right Direction 77

12 One Night at the Vine View Manor 89

13 Pucker Up 95

14 Charged Up in Pismo Beach 109

15 You Know What Nietzsche Said about Groups 123

16 Two Thumbs Up 133

17 Sandy Resolutions 145

18 "KISSin" Cousins 155

19 Every Dog Has His Day 163

20 The Reunion 173

Roadmap Strategy Process and Model Summary 185

Roadmap Strategy Online 215

References 217

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