'If you don't communicate your strategy in a way that your people understand and find compelling, how can you expect them to help you succeed with it? Research suggests only 5% of the people in an organization understand its strategy. If that is true for your organization, whose strategy are the other 95% implementing? Not yours, that is for sure.'

Phil Jones' Communicating Strategy is designed to help you communicate your strategy in a compelling and effective way, and dramatically improve implementation and the resulting outcomes.

It provides a clear framework for building a communication plan as well as practical information, techniques, tools, tips and exercises that can be applied to explain and deliver a complete and coherent message.

There is guidance on how to identify likely obstacles to change and how the psychology behind your story - and the language you use - can help create change champions; as well as details of how to use metaphor, quotations and imagery to paint a vivid picture.

The author also explores the reasons why your organization's structure, processes and culture may stifle your story and the steps you can take to align each of these to the strategy.

This is an exceptional book that includes elements of organizational theory, human psychology and good, straightforward common sense.

If you believe that people will do a better job if they understand what you are thinking and what you want, this book is for you.

Contents: Preface; They don't get the strategy; Ten heresies; Communicate what, to whom and why?; Understanding and motivating change; What's in it for…?; Developing the story of the strategy; Let me tell you a story; The aligned management team; The handcuffed organization; Developing your communications strategy and plan; Final thoughts; Appendix: The channels - communicating the message; Index.

About the Author: Phil Jones is a strategy and performance management specialist. During his career he has helped many organizations develop, communicate and implement their strategy better in organizations as diverse as retail and investment banking, insurance, FMCG, utilities, leisure, manufacturing and IT services. He has worked in the UK, Europe, the US and Far East for organizations ranging from multi-nationals, FTSE100, SMEs, to start-ups. In the public sector he has helped organisations that include City Councils, MoD, NHS Trusts, the Department for Work and Pensions and Strategic Health.

Phil's background includes a corporate strategy planning role and in the management team of a dot.com as well as extensive management consultancy experience with the niche consultancy Renaissance set up by Norton & Kaplan (authors of the original balanced scorecard books) as well as both KPMG and Price Waterhouse. He now runs Excitant Limited to help organisations turn strategy, into performance and results through their people.

Reviews: ‘This book represents an informative and innovative addition to the literature on business strategy that should interest company executives and academics within fields of business organisation and business development’ – Economic Outlook and Business Review

'The messages in this book are important for anyone interested in strategy! Phil Jones discusses the critical issue of communicating strategy - and what's best - he communicates his messages in a very engaging and easy to understand manner.' Bernard Marr, Chief Executive, The Advanced Performance Institute

'Even the most well conceived strategies can be next to worthless if they are not communicated properly, understood fully or used to shape decision making actively - at all levels in an organisation. Phil Jones' insights into how businesses can make this happen are remarkable for their clarity, well grounded and - best of all - demonstrably effective! He has created a wonderfully pragmatic guidebook for achieving success.' – Ken Douglas, Technology Director, Office of the CTO, BP International Ltd

'This book sets out to give you the tools to make decisions for yourself and develop your judgement...It isn't a step-by-step guide (thank goodness) but rather suggests options that you can apply with confidence to your own particular situation and that gets you thinking for yourself...It's a user-friendly book, refreshingly free of management-speak. Once you've read it I'm pretty sure it won't go back on the shelf but will become a part of your armoury in the challenging world of business, strategy and maybe even relationships' – Edge Magazine

'Each chapter of Communicating Strategy poses practical business strategy questions. If you can answer them, you've obviously read the book - if you can't it's time you did!' – Philip Dearing, Managing Director - Mutual One Limited

'Everything in this book is obvious - after you have read it. It is a practical book you can use and apply every day, as well as being a guide to planning a larger communication strategy'. – Martin Coombes, Partner, Innovation llp

'Communicating Strategy communicates well – in direct and accessible language. Phil articulates a route to success by both building on the strengths of relationships at work and by demonstrating how to deal with the disconnect that can occur in leading change when strategy is not jointly owned. Phil’s research has evidently been done and applied to his conclusions. Above all, it is apparent that he has walked the approach he advocates…..Well Communicated.' – Shelagh Grant, Chief Executive, The Housing Forum

This title is also available as an ebook, ISBN 978-0-7546-8288-2

This book is available from ExactEditions on an electronic subscription basis. To see sample pages or to purchase in this format please go to: http://www.exacteditions.com/isbn/9780754682882

The author has set up a website for the book, Communicating Strategy

Extracts from this title are available to view:

Full contents list

Preface

Chapter 1 - They don't get the strategy

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