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Awesomely Simple: Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas Into Action
The six core strategies to elevate any business-and how to implement them-made simple What do the world's most successful companies and organization have in common? And what can you actually take away and use from their examples? Distilling the best fundamental business strategies, trusted advisor and strategist John Spence helps you take a hard look at your business and together develop specific plans and action steps that will allow you to dramatically improve the success of your company. Delivered in Spence's approachable and straightforward manner, Awesomely Simple reveals the six key strategies that create a foundation for achieving business Vivid Vision, Best People, A Performance-Oriented Culture, Robust Communication, A Sense of Urgency, and Extreme Customer Focus. A perfect resource for business leaders, Awesomely Simple will help you turn ideas into positive action and achieve lasting business success.
- GenresBusiness
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
29 people are currently reading
523 people want to read
About the author
John Spence
1 book57 followersBackground on John Spence
"Making the very complex...awesomely simple” is no mere catch phrase, it is truly John Spence’s mission in life. Driven by an insatiable curiosity to understand the fundamental aspects of what it takes to achieve and sustain excellence in business and life, John Spence has earned a reputation as a leading authority in the areas of Strategic Thinking, High-Performance Teams, Advanced Leadership Development, and Delivering Consistently Superior Customer Service, making him one of the most highly sought after executive educators and professional speakers in America.
At the age of just 26, John was named CEO of an international Rockefeller foundation, overseeing projects in 20 countries and reporting directly to the Chairman of the Board, Winthrop P. Rockefeller III. Two years later John was nominated as one of the top CEOs under the age of 40 in Florida and Inc. Magazine’s “Zinc Online” recognized him as one of America’s up and coming young business leaders. In 2011 John was named one of the Top 100 Business Thought Leaders in America.
For the past 17 years, John has presented workshops, speeches and executive coaching to more than 300 organizations worldwide including; Microsoft, IBM, GE, Abbott, Merrill Lynch, AT&T, Verizon, Qualcomm, State Farm, and dozens of private companies, government offices and not-for-profits. John is also the author of “Excellence by Design – the six key characteristics of outstanding leaders” and “Awesomely Simple – essential business strategies for turning ideas into action” and has been a guest lecturer at over 90 colleges and universities across the United States including Harvard, Rutgers, Brown, Stanford and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Affectionately referred to as the “Human Cliffs Notes” by many of his clients, John is known for taking massive amounts of research combined with his personal hands-on experience to deliver timely, focused, results-driven programs. For example, to create carefully customized workshops and presentations that reflect the newest research and most current thinking, John reads a minimum of 100 business-related books each year and listens to an additional 30-50 audio books, giving him an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge which to draw from.
John has served as “Executive in Residence” for the University of Central Florida’s Technology Incubator; as a Special Advisor to the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University; as a lead instructor for the University of North Florida’s Executive Education division; on the Board of Directors for the University of Florida’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation; as an advisor to the University of Florida’s Leadership Development Institute and as a senior instructor at the Cornell University Leadership Development School.
His work as a business advisor and executive educator has taken him on assignments to Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Latin America, the Bahamas and Canada.
"Making the very complex...awesomely simple” is no mere catch phrase, it is truly John Spence’s mission in life. Driven by an insatiable curiosity to understand the fundamental aspects of what it takes to achieve and sustain excellence in business and life, John Spence has earned a reputation as a leading authority in the areas of Strategic Thinking, High-Performance Teams, Advanced Leadership Development, and Delivering Consistently Superior Customer Service, making him one of the most highly sought after executive educators and professional speakers in America.
At the age of just 26, John was named CEO of an international Rockefeller foundation, overseeing projects in 20 countries and reporting directly to the Chairman of the Board, Winthrop P. Rockefeller III. Two years later John was nominated as one of the top CEOs under the age of 40 in Florida and Inc. Magazine’s “Zinc Online” recognized him as one of America’s up and coming young business leaders. In 2011 John was named one of the Top 100 Business Thought Leaders in America.
For the past 17 years, John has presented workshops, speeches and executive coaching to more than 300 organizations worldwide including; Microsoft, IBM, GE, Abbott, Merrill Lynch, AT&T, Verizon, Qualcomm, State Farm, and dozens of private companies, government offices and not-for-profits. John is also the author of “Excellence by Design – the six key characteristics of outstanding leaders” and “Awesomely Simple – essential business strategies for turning ideas into action” and has been a guest lecturer at over 90 colleges and universities across the United States including Harvard, Rutgers, Brown, Stanford and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Affectionately referred to as the “Human Cliffs Notes” by many of his clients, John is known for taking massive amounts of research combined with his personal hands-on experience to deliver timely, focused, results-driven programs. For example, to create carefully customized workshops and presentations that reflect the newest research and most current thinking, John reads a minimum of 100 business-related books each year and listens to an additional 30-50 audio books, giving him an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge which to draw from.
John has served as “Executive in Residence” for the University of Central Florida’s Technology Incubator; as a Special Advisor to the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University; as a lead instructor for the University of North Florida’s Executive Education division; on the Board of Directors for the University of Florida’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation; as an advisor to the University of Florida’s Leadership Development Institute and as a senior instructor at the Cornell University Leadership Development School.
His work as a business advisor and executive educator has taken him on assignments to Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Latin America, the Bahamas and Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 20, 2011
Yes - I AM the author -- but here is the "somewhat" unbiased review I posted on my own book on Amazon... I hope you find this helpful.
I think this is a pretty good book. Not life-changing. Not revolutionary... but a good, solid book on the fundamental aspects of running a highly successful organization.
Here is the deal: I have worked as a business improvement consultant and executive trainer in more than 300 companies around the world - from tiny start-ups to Microsoft, GE, IBM. I have also read a minimum of 100 business books a year, every year since 1989. What I have done in Awesomely Simple is to boil down all of that experience and information into the things that I feel really work. Whether you are starting a new business, trying to lead a team inside a company or you are the CEO of a mid-sized firm - I have tried to deliver superb information, ideas, tools and examples to help you be more successful. Along those lines, I have also filled the book with tons of short audits, recommendations, examples, surveys, case studies and most importantly... specific suggestions for how to take the ideas in the book and immediately put them into action in your organization.
Awesomely Simple will never win an award for ushering in a new way to look at business or for some really cool new theory of competitiveness. What most people have said about the books is: "I knew a lot of the stuff you put in this book John, but I have never seen it put together in one place in such an easy and engaging way... and even though I thought I knew this information it was clear after reading Awesomely Simple that I was NOT doing the things you suggested and this book helped me figure out what I could do right away to start positively impacting my business." If you are a business owner/CEO, a manager, a team leader or just want to know more about the fundamentals of creating a truly excellent business, I hope you will pick up a copy of Awesomely Simple - AND - drop me a note with your feedback, comments and questions - I would LOVE to hear form you!
I think this is a pretty good book. Not life-changing. Not revolutionary... but a good, solid book on the fundamental aspects of running a highly successful organization.
Here is the deal: I have worked as a business improvement consultant and executive trainer in more than 300 companies around the world - from tiny start-ups to Microsoft, GE, IBM. I have also read a minimum of 100 business books a year, every year since 1989. What I have done in Awesomely Simple is to boil down all of that experience and information into the things that I feel really work. Whether you are starting a new business, trying to lead a team inside a company or you are the CEO of a mid-sized firm - I have tried to deliver superb information, ideas, tools and examples to help you be more successful. Along those lines, I have also filled the book with tons of short audits, recommendations, examples, surveys, case studies and most importantly... specific suggestions for how to take the ideas in the book and immediately put them into action in your organization.
Awesomely Simple will never win an award for ushering in a new way to look at business or for some really cool new theory of competitiveness. What most people have said about the books is: "I knew a lot of the stuff you put in this book John, but I have never seen it put together in one place in such an easy and engaging way... and even though I thought I knew this information it was clear after reading Awesomely Simple that I was NOT doing the things you suggested and this book helped me figure out what I could do right away to start positively impacting my business." If you are a business owner/CEO, a manager, a team leader or just want to know more about the fundamentals of creating a truly excellent business, I hope you will pick up a copy of Awesomely Simple - AND - drop me a note with your feedback, comments and questions - I would LOVE to hear form you!
May 15, 2019
very great book, i really like it
February 27, 2010
Is your business or organization becoming so complex that you are slowing down and becoming less innovative?
Then this book is for you.
Then this book is for you.
December 12, 2023
While most achievement targets are simple to state, they are hard to achieve. For example, there is the oft-repeated adage, “buy low, sell high.” Easy to state, but very hard to precisely know when the price has hit a valley before rising or hit a peak before falling.
Spence states six principles of business success. They are:
*) Vivid vision
*) Best people
*) Robust communication
*) Sense of urgency
*) Disciplined execution
*) Extreme customer focus.
All simple to state and easy to understand in the abstract. Hard to execute in practice.
For example, it is easy to understand that there must be a vision for what the organization should be doing. However, the business world is littered with the residue of companies that had a vivid vision that was either false or had a limited lifespan. The sense of urgency is also real, but as Spence notes, this is something that must be tempered. Urgency can range from “get it done it a week” to “we need to make a decision within six months.” Deciding which situation is the reality is generally very hard.
No one can dispute that these six principles are a map to business success, but as always implementing them correctly is the hard part. Spence puts down some sound advice, but once again he seems to be a little star struck from the title. None of these six principles is easy to execute, managing to keep a group of talented people focused on the stated goals is always hard. Human nature, especially when involving smart and ambitious people is always a challenge.
While this book contains some sound advice for business success, it suffers from a serious deficiency. One should never make the claim that success in business is simple, especially when you preface it with the word “awesomely.” There just is no such thing.
Spence states six principles of business success. They are:
*) Vivid vision
*) Best people
*) Robust communication
*) Sense of urgency
*) Disciplined execution
*) Extreme customer focus.
All simple to state and easy to understand in the abstract. Hard to execute in practice.
For example, it is easy to understand that there must be a vision for what the organization should be doing. However, the business world is littered with the residue of companies that had a vivid vision that was either false or had a limited lifespan. The sense of urgency is also real, but as Spence notes, this is something that must be tempered. Urgency can range from “get it done it a week” to “we need to make a decision within six months.” Deciding which situation is the reality is generally very hard.
No one can dispute that these six principles are a map to business success, but as always implementing them correctly is the hard part. Spence puts down some sound advice, but once again he seems to be a little star struck from the title. None of these six principles is easy to execute, managing to keep a group of talented people focused on the stated goals is always hard. Human nature, especially when involving smart and ambitious people is always a challenge.
While this book contains some sound advice for business success, it suffers from a serious deficiency. One should never make the claim that success in business is simple, especially when you preface it with the word “awesomely.” There just is no such thing.
April 24, 2022
Awesomely Simple by John Spence is of my one of my all-time favorite business books! It isn’t often that you come across a business book that is relevant to business leaders at all stages of their professional journeys, but Awesomely Simple does just that! Whether you are the CEO of a billion-dollar enterprise, or you’re at the very start of your entrepreneurial journey, you will find this book relevant to the needs of your organization. In his book, John Spence will provide you with a “Big Picture” understanding of exactly what you need to do to turn your ideas into action. The Awesomely Simple framework is comprised of six practical and powerful principles that you can start using right away to build a stronger brand and a stronger business! John’s writing style is conversational and easy to understand, and his six principles can be applied to any business, in any industry, at any stage of its life cycle. Add Awesomely Simple to your bookshelf today! Fun fact: I have a copy of Awesomely Simple that was signed by John after I participated in one of his workshops.
August 7, 2017
At first I was annoyed with this book. It was someone excessively positive giving straight up fluff speeches about mission statements and organization. There were actionable tasks which were redeeming for the abstract narrative, but it wasn't enough. Happily I made it into chapter 3 and finally Spence got into the meat of the subject. He discusses real action plans to communicate effectively, emphasizes what he means, and genuinely impressed me. The next chapter was amazing too! Chapter 5 and 6 started to get back to mediocrity, but then the Conclusion was a proper review of everything discussed with very useful pointers and steps. I'm glad this book was given to my husband as it's going to be a great resource to refer to over the years.
June 27, 2017
Any advice is good advice if you take action. The business principles in this book are distilled from many disciplines of business management but what stands out is Spence's questions and exercises at the end of each chapter. Learning emotional intelligence then practicing emotional intelligence is a powerful component of communication. Few companies master delivering value to customers while maintaining strong teams.
March 2, 2018
This was clear and easy to understand, with some good advice. A relatively quick read, though not exactly exciting.
February 3, 2019
Pretty basic concepts that can never be reiterated too many times.
April 17, 2021
Incredibly important business advice put in an easy to understand manner—and applications. I would say a top business book for me these days!
Read
March 5, 2016March-2010 - The author does a good job in breaking down SIMPLE strategies such as:
M/V/V - Mission - "Why we exist"
Vision - "Where we want to go"
Values - "How we will act along the way"
SMART Goals - Specific - "Detail exactly what you want to achieve" Measurable - "Goals must be quantifiable" Agreed on - "Everyone has to agree/buy in on the goals" Realistic - "Goals must be achievable, otherwise demoralizing" Timebound - "Specific date for achieving goals"
Conistent superior customer service can literally double your profit. Customers expectations are:
1. Realiability - Do what was promised on time & accurately
2. Professionalism - Be ethical, knowledgable & honest
3. Empathy - Geniune care & concern for customer satisfaction
4. Responsiveness - Prompt service / proactive in anticipating customer needs
5. Ambience - Design & comfort of your office, cleaniness & appearance of personnel.
4 P's
Passion - Love the area of your focus.
Persistence - 10 year rule, Stick to it, Study other experts in your field, look at Mozart
Practice - Practice 7-10 years, make adjustments, get better, getting feedback from coaches & mentors
Pattern recogintions - Look for patterns such as basketball players who can see the who court, biz coaches looking at the business as a whole, etc.
"You can't make fast decisions if you don't know where you are going"
"A major part of strategy is figuring out what to say "No" to."
M/V/V - Mission - "Why we exist"
Vision - "Where we want to go"
Values - "How we will act along the way"
SMART Goals - Specific - "Detail exactly what you want to achieve" Measurable - "Goals must be quantifiable" Agreed on - "Everyone has to agree/buy in on the goals" Realistic - "Goals must be achievable, otherwise demoralizing" Timebound - "Specific date for achieving goals"
Conistent superior customer service can literally double your profit. Customers expectations are:
1. Realiability - Do what was promised on time & accurately
2. Professionalism - Be ethical, knowledgable & honest
3. Empathy - Geniune care & concern for customer satisfaction
4. Responsiveness - Prompt service / proactive in anticipating customer needs
5. Ambience - Design & comfort of your office, cleaniness & appearance of personnel.
4 P's
Passion - Love the area of your focus.
Persistence - 10 year rule, Stick to it, Study other experts in your field, look at Mozart
Practice - Practice 7-10 years, make adjustments, get better, getting feedback from coaches & mentors
Pattern recogintions - Look for patterns such as basketball players who can see the who court, biz coaches looking at the business as a whole, etc.
"You can't make fast decisions if you don't know where you are going"
"A major part of strategy is figuring out what to say "No" to."
May 27, 2019
A distillation of business management. If you're serious about business, you cannot go wrong revisiting these principles and then conducting the "effectiveness audits" at the end of each chapter.
The author's introduction makes a compelling case for his credibility to write this. John Spence has walked the walk in business. I'm not surprised that only 10-15% of businesses actually execute on their major goals. Spoiler alert: the four impediments to execution: 1) lack of well documented vision 2) lack of courageous communication 3) lack of disciplined execution and 4) tolerating mediocrity. No major surprises there as they seem like typical human weaknesses based on complacency and organizational inertia.
I found some good, new ideas along and was reacquainted with old ones. A book like this should be used as a workbook after it's read. They say "good work is lost by a lack of a little more." That would be true if you read this without picking it up periodically to mull over its questions. It contains thought-provoking questions relating to your business's fundamental mission and operations.
The author's introduction makes a compelling case for his credibility to write this. John Spence has walked the walk in business. I'm not surprised that only 10-15% of businesses actually execute on their major goals. Spoiler alert: the four impediments to execution: 1) lack of well documented vision 2) lack of courageous communication 3) lack of disciplined execution and 4) tolerating mediocrity. No major surprises there as they seem like typical human weaknesses based on complacency and organizational inertia.
I found some good, new ideas along and was reacquainted with old ones. A book like this should be used as a workbook after it's read. They say "good work is lost by a lack of a little more." That would be true if you read this without picking it up periodically to mull over its questions. It contains thought-provoking questions relating to your business's fundamental mission and operations.
December 11, 2009
I really want to tell you to run out and get this book. I genuinely believe that it can have an amazing impact on your business. The concepts in this book and an intense focus on taking action off of them was amazing. The thing that wasn't... the authors voice. I did listen to this in Audiobook format, so that may have had an impact, but John Spence can't seem to help from mentioning himself and his experiences. The man is brilliant and the ideas warrant a healty ego, I just wish he had managed to keep it out of the book a little more or at least approach the book in a way that put him at the center (i.e. Crush It).
Spence read 100 business books a year for 10 years and it shows. He just seemed to struggle between making the book about him or about his points and it detracted from some of the best business advice I've ever read. I highly suggest you read this, just want to make sure that you are warned.
Spence read 100 business books a year for 10 years and it shows. He just seemed to struggle between making the book about him or about his points and it detracted from some of the best business advice I've ever read. I highly suggest you read this, just want to make sure that you are warned.
October 1, 2012
John Spence has an amazing faculty & discipline, plus years of actual business experience, which he uses to consume business books and distill them into six focused chapters. Good reading for business & other leaders anywhere.
May 30, 2015
Fantastic Book! Easy to ready with ideas that truly can be turned into action, but don't necessarily cost a lot or take huge amounts of implementation time or structure.
I use it for a number of different ideas and places where I have worked. Re-read pieces regularly.
I use it for a number of different ideas and places where I have worked. Re-read pieces regularly.
December 23, 2012
A book that every entrepreneur should read
December 19, 2012
Excellent book...concise and to the point. First business book I've ever read where I didn't fall asleep in the first chapter...THIS book is a quick read but very imformative.
March 20, 2013
The book read as stated.. ok read, not my favorite but not bad either.
October 4, 2013
A book that cuts through the noise and has the content to ground young business people or seasoned executives in the basics of running a company. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2014
Time and time again I found myself thinking "wait, this is something I can actually do!" and scribble a todo to myself. Very actionable, yet grounded. I liked it!
December 13, 2015
all common sense but well said! Loved this book
April 15, 2016
Anybody that plans to succeed in business needs to read this book by John Spence.
December 28, 2016
A very important book to read to anyone building a business.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews