It's Not Rocket Science: 4 Simple Strategies for Mastering the Art of Execution

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Biographical Note: DAVE ANDERSON is President of LearnToLead, an international leadership training and consulting company. Dave has given thousands of leadership presentations worldwide based on his personal experience building and running successful organizations. Dave is author of 13 books including "Up Your Business, If You Don't Make Waves You'll Drown, How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK," and "How to Lead by THE BOOK." He is cofounder and chairman of Matthew 25:35 Foundation. Follow Dave on Twitter @DaveAnderson100. Jacket Description/Flap: Frustrated by your efforts pursuing the "next big thing"? "It's Not Rocket Science" is your personal guide that gives you the power to ignore the lure of ineffective trends and eschew the endless false promises that hold most businesses back. Leadership guru Dave Anderson shows you how to get your company back on track, back to basics, and back in control with the most effective and sustainable drivers of business growth. Why search for the holy grail of business success when you've already heard, been taught, and know the key fundamentals that will help your company thrive for the long haul? "It's Not Rocket Science" offers a commonsense approach to business success and outlines a basic, effective, and actionable four-step blueprint for building a great organization of any size, in any arena. It reveals how to seamlessly execute a goal or vision that is clearly defined and consistent; put in place the leaders that have the capacity to get the job done; create a culture that is aligned with the company's vision; and develop a winning team that has the talent, process, and guidance to get the job done. Whether you are leading a business, nonprot organization, military unit, or sports team, you will find the four simple steps for mastering the art of execution applicable and effective. Each chapter opens with "The Challenge," which outlines a condition existing in business today that is due to a departure from leadership fundamentals and a pursuit of the latest version of "rocket science" business trends. After a thorough explanation of "what" and "why,"the author describes the actionable "how" so you can implement the valuable steps and master the art of execution in your organization. Interspersed among the chapters are Anderson's witty and wise Rocket Science Rants. These are blunt and somewhat politically incorrect pieces that endeavor to shed a no-fluff light on the subject at hand. "It's Not Rocket Science" is the book to keep on hand as a reminder of the four timeless execution methods and strategies that have proven themselves over centuries. Now you have the keys for getting the leaders right, getting the culture right, getting the people right, and getting the process right!Table of Contents: Acknowledgments ix Foreword xi Preface xiii Introduction xvii PART ONE GET THE PROCESS RIGHT! 1 CHAPTER ONE Why Your Team Cannot Execute and How to Fix It 3 CHAPTER TWO Make Each Day a Masterpiece 7 CHAPTER THREE Get TUF! 11 CHAPTER FOUR The Fray Gets in the Way! 15 CHAPTER FIVE MAX It! 19 CHAPTER SIX The Power of a Personal Success Profile (PSP) 25 CHAPTER SEVEN MAP It! 29 CHAPTER EIGHT RAM It! 35 CHAPTER NINE Prune It! 39 CHAPTER TEN Don't Mistake Motion for Progress! 43 Part One Summary 49 PART TWO GET THE LEADERS RIGHT! 51 CHAPTER ELEVEN Do You Overmanage and Underlead? 53 CHAPTER TWELVE Stretching, Trenches, and Changing 57 CHAPTER THIRTEEN You Are the Catalyst! 61 CHAPTER FOURTEEN Buy-in Is Earned, Not Commanded! 65 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Get Your Red Belt On! 71 CHAPTER SIXTEEN The Truth about Mediocrity 75 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Beware the Five Seductions of Leadership 79 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Five Ways Conventional Wisdom Destroys Your Potential 85 CHAPTER NINETEEN The Power of Preparation 93 CHAPTER TWENTY A Blueprint for Making the Tough Calls 97 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Four Ways to Measure Your Leadership 103 Part Two Summary 111 PART THREE GET THE CULTURE RIGHT! 113 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Remember--It's the Culture, Stupid! 115 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE The Core Value Pillar 119 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR The Mission Pillar 123 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE The Performance Standard Pillar 127 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Establish Your Business Facts of Life 131 CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN The Core Competency Pillar 137 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT The People Pillar 141 CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE The Earn and Deserve Culture 145 CHAPTER THIRTY The Ideal Cultural Portrait--Consistent In, Mediocre Out 149 CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Weave in Catalyst, Responsible, and Lead 157 CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Entitled Out, Tough-Minded In 161 CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE Sloth Out, Loyal In 165 Part Three Summary 171 PART FOUR GET THE TEAM RIGHT! 173 CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR How to Find the Great People You're Looking For! 175 CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE Like is Never Enough! 179 CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX You Can't Make People What They Are Not! 183 CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN Ten Tips to Retain Talent 187 CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT Fix the Roof While the Sun Is Shining! 191 CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE Six Ways to Increase Employee Engagement 195 CHAPTER FORTY The Staggering Cost of Poor Performance 199 Part Four Summary 205 About the Author 207 Glossary of Master the Art of Execution Terms 209 References 211 Index 215Publisher Marketing: 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.

Contributor Bio:  Anderson, Dave Dave Anderson contributed to "The Rivals, The New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox, An Inside History."