This book ties together several business disciplines. It is a guide to the successful execution of strategy. It takes the reader from strategy formulation, to initiative selection, to project management, to process design and in doing so, ties all the disciplines together with common underpinnings and rules. Part I of the book begins by setting out some fundamental constructs and linkages that are used throughout the book. It highlights what the author identifies as the ten potential failure points of any firm's strategy. Part I concludes with the strategic structure which include three "pillars" of knowledge, technology and people that support the business processes of the firm. Part II deals with strategy formulation. Much of this part of the book is merely drawing together constructs from other sources. The author describes Porter's value chain and then expands on it and promises to do so even further in the rest of the book. He addresses the use and misuse of balanced scorecard and discusses the four basic types of strategy that a firm may employ. He concludes Part II with a discussion of risk and barriers to strategy execution. Part III, Strategy Execution, departs from other constructs and becomes the heart of what is unique about the book. In it, the author discusses ways to identify a strategic initiative and then to vet or select the initiative. The method for transforming a firm's strategy into Cartesian math constructs and then being able to mathematically evaluate a potential initiative and align it with the firm's strategy is unique to the book as is its method for building and proving the business case. The remainder of Part III is spent looking at metrics in all its forms, characteristics and types. The reader may, at first, feel the author beats metrics to death, but it becomes apparent, further into the book, how important metrics are to everything discussed. Part IV is devoted to project planning and execution. One of the real strengths of the book is its meticulous linkage among strategy, strategic initiative and project management. The author ties many of the constructs, like the structured business case, into project planning and estimating. His chapters on project elaboration and estimating are worth the cost of the book. He concludes part IV with a chapter on critical chain project management. Part V, the largest part of the book, is on building effective business processes. He makes sure the reader understands the three important constructs of system analysis and design: process, data and events, as well as how the pillars (people, knowledge, technology) affect process design. He walks the reader through event analysis and each phase and then spends some time on information and data modeling. He ties everything together with a chapter on validation, how you prove your model has "conceptual integrity," that it will work in real life. Part V concludes with a brief survey of physical design issues. This book is for any business executive who want a guide to strategy execution. They could use the book to guide their management team during the undertaking of major strategic initiatives in the firm. This is the only book that methodically ties together strategy, project management and business process design into a cohesive rigorous approach.
Howard Landers (pseudonym) has thirty years of business experience in information technology, strategy, methodologies, electronic performance support tools, knowledge management, competencies and training. He has eighteen years of consulting experience of which twelve were with national firms. He holds a doctorate in strategic planning and was a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Information Technology Executive Committee, Information Technology Practices Subcommittee, the AICPA's Certified Information Technology Professional Committee and the Group of 100. He has consulted with a large global pharmaceutical firm in the development of a project management office and enterprise-wide process standardization and assisted in the development of a strategic information technology plan for a large state government agency. He was Chief Methods Director, Strategic Change methodology including corporate, organizational and information technology strategy covering E-Business and Performance Driven Change as well as chief architect of a performance support environment for a major international consulting firm, including methods architecture and technology support. He conceived, designed, developed and implemented the Center for Learning Innovation, an advanced, focused center for the development of training, organizational change and performance support initiatives, developed the Educational Consulting practice from zero to approximately $50 million in billing annually and developed the consulting practice's competency-based curriculum architecture He has written for a variety of publications including Information Systems Management, Performance & Instruction, Performance Improvement, Software Engineering, Infotech, Software Magazine, Systems Development Management and The Handbook of IS Management. He also co-authored the book, Information Technology Competencies in the Accounting Profession: Implications for Education and Practice, published by the American Institute of CPAs.
