| Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier | 
 enlarge | Author: Gary Harpst
Publisher: Six Disciplines Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy Used: $1.67
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 5569
Format: Illustrated
Media: Hardcover
Edition: illustrated edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0981641105
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.401
EAN: 9780981641102
ASIN: 0981641105
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: While most of the books offered by Bayfront Books are better than simply "Good," some of these books may show some damage to their dust jackets (where applicable), may have spines showing signs of wear, and may include limited notations and highlighting.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Planning and Execution July 26, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
While the ultimate message put forth in this book is about executing your plans and how to go about that, it is very much based on what needs to be done first - and that is Planning, Goal-Setting. Without this foundation in place first, any actions in business will be haphazard, directionless and misguided.
Six Principles Execution Revolution is an excellent business source that offers some unique insights into how to put your business goals into action. Having a plan is one thing. Being able to make it happen is something else altogether. This book helps you do that.
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Darren G. Burton
Great Stories, But Be Careful July 15, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Harpst's great book should be tempered with book's like How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business and The Halo Effect: ... and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers. If we are careful to qualify how much can really be gathered even from a single person's "sample", even it it is the numerous experiences of someone like Gary Harpst, then we can learn a lot from his anecdotal evidence.
I would add methods Hubbard's How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business to address some issue that Harpst only alludes to - like how to tell what adds the most shareholder value or knowing if activities are leading toward successful execution. But, for what it is, it is probably the best manager's perspective on focusing on what matters for successful delivery.
Harpst's prose sometimes reminds me of half-time pep-talk springled with a lot of touchy-feely manager-speak. But there is no doubt his examples of "getting things done" are engaging. I might also suggest reading this alongside Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets just for a healthy dose of skepticism about management observations.
Execution Involves Every Person, Every Day July 8, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
In a format that's easy to read and follow, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution captivated me from beginning to end. The author, Gary Harpst, uses practical experiences and field research (not ivory-tower academic theory) to craft a complete program for strategy execution. This book is not just for senior leaders - it's for everyone, as everyone is responsible for executing plan, every day. Harpst eloquently confirmed what I've thought all along: Excellence is a journey that never ends. It's an enduring pursuit that requires an enduring approach. Strategy execution involves every person, every day. Execution Revolution reveals a new way to attack the biggest challenge in business (execution), and Harpst offers us a new way to approach this ongoing challenge."
Revolutionary advice June 30, 2008
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is a book designed to get your business to the next level. I loved this book, and I think the subtitle sums it up quite well: "Solving the one business problem that makes solving all other problems easier." What's the "one problem?" Execution.
Voice of experience
If you're unfamiliar with Gary, he was the founder of Solomon Accounting (very popular software back in the 80's and early 90's when the PC industry was very young). He grew his business form startup to achieve great success, finally selling the company to Great Plains Software (since purchased by Microsoft) for a hefty sum.
One of the things I love about Gary's methods and style is that he incorporates his own lessons learned, successes, and experiences into his books - and that makes his guidance seem much more actionable and achievable.
More than a memoir
Don't worry, though - this book is not about hyping up Gary's past. Instead, he presents stories we can learn from (like when he had to layoff half his company) and provides structure and techniques so other small-to-medium businesses (SMB's) can avoid some of the problems he encountered. The other thing I noticed very early in the book is that Gary uses tons of data to support his ideas (but I guess that makes sense from a guy who started an accounting software company).
The stories Harpst relates (his own and specially selected vignettes from other companies) rang true for me - whether he was talking about the problem with communication as an organization grows, the tendency to refrain from action even when you know the right thing to do, or problems that occur when you don't factor human nature into the difficulty of making business changes.
A book of action
This book is centered on a methodology designed to guide you through actionable steps to become better at execution within the business, with the goal of taking your business to the next level. Just as his first book focused on Six Disciplines, Harpst has focused Execution Revolution on a 6-phase system to address problems with execution:
Decide what's important (Strategy)
Set goals that lead (Plan)
Align systems (Organize)
Work the plan (Execute)
Innovate purposefully (Innovate)
Step back (Learn)
And the whole thing repeats.
Knowing vs. doing
Now, at a glance, you might think "OK - that all sounds obvious or familiar..." but I encourage you to see what Harpst has to say. After all, how many business have a pretty good idea what they should be doing, but are falling short on delivery and execution? Harpst has obviously been there along with the rest of us, and has devoted his attention to helping organizations break through this obstacle to become high performers.
Harpst's book goes beyond platitudes, and his recommendations are meaty and actionable.
This is not a 'getting started' business book. It's a 'getting better' or 'getting results' book that is well-suited for established SMB's who are in the midst of (or in fear of) a plateau or decline in performance. If you want to jump the curve and get better results in leading an SMB, this book is one you should read.
-- Dwayne Melancon, genuinecuriosity.com
Creating and then sustaining an "organization for all seasons" June 23, 2008
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
Gary Harpst agrees with Thomas Edison: "Vision without execution is hallucination." In his previous book, Six Disciplines for Excellence, Harpst explains the importance of focusing on what's important (i.e. renewing mission, clarifying values, strengthening strategic position, and engaging others with a crystal clear vision as well as defining very few objectives and agreeing on what to stop); of setting goals that engage people (i.e. those that help people to remain focused on doing what must be done to achieve the organization's given objectives); of getting strategies, people, and processes as well as systems in proper alignment; of "working the plan" (i.e. investing in each moment help build the most preferred future for the organization...and make life and work more fulfilling for each individual); of innovating purposefully (e.g. brainstorming regularly as well as recognizing and rewarding the best ideas); and of stepping back (i.e. taking a close look at what's taking place, both internally and externally, and to make whatever mid-course corrections may be needed to ensure the organization is headed in the right direction).
In his latest book, Harpst asserts that "excellence is the enduring pursuit of balanced strategy and execution. Strategy requires choosing what promises to make to all stakeholders and a roadmap for delivering on those promises. Execution requires getting there, while overcoming unending surprises. Of the two, execution is far more difficult to achieve, but it is fruitless without sold strategy. Learning how to balance these two is the key to excellence. Excellence is a journey that never ends. It's an enduring pursuit that requires an enduring approach." In my opinion, the greatest value of this book is derived from the clarity, concision, and precision with which Harpst "nails the basics" in terms of how to formulate an appropriate strategy, with its primary objective to solve an organization's most serious problem because, "if you focus on solving the right problem, the solution of all other problems will be easier (not easy)." On occasion, "all the pieces fall together, creating a leapfrog opportunity to solve old problems." Whether or not what Harpst recommends is "a fundamentally new way" is for each reader to determine. I agree with him that everyone involved in a given organization, "top to bottom," should remain focused on achieving long-term goals with an appropriate strategy. Meanwhile, of course, sufficient revenue must be generated and there must also be effective development of leadership and management skills at all levels and in all areas. As a farmer once observed to Ralph Emerson, "Having a vision is wonderful but you still have to milk the cows and feed the pigs."
With all due respect to the worthy goals of producing more and better work in less time and at a lower cost, of productivity and efficiency, etc., Harpst stresses the importance of knowing and then doing what will add the greatest value to the stakeholders involved in the given enterprise. In this context, I am again reminded of what Peter Drucker said in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."
Decision-makers in all organizations (regardless of their size or nature) will find a wealth of practical advice in Harpst's latest book. As is his custom, after acknowledging what everyone agrees is the "what" of execution, he spends most of his time explaining the "how," guided and informed by all six of basic but absolutely essential disciplines. Harpst notes that "whatever issues an organization faces today, they will be different and bigger tomorrow. Planning and executing, while at the same time, managing the unknowns of the real world, is the biggest challenge in business. Overcoming this challenge is what we mean by solving the problem that will make solving all other problems easier. It builds an organization that is preparing for an ever increasing set of future challenges that are the natural result of overcoming today's challenges."
It should be noted that all of Harpst's observations and recommendations are based on a wealth of research that he and his associates have conducted for several years as well as on their central involvement with decision-makers in hundreds of different organizations that have substantially increased the speed, efficiency, and productivity of their performance by executing the six disciplines. Correctly, Harpst stresses that change efforts must be initiated and then sustained at all levels and in all areas throughout the given enterprise.
In this context, I am reminded of Sir Thomas More whom playwright Robert Bolt describes as a "man for all seasons." Gray Harpst believes (and I agree) that only an organization fully prepared for all "seasons" will be able to anticipate, then plan and execute solutions to problems that await in an uncertain future but also, meanwhile, manage "the unknowns of the real world" they face today.
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