On July 5, Peter Pae wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times entitled, "Northrup Grumman's Ronald Sugar: Quietly in Command" (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cover5-2009jul05,0,6167150.story).In that article Pae spoke about how Sugar has walked quietly and carried a very big "strategic" stick in growing Northrup. Key to that strategy and one he spells out in this wonderful book are:
1. Create a comprehensive list of possible scenarios concerning your business - this will help you to break free of the short sighted, short term transactional myopia (make the numbers this quarter)
2. Utilize a scoring system to rate each scenario's merit as a serious and useful prediction - measuring things parallels your taking the undertaking seriously
3. Develop an effective plan that strategically shapes the future of your organization - after you select the best scenario for your company, develop a step by step plan to get there. I'll add that for each of those steps to be implemented they should "make sense," "feel right," and "be doable" to those who will implement it.Also keep in mind that "if only geniuses understand it and mere mortals don't, it won't get done."
Just because Ronald Sugar has flown under the radar as a leader -- at least in the public arena -- doesn't mean you should overlook this great book.
Buy it, absorb it, use it with your teams and then follow it.
Mark Goulston
author Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone and Get Out Of Your Own Way At Work, And Help Others Do the Same: Conquer Self-Defeating Behavior on the Job
Click Here to see more reviews about: Strategic Business Forecasting: A Structured Approach to Shaping the Future of Your Business (Hardcover)
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