Execution

The No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling seriesThe new book in S. J. Parris’s bestselling, critically acclaimed series following Giordano Bruno, set at the time of Queen Elizabeth IEngland, 1586.A TREASONOUS CONSPIRACY Giordano Bruno, a heretic turned spy, arrives in England with shocking information for spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. A band of Catholic Englishmen are plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and spring Mary Queen of Scots from prison to take the English throne in her place.A DEADLY TRAP Bruno is surprised to find that Walsingham is aware of the plot, led by the young, wealthy noble Anthony Babington, and is allowing it to progress. He hopes that Mary will put her support in writing – and condemn herself to a traitor's death.A QUEEN IN MORTAL DANGER Bruno is tasked with going undercover to join the conspirators. Can he stop them before he is exposed? Either way a queen will die; Bruno must make sure it is the right one…Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary MantelPraise for S. J. Parris‘A delicious blend of history and thriller’ The Times‘An omnipresent sense of danger’ Daily Mail‘Colourful characters, fast-moving plots and a world where one false step in religion or politics can mean a grisly death’ Sunday Times‘Pacy, intricate, and thrilling’ Observer‘Vivid, sprawling … Well-crafted, exuberant’ Financial Times‘Impossible to resist’ Daily Telegraph‘Twists and turns like a corkscrew of venomous snakes’ Stuart MacBride‘It has everything – intrigue, mystery and excellent history’ Kate Mosse‘The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping’ Conn Iggulden‘A brilliantly unusual glimpse at the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth I’ Andrew Taylor

The definition of great leadership, backed by ground-breaking research When Execution Isn't Enough examines the essential leadership skills that go beyond simply executing strategies well. It examines the leadership skills that inspire excellence and drive growth. Great leaders think differently, but their secrets, values, and behaviors can't be bottled—or can they? Is leadership so contextual that it defies standardization? In this book, McKinsey's global head of leadership development draws on ground-breaking McKinsey research to uncover 20 distinct leadership traits. All are important, but some make all the difference in inspiring organizations to exceptional results and growth—and a select few create the vast chasm between strong and weak organizations in terms of leadership effectiveness. Structured as a business parable, this book employs a rich cast of corporate characters to illustrate the critical behaviors of inspirational leadership and the outcomes that become possible. Attempting to nail down exactly what makes a leader inspirational is like trying to capture lighting in a bottle, but new McKinsey research has identified the behavioral leadership catalysts that inspire greatness. This book describes the behaviors to inspire that can be learned—to turn a good leader into a great leader. Understand the neuroscience of inspiration Tailor your inspirational approach to different leadership scenarios Initiate an inspiration cascade to influence people at scale The picture of leadership has changed over time. Today's great leaders are authentic, enthusiastic decision-makers with engaging visions, who are quick to communicate and take action. Less than half of all CEOs believe that their training investments will pay off, yet everyone agrees that leadership drives performance—where is the disconnect? It's in the belief that simple leadership behaviors equal results, forgetting that exceptional results only come from inspiration. When Execution Isn't Enough shows you how to attain the missing link of great leadership to bring exceptional results of your organization.

A hands-on guidebook for making your strategy work with effective Balanced Scorecard design, deployment, and maintenance Execution Excellence is the practitioner's guide to real-world implementation. Designed by a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) thought leader with 30 years of experience and over 300 global implementations under his belt across a range of industry sectors, this guide gives you a hands-on framework for putting the BSC methodology into action. Clear, concise, and easy to read, this book skips the theoretical exposition to get right to the point—how can companies use BSC to effectively deploy strategy and drive individual and enterprise performance? You'll find the answers here. The discussion outlines the ways in which firms commonly fail in implementing BSC. These failures can be traced back to common design and implementation flaws: making the process too complicated and focusing on the BSC process rather than the outcome. The discussion will also cover design optimization across a range of key industry sectors. You'll gain expert insight into avoiding these missteps and the practical tools and perspective you need to implement BSC correctly the first time. While the Balanced Scorecard framework is widely accepted and praised, about half of firms that implement it fail to realize the full benefits. The fault lies not with the framework, but with the design, and more importantly—execution. This book gives you the information and tools you need to adopt BSC successfully. Design a BSC that truly and simply reflects your strategy Customize the BSC to reflect your industry's uniqueness Define clear measurements and ownership that suit your strategy Develop a framework for efficient data collection and reporting Implement effective reviews to keep your business on track Use your Balanced Scorecard data to close performance gaps Developed in the early 1990s, the Balanced Scorecard framework has been recognized as one of the most seminal business ideas in the last 75 years. Thousands of companies around the world use BSC to create and maintain a performance-oriented enterprise, yet just as many try and fail. Execution Excellence shows you what you need to know and do to become a BSC success story. Praise for EXECUTION EXCELLENCE «Execution Excellence is a very clear roadmap for any manager serious about improving performance with a team. Sanjiv has decades of experience solving problems with real-world companies and the challenges they face. This is a superb summary of his learning, communicated in concise, specific and easy to understand steps. I highly recommend it.» —RON SANDERS, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Home Entertainment «This book is full of sensible, practical advice on how to improve your business using the powerful tools of the Balanced Scorecard. Businesses of all types can see how to achieve their goals more effectively and quickly if they adopt the techniques shown here. Read and prosper!» —JON MOULTON, Founder and Managing Partner, Better Capital «Sanjiv certainly did not disappoint. The book is certainly a compendium of incredible experience he has had as a Consultant in different circumstances. It makes for extremely interesting reading. It is full of substance with practical and implementable suggestions and explains in an incredibly simple and straight forward manner how a tool like the Balance Scorecard can help in terms of framing and implementing business strategy in today's complex and multi dimensional business world.» —AKHIL GUPTA, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises "If you ever wondered how great generals manage their troops, this is your chance. Sanjiv is the general when it comes to implementing the BSC, having seen him in board rooms. If you a

Proven pathways for taking ideas to implementation We all have ideas—things we want to do or create—but only some of us will do what it takes to see those ideas come to pass. In Good Idea. Now What? readers will discover some of the essential values and principles that guide successful idea-makers, including the leveraging of mixed environments for creativity, working through resistance and setbacks, developing a practical plan for implementation that works, navigating collaborative opportunities, and communicating your idea to make it truly remarkable. Whether you're just a creative type, or the leader of an organization, you must figure out a creative process and develop an infrastructure for implementing your ideas. Good Idea. Now What? offers systematic advice for moving your ideas to execution. It will show you: The fundamental elements of a good idea Tangible pathways to follow after initial inspiration The importance of branding and its impact on ideas Practical advice for developing a loyal tribe of supporters who will take your idea to a whole new level It's not enough to be inspired. Learn how to follow through on your ideas and discover how great an impact you can have!

The ultimate game-changer for reinventing strategy and igniting people Whether it was Alexander the Great or Lord Horatio Nelson, the management team at Toyota or Google, the indisputable alchemy of strategy, execution, and leadership led to each's phenomenal success. With years of experience assessing and developing executive talent, author Eric Beaudan examines the essence of such a dynamic mix, summed up as «Creative Execution,» showing how organizations and individuals can attain, or reach for, unheralded levels of success. Profiling extraordinary leaders and the uncommon leadership tactics that are their hallmark, the book also includes proprietary research and firsthand experiences with clients across the globe, illustrating the principles of Creative Execution in action. Details the five elements of Creative Execution, including fostering candid dialogue across the organization, spelling out clear roles and responsibilities, and taking bold action Includes proprietary research, assessments, and case studies With tactics, strategies, and calls to action to help any organization shape and apply the dynamics of Creative Execution, this powerful one-volume manifesto will help any leader get in the trenches, learn firsthand the impact of their decisions, and restore ingenuity, cooperation, and a sense of collective commitment to the workplace.

Stop chasing hot trends and start driving real growth It's Not Rocket Science blasts through the trends and false promises permeating the business world to help you and your company get back to basics and get things done. Why doggedly pursue the «next big thing» when the most effective drivers of growth are right under your nose? This book asserts that you've already heard, been taught, and know well the key fundamentals that spell business success, and presents a compelling, four strategy blueprint for returning your business culture and strategies to a rock solid foundation of execution excellence. Each chapter opens with The Challenge, which outlines a current condition that exists due to a departure from common sense behaviors, and tasks you with following the appropriate execution principles to get your business on the right track. After a thorough explanation of «what» and «why,» each chapter gives you the actionable «how» so you can implement these valuable steps and master the art of execution in your organization. Shifting sands do not make for a sustainable structure. If your organization is to be robust and strong enough to weather any storm, the strength must come from the very core; the ability for each member of your team to execute daily and effectively towards your organization's most compelling goals. Frankly, the last things most organizations need is another goal they'll miss because they can't execute well. This book reminds you of the four timeless execution methods and strategies that have proven themselves over centuries, and shows you how they are implemented in today's business environment. Get the leaders right Get the culture right Get the people right Get the process right Today's flash in the pan may be superficially intriguing, but is it really that much different from yesterday's «hot tip»? Fundamentals are fundamental for a reason, and It's Not Rocket Science is the common sense guide to putting away flavor-of-the-month toys and getting down to business.

Read the award-winning and Number One bestselling Val McDermid at the top of her game in these three nail-biting crime thrillers.A PLACE OF EXECUTION: In 1963, Alison Carter vanished in the Peak District. Journalist Catherine Heathcote remembers the case from her childhood, and interviews DI George Bennett for his recollection of the hunt for Alison. But when a fresh lead emerges, Bennett tries to pull the story – plunging Catherine into a world of buried secrets and explosive revelations…THE DISTANT ECHO: Four drunken students find the body of a woman in a snow-covered cemetery. Twenty-five years on, a ‘cold case’ review of the murder still has them as the main suspects. But when two of them die in suspicious circumstances, the only way for the remaining two to save themselves is to find out who the real murderer is…THE GRAVE TATTOO: Scholar Jane Gresham believes that the poet William Wordsworth may have sheltered Fletcher Christian, the mutinous First Mate on the Bounty, and turned his tale into an epic poem – which has since disappeared. But the centuries-old mystery is putting lives at risk. And it isn't just the truth that is waiting to be discovered, but a bounty worth millions…

Few business activities can match Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in terms of the potential for reward and for danger. A successful merger or acquisition can allow a mid-tier company to leap into the top tier, bringing rich rewards to that company, and its employees and shareholders. The failure of a merger can, on the other hand, have a devastating impact, resulting a loss of credibility, destruction of value and in some cases bringing the parties to ruin. Depending on how you measure it, between 50% and 80% of M&A deals fail to attain their objectives, before or even after the deal is done. Practical M&A Execution and Integration is all about maximising your chances of success. Merging, de-merging, acquiring or acquired, if your organisation is involved, or likely to be involved, you will need to manage the process, and following this Handbook will give you a clear, simple framework to get the job done and help your organisation move on and attain the benefits and promise of the deal. The book covers the following core topics: Fundamentals of M&A; the reasons for M&A, types of M&A deals and the challenges they present M&A Regulation Successful M&A, covering M&A power and providing a detailed look at the processes and people involved Delivering M&A The unique issues of Banking M&A, which differs significantly from other types of M&A deals. The final section consists of document templates and suggested tables of contents which are designed to be used alongside the advice in the book, thus making Practical M&A Execution and Integration the complete guide to constructing a successful M&A deal.

Drive Strategy With Simplicity–On A Single Sheet Of Paper! The One-Page Project Manager set a new standard as an understandable and easy-to-apply organizational tool, allowing managers to summarize complex projects on a single information-rich page. This book, third in the OPPM series, describes how to combine the OPPM with the Toyota A3 report to create an enhanced, integrated management tool. With a refreshingly clear style, the authors walk users through implementing the OPPM/A3 using a variety of real-world case studies, as well as their own experience at O.C. Tanner Company. Rich with tools, templates, and teaching, the emphasis throughout remains on maintaining simplicity across the organization—communicating the right information to the right people at the right time to get the right things done. Praise for The One-Page Project Manager «Executives want the answers to two questions: Where are we today? Where will we end up? Do you really believe this cannot be accomplished on a single sheet of paper? The One-Page Project Manager series of books is encouraging you to do just that. Making this part of your Project Management methodology will simplify and improve your project communication, especially for busy executives.» —Harold D. Kerzner, PhD, Senior Executive Director, International Institute for Learning, Inc. «Clark Campbell fills a void and bridges a communication gap that has long existed between company executives and project or program managers. OPPM successfully links corporate strategy to those in the trenches managing projects.» —Dr. Denis R. Petersen, PMP®, President and CEO, Milestone Management Consultants, LLC «Clark Campbell and Mike Collins present how OPPM works to drive strategy deployment. With OPPM in our lean tool kit, we have tapped into the creativity of our people to pump up productivity, cut cycle times, reduce inventories, and sustain world-class quality.» —Harold Simons, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain, O.C. Tanner Company, Member of the Shingo Prize Board of Governors (PMP and Project Management Professional are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)

Discover how to enable strategic change efforts by relying on your best people  In  Amplifiers , entrepreneur and expert management and technology consultant Tom Finegan delivers an insightful new way to think about human behavior in the execution of corporate transformations. Through an exploration of the career journeys of several leaders and analyses of “True Amplifiers” in action, the book demonstrates how to deliver strategic and transformative change by relying on the efforts of key, exemplary followers. This important book: Explains the different ways that being a true amplifier is experienced by different ethnicities and genders Describes the “Cell Concept” of amplifiers, and how they interact with other stakeholders of your organization Discusses the work of amplifiers across global industries and organizations Perfect for executives, managers, and other business leaders responsible for change management and strategic execution,  Amplifiers  also belongs on the bookshelves of anyone who hopes to contribute to or lead organizations as they change direction.