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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 9 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
a must read! Nov 10, 2009
By Dewayne Sode
This is a good read but I really loved the final chapter. Marc Emmer has an inspirational message about how business owners can take control of their businesses, and take control of their life by being more "intentional" in their actions. Emmer maintains that people should be able to "design the future they want to create."
His methodology illustrates ways to create employ engagement and tie that back to organizational goals through scorecards and incentives. He points out that in most companies, only a few people see or understand the numbers. If you want people to be responsible for the results, you have to teach them the numbers and how to improve them.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
A must read! Oct 29, 2009
By onederin
A coworker recently lent me a copy of Intended Consequences and I liked it so much I'm buying my own copy. It's a practical strategy book, with rich insights on how to position your business in today's volatile environment. Marc Emmer provides many pragmatic examples of how companies have carved out unique market niche's and differentiated their offers.
The book has deep implications for businesses who are attempting to weather the storm and prepare for an upturn. Emmer points out that "volatility has become the norm" and that organization's will have to be more proactive in their planning in order to prepare for inevitable external factors that may influence their business in the future. According to Emmer, the liquidity crisis was avoidable, and there are steps that businesses can take to prepare for the road ahead. The book also provides a how to guide for strategic planning.
Emmer ends with his take on how businesses can better leverage measurements to sustain profitability through scorecarding, a powerful tool for businesses large and small. I found the book easy to read yet thought provoking and I would highly recommend it.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Strategy Made Fun Mar 05, 2010
By Drea Knufken
Global water shortages. A cashless society. Massive national debt. Higher taxes.
The next decade doesn't look too rosy, does it?
It also doesn't look business-friendly--unless you know how to increase your chances of success. Your success, according to consultant and author Marc Emmer, hinges on effective strategy and execution.
In his new book, Intended Consequences: Designing the Future You Want to Create, Emmer helps you devise a strategy to bust through modern pitfalls like hypercompetition and commoditization. By creating an all-encompassing strategy and success measurement system, you can pave the way for competitive advantage over the next decade.
Emmer guides you through the steps involved in both creating a winning strategy and a unique selling proposition for your company. At the end of the book, you have an understanding of why strategy and differentiation are crucial in today's business environment, how to create them, and how to continue to measure your success.
Content
Emmer's first chapters, which you can breeze through, describe of the human nature and the current economy. Emmer reminds readers that humans are myopic, biased, pattern-seeking individuals--and that comes with limitations. Companies themselves are subject to collecting myopia and herding and internal focus.
To compensate for these intrinsic weaknesses, Emmer tells you how to do a scenario planning (STEEP) exercise, as well as create a Futures map. A STEEP exercise is a tool considering how social, technological, economic, ecological and political factors may affect a business in the future. A Futures map is an illustration of a scenario and is a tool for explaining the company's vision of the future.
In following chapters, the book introduces the concept of strategic planning. It describes how a company should use it to build its indicators, goals, and manage performance. Next, the book details the three ways in which successful companies can be defined in today's hypercompetitive business environment. Emmer shares how companies should set expectations based on those success factors.
After that, you learn how customers behave in a hypercompetitive market, and how marketers can effectively react to today's consumers' expectations. Emmer shares specific tips on creating points of brand differentiation. Finally, he tells you how to manage your marketing efforts, measure your product's success, sell correctly for the environment, and organize customer information most effectively.
The next chapter details how to hold, organize, and manage a successful strategic planning meeting. It tells you how to use scorecarding to gather business intelligence and create alignment between a company's strategy and its staff.
In the book's final chapters, Emmer talks about being a best-in-class employer, how it works, and why you need to do it. He covers how to manage employee incentives and create successful pay-for-performance metrics. He closes with a simple business mantra: Be intentional. That is key.
Analysis
I don't usually use "strategy" and "fun" in the same sentence, but Emmer's book on strategy is fun to read. His initial chapters offer a refreshing take on the pitfalls of the modern era and human behavior. From Chapter 6 onward, Emmer seems to hit his literary stride. The book takes on a pleasing conversational tone, recounting Emmer's personal experiences and making jokes and jabs about familiar companies.
Some of his tips, like only competing on cost if you have the size to do so, are basic business tenets. The author, however, does a good job of mixing these old adages with strategy-specific concepts, real-life company examples, and definitions. The net result is a pleasing and comprehensible blend of ideas.
Emmer's clear style makes even the more complex concepts easy to follow. His confidence in his strategy and execution tools is contagious. Accept all the possibilities, know how to secure competitive advantage, and even the post-financial crisis world can be your oyster.
Overall, the book left me with an upbeat sense of control. I recommend it for anyone wanting ideas on how to build an effective business strategy in tumultuous economic conditions.
(Book review by Drea Knufken)
Get what you want out of your business Feb 08, 2011
By T.B. Allred
This book is great! I highly recommend it for anyone in business or wanting to be in business. The book makes the critical endeavor of strategic planning easy to understand and execute. It also demonstrates the even more important job of implementing the strategic plan, including the use of scorecarding. Plus, it is easy and entertaining to read. I love the illustration using Terrell Owens.
Smart, Practical, Interesting Aug 05, 2010
By John Klymshyn
"Coach 'K'"
This book is great, because it is a planning retreat in a box.
Emmer takes a very practical, street smart approach to the troubling, yet essential idea that planning is necessary for business success.
The author strikes a wonderful balance between professorial instruction and conversational tone in a book that makes you want to STOP, get to work on your plan, and then run back to Intended Consequences for even more wisdom.
Reading this book, you get the feeling that a conversation with the author would be insightful, eye-opening, and even fun!
Here's the thing - this book JUST MAKES SENSE.
Every business owner wants their business to grow. Before you pick up the phone to try to make another sale, stop, think, read this book, and recast your plan.
Great stuff.
John Klymshyn
Author of:
"How To Sell Without Being A JERK!" and "The Ultimate Sales Managers' Guide"
See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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