MEDAL WINNER: AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS From the New York Times bestselling author on strategy All over the world, strategies are dying. Thousands of businesses face bankruptcy. People's jobs are at stake. But what is the nefarious force killing them off? And who can save them? Technobody - maker of wearable technologies - is under attack. Its strategic plan is slowly being killed by the top strategy villains every company faces: bad meetings (Meeting Menace), fire drills (Fire Driller), silos (Silo-Clops), too many priorities (Dr. Yes), and many others. They are members of the Anti-Strategy Squad (A.S.S.), a gang whose mission is to cause mass strategycide and global bankruption. But Technobody will not fail without a fight. Led by its fearless managers and three superheroes StrategyMan, Innovatara, and Purposeidon it will summon all of its strategic thinking powers to wage one final war against bad strategy and save its plan. New research shows that the No. 1 most important leadership capability for executives is strategic thinking. Yet, only 3 out of every 10 people are strategic. With the leading cause of business failure being bad strategy, it's critical that you and your team are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and tools to think strategically. In StrategyMan vs. the Anti-Strategy Squad , you'll learn how to: - Develop a common language for strategy - Create a shared understanding of strategy - Design a practical toolkit for strategy - Think strategically on a daily basis - Infuse innovation into your strategies - Facilitate strategy conversations - Lead strategic meetings - Set clear strategic direction - Profitably grow your business -Create competitive advantageIn today's ultracompetitive market, it's be strategic . . . or be gone. "People have long been fascinated by corporate strategic superheroes, such as Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Anita Roddick, and Jeff Bezos, who have produced tremendous financial returns for stakeholders and society. In StrategyMan vs. the Anti-Strategy Squad , Rich Horwath presents actionable tactics in an engaging and creative way that vividly illuminates strategic thinking and strategic management processes. With this book, he has saved strategic thinking and management from being its typically dry and uninspired character and re-imagined it for all to thoroughly enjoy, learn from, and put to good use." -- Dr. John J. Sosik, Professor of Management and Organization, Penn State University ‘’The real innovation of this work is not that it has created a case study with all the major elements of business strategy, but it is that the storyline has borrowed from the superhero genre to create a battle of good and evil. While the narrative is playful and easy to follow, the content is hardcore business strategy. This book is a novel way of presenting business strategy and one that will most likely help readers retain the lessons longer than the more traditional methods used today – an excellent book for pleasure or learning. 5 out of 5 Stars.’’ -- San Francisco Book Review ''Rich has done the impossible—he has created an engaging, insightful, and thoroughly entertaining book on strategy that will improve strategic thinking in any organization from the C-Suite to your frontline workers. StrategyMan saves the day—This is the most creative business book I've ever read.'' -- Bradley Hartmann, President & CEO, Red Angle '' StrategyMan vs. the Anti-Strategy Squad is another great resource to help our customer-facing teams strengthen their strategic mindset. Rich has been a valued partner and has been instrumental in building the strategic thinking capabilities within all of our teams.'' -- Kevin Kutler, Executive Director, Head of Training and Development, Novartis ''Words matter—especially when you are communicating your goals and strategy. The StrategyMan graphic novel approach gives strategy practitioners another tool in their tool belt to help clarify strategy within their organization.'' -- Rob Perri, Senior Director, Global Innovation, Strategy and Portfolio Management, PepsiCo ''In this new book, Rich has found a way to take the abstract concept of strategy and address the fact that while we use the term frequently, many, if not most, don't understand what exactly a strategy is. The comic book format is a fun way to convey real business knowledge.'' -- Don Sawyer, Senior Vice President, Bayer Healthcare '' StrategyMan is a fun, effective book that provides managers with valuable concepts to understand strategy in its simplest form, and to develop strategic thinking skills. It is also a great refresher course for executives who understand the critical importance of strategy, and want to validate that they are using the proper terms and definitions when communicating corporate goals, objectives, strategies and tactics across their organization. Rich Horwath is a master at bringing these concepts to life.'' -- Jeffrey Sanfilippo, CEO, John B. Sanfilippo & Son