Hbr Guide To Managing Strategic Initiatives

This big initiative could make or break this fiscal year--or your career. Managing a successful strategic initiative may be the key to transforming your company--and propelling your career forward. Yet running a cross-functional team on a high-profile project can present a multitude of challenges and risks, causing even the most experienced manager to struggle. The HBR Guide to Managing Strategic Initiatives provides practical tips and advice to help you manage all the stages of an initiative's life cycle, from buy-in to launch to scaling up. You'll learn how to: Win--and keep--support for your new initiative Move rapidly from approval to implementation Assemble transformative, high-performing initiative teams Maintain the confidence of sponsors and stakeholders Stay on schedule and within budget Avoid initiative overload by killing projects that aren't meeting business needs Keep multiple initiatives in strategic alignment Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, from a source you trust. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

If you aren't working with a strategy, you're wasting your time. Strategy isn't just a set of plans handed down from the C-suite. To grow as a leader, you need to understand your company's strategy and align your thinking, projects, and team with organizational goals and vision. Master these abilities with the HBR Guides to Building Your Strategic Skills Collection. This three-book set, which includes the HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically, the HBR Guide to Managing Strategic Initiatives, and the HBR Guide to Setting Your Strategy, will help you change the way you think about your work, manage your most important priorities, and craft a strategy for long-term growth. You'll learn how to: Understand what strategy is--and what it isn't Define a clear strategy, whether you're in a start-up or in an established business Manage a portfolio of strategic projects Embed strategic thinking into your daily tasks and decision making Align your team around key objectives Let go of work that doesn’t add value Communicate strategy throughout your organization Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Bring strategy into your daily work. It's your responsibility as a manager to ensure that your work--and the work of your team--aligns with the overarching objectives of your organization. But when you're faced with competing projects and limited time, it's difficult to keep strategy front of mind. How do you keep your eye on the long term amid a sea of short-term demands? The HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically provides practical advice and tips to help you see the big-picture perspective in every aspect of your daily work, from making decisions to setting team priorities to attacking your own to-do list. You'll learn how to: Understand your organization's strategy Align your team around key objectives Focus on the priorities that matter most Spot trends in your company and in your industry Consider future outcomes when making decisions Manage trade-offs Embrace a leadership mindset

Set your company up for long-term success. Every company needs a strategy. A focused strategy aligns decision making throughout the organization and helps establish a competitive edge in the marketplace. But with so many options to consider, how do you define a unique strategy that will ensure growth? Whether you're starting a business from scratch or leading an existing company facing new threats, this book offers the direction you need. The HBR Guide to Setting Your Strategy provides practical tips and advice that break down the process of crafting strategy so you can identify the areas your company should build on to help it thrive long into the future. You'll learn to: Understand what strategy is—and what it isn't Define where you'll play and how you'll win Conduct more-effective strategic discussions with your team Test your strategy before you implement it Communicate your strategy to key stakeholders Ensure your strategy is flexible and adaptable Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Are you suffering from work-related stress? Feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and short-tempered at work—and at home? Then you may have too much stress in your life. Stress is a serious problem that impacts not only your mental and physical health, but also your loved ones and your organization. So what can you do to address it? The HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work will help you find a sustainable solution. It will help you reach the goal of getting on an even keel—and staying there. You’ll learn how to: • Harness stress so it spurs, not hinders, productivity • Create realistic and manageable routines • Aim for progress, not perfection • Make the case for a flexible schedule • Ease the physical tension of spending too much time at your computer • Renew yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally

"You've got a great idea that will increase revenue or productivity--but how do you get approval to make it happen? By building a business case that clearly shows its value. Maybe you struggle to win support for projects because you're not sure what kind of data your stakeholders will trust, or naysayers always seem to shoot your ideas down at the last minute. Or perhaps you're intimidated by analysis and number crunching, so you just take a stab at estimating costs and benefits, with little confidence in your accuracy. To get any idea off the ground at your company you'll have to make a strong case for it. This guide gives you the tools to do that"--

MEET YOUR GOALS—ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. How do you rein in the scope of your project when you’ve got a group of demanding stakeholders breathing down your neck? And map out a schedule everyone can stick to? And motivate team members who have competing demands on their time and attention? Whether you’re managing your first project or just tired of improvising, this guide will give you the tools and confidence you need to define smart goals, meet them, and capture lessons learned so future projects go even more smoothly. The HBR Guide to Project Management will help you: Build a strong, focused team Break major objectives into manageable tasks Create a schedule that keeps all the moving parts under control Monitor progress toward your goals Manage stakeholders’ expectations Wrap up your project and gauge its success