Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action

by Rich Horwath

The inability to set good strategy can sink a company - and a leader's career. A recent Wall Street Journal study revealed that the number one most sought after executive skill by organizations is strategic thinking, but few leaders have that skill set.

In this book, Rich Horwath dissects the three most important elements of strategic thinking, breaks them down into simple and attainable skills, and shows listeners how to apply them every day. He provides managers with a clear path to mastery of three Acumen - generate critical insights through a step-by-step evaluation of the business and its environment; Allocation - focus limited resources of time, talent, and money; and Action - implement a system to guarantee effective execution and communication of strategy throughout the organization.

This book is based on research with senior executives from more than 150 companies and Horwath's own experience as a professional strategist. Armed with the knowledge from this book, every listener can become an expert strategist and an invaluable member of his or her organization.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Buisness

Audible Audio

First published September 2, 2008

About the author

Rich Horwath is the CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, and has helped more than 100,000 managers around the world develop their strategic thinking skills. He is the author of seven books, including StrategyMan vs. The Anti-Strategy Squad: Using Strategic Thinking to Defeat Bad Strategy and Save Your Plan. He is a former Chief Strategy Officer and professor of strategy at the graduate level, and has spoken to managers at companies such as Google, Intel, FedEx, Bank of America, and L’Oreal.

Reviews

[Dave B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short well written book that requires time and a deep dive. On the surface the concepts are easy to digest but I find them hard to execute without considerable time allotted to personal strategy and planning. This is the reason for the title and the most difficult aspect of the book.

[Matt Witten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, effective description of strategy and how it should be formed. Perfect introduction to strategy for entry level employees, and great reminder/tactical book for those with experience.

[Tobi Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very important book for managers. Straightforward examination of strategy and how strategic thinking should work in a firm.

[Jerry Mahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book on strategic thinking in an organization.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offered as a pearl of great opportunity, Horwath says "the deeper you can dive into the business and resurface with strategic isights, the more valuable you'll beocme to your organization." This is unpacked by using the principles of scuba diving as a way to understand the different ways that people approach strategic planning.

This book helped me get a good grasp on concepts like purpose, mission, vision, values and strategy. The quote that floored me was nearly 40% of organizations have no formal process for developing strategy -- this is like 4 in 10 automobiles on the road operating without a steering wheel. A scary propostion.

During one of the times in the book that the author goes deep, he provides his definition of business strategy as "the intelligent allocation of limited resources through a unique system of activities to outperform the competition in serving customers."

In the past few weeks since finishing this book, I have enjoyed multiple times that I've been able to use the insights, definitions and pearls of insight in very practical ways. In a couple of different projects where I am serving as a consultant, I have developed an "action plan" that strongly draws on the strategy that "Deep Dive" so excellently unfolds.

[Rick Tabor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deep Dive by Rich Horwath is a decent overview of the basics of strategy. Highlights include (1.) the differences between strategy / objective / goal / tactic, (2.) the use of Acumen / Allocation / Action to achieve strategy,(3.) the pitfalls of developing strategy development, (4.) the SCAMPER technique for use in brainstorming -- Substitute / Combine / Adapt / Magnify and Modify / Put to other uses / Eliminate / Reverse and Rearrange, and (5.) SWOT analysis. I didn't necessarily come away from the book feeling aglow with enlightenment, as I have read / practiced many of the techniques previously, but there are quite a number of example company situations which make the book a fairly quick read.

[Tom Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. There are ton's of great resources and examples included in these pages, it's a short read, and I image it's one of those books I'll refer back to again and again. I'd give it five stars, but for two things: 1) The diving metaphor really becomes painful. I understand the marketing appeal of a comprehensive metaphor, but this was a stretch. 2)A couple of the analogies to nature are just WAY WAY off base. Again, the arguments made are spot on, the insight provided is valuable, but the analogy to "illustrate" the point is terrible in a couple instances. Overall, definitely worth reading for anyone involved in crafting corporate (or even departmental or divisional) strategy.

[Ameya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tactical book on strategy

I have read various books and strategy and the thing that most impressed me about the book is the tactical advice. The book has many tools and frameworks that one can use for strategic thinking. One thing lacking though are more concrete business real life examples that the reader can relate to. The author talks about 3 fictitious companies, but having real life examples might have really nailed the concepts for me.

[Craig Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book lit a creative fire in me like few others!

[Chris Bumpas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of valuable tips on developing and implementing a strategy with just enough wit and humor to make it an enjoyable read.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like the diving analogies, but there are definitely good pointers I need to bring into my job ...