This article showcases our top picks for the
Books on Strategy Execution. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below).
We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article
This list is in no particular order.
This product was recommended by Ray Leon from Pet Insurance Review
Understanding the ins-and-outs of search engine optimization is essential knowledge for all business owners. ‘SEO for Growth’ is an excellent source of invaluable insight to help rank higher in search engine results. Effective search engine optimization is a pivotal marketing strategy that businesses can’t ignore as a channel on par with PR and advertising. SEO for Growth is filled with SEO best practices that all business owners should learn in order to effectively strategize and execute brand growth.
This product was recommended by Adam Korbl from iFax
This book was absolutely pure gold. This should be mandatory reading in HIGH SCHOOL. This book DOES tell you HOW to get things done. It brings to light all the tough issues most people don’t want to face, but if you DON’T face them, your business ultimately suffers. Every single page has underlining on it now, a very very good book if you care about business and making yours better. This book now resides higher than Drucker books, simply because it is not theory only. Larry Bossidy means business. Discipline is a great thing in this world. I found his methods fascinating and useful for people who want to work hard and don’t expect everything handed to them in life. This book gets 6 out of 5 stars.
This product was recommended by Julian Goldie from Goldie Agency
If you are looking for some good, practical advice on how to be more successful, this is a good place to start. Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, is one of the world’s foremost thought leaders on executive coaching and what it takes to become successful. Mr. Goldsmith writes in a very conversational style. He has a wealth of experience in working with some of the most successful people in the world. He has brought his experiences together and shares a number of success stories. He cites numerous examples of how his ideas have been used to great success in business and life. His concepts are straightforward and easy to understand. There are a lot of fantastic ideas and concepts presented in this book. As Mr. Goldsmith is quick to point out, ideas are not what matter. It is the execution. Do not expect to become more successful simply be reading this book. It is up to you to put these ideas into action.
This product was recommended by Prasad Patil from HookmyBook
This book is about a simple, repeatable, and proven formula for executing your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. By following the 4 Disciplines—Focus on the Wildly Important; Act on Lead Measures; Keep a Compelling Scoreboard; Create a Cadence of Accountability—leaders can produce breakthrough results, even when executing the strategy requires a significant change in behavior from their teams.
This product was recommended by Prasad Patil from HookmyBook
This book is about how to be an effective executive, and it tells you how to make better decisions in your workplace. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results and that’s why Effectiveness is essential for success.
This product was recommended by Prasad Patil from HookmyBook
The Blue Ocean Strategy is a business strategy that challenges the common belief that you have to outcompete your business rivals to achieve sustained profitability. The alternative is to make your competitors irrelevant through innovation and creating your own market. This new market is called your blue ocean.
This product was recommended by Prasad Patil from HookmyBook
Getting things done is a way of being productive that starts with taking control of your daily tasks. This will help you to focus on bigger goals, and achieve a sense of control over your life. To get things done, you need to know what finished means to you. Most people don’t have a clear idea of what a finished task looks like, because they’re not used to solving problems this way. You should always try to reach a clear stopping point, so you can know when you’ve completed a task.
This product was recommended by Prasad Patil from HookmyBook
Good to Great is a business book written by Jim Collins that identifies the common features that successful companies share. These features include hiring the right people, firing the wrong people, adapting when needed, and promoting effective leaders. The book’s key is to have a positive momentum that will snowball the company towards greatness.
This product was recommended by Prasad Patil from HookmyBook
In Start with Why, Sinek explains how to create a successful business by focusing on the reasons why the business was created in the first place. This will help to overcome unstable markets and build loyal customers. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.
This product was recommended by Jason Cordes from CocoLoan
A nice and practical book on a strategy that includes ten articles selected by HBR. Those who are looking for the right strategy for their business and are looking for new ideas for their business can look at this book. This book will help readers to make decisions faster. This book is available in paperback, kindle and audiobook format.
This product was recommended by Dean Kaplan from The Kaplan Group
Whereas most books on strategic execution only talk about theory, this book also gives practical solutions. The author has over 20 years of experience in advising leading organizations on strategic execution and he provides examples from a range of different industries. As a strategic consultant myself, I found the examples interesting and easy to relate to. In today’s competitive marketplace, effective strategic execution is a critical success factor for businesses and this book contains applicable steps that all leaders can follow to improve their execution.
This product was recommended by Lindsey Hyland from Urban Organic Yield
This book is about bridging the strategy-to-execution gap and making strategy work in your organization. It is written by Cesare Mainardi, an experienced consultant and CEO, and he knows what he is talking about. The book is based on real-world case studies from a wide range of industries, so you can see how the concepts are applied in practice. And, most importantly, it provides a step-by-step framework that you can use to close the gap in your own organization.
This product was recommended by Mimi Paul from Starkflow
This book is just what you need to learn about strategic execution. It gives great guidance to those who wish to learn more clearly the nuances of strategic planning and how to accomplish it more effectively. Highly recommended.
This product was recommended by Span Chen from The Karate Blog
Business and competition are a form of war. The Art of War is a timeless book about war strategy written by the Chinese general and military strategist Sun Tzu.
This product was recommended by David Wurst from WebCitz, LLC
This book investigates the gap that exists between strategy, execution, and results achieved. The book deconstructs strategy advice from different authors and works of literature into advice that delivers. It provides tangible and executable principles and ideas that most managers and leaders can put into practice. It offers guiding principles for generating outstanding results from unfavorable conditions, as well as a keen assessment of why too much planning and a status quo mentality can be detrimental to businesses. It emphasizes the necessity of providing clear direction rather than extensive instruction because it allows individuals to respond to and adapt to changes in unique circumstances.
This product was recommended by David Patterson-Cole from Moonchaser
By far the best book on strategy execution I’ve read, and the one I recommend to others, is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni. What I really like about this one is that it’s easy to read and lets the lessons sink into your brain without being didactic. As the title says, it’s a fable—a fictional story that provides its morals in a clear, engaging way. If you like business books and books on strategy, this is an essential one to give you a new perspective and understand how to better run a team.
This product was recommended by Shawn Plummer from The Annuity Expert
This book deserves all the accolades it has received thanks to the author’s perceptive insights on disruption. While the world has changed quite a bit since its first publication, the deep research into concepts like disk drives and retail stores shows you how the fundamentals have not changed. We’re perhaps more ripe for disruption now than at any time in the past, so having these lessons available at hand is a must for your strategic execution of new ideas.