I’m excited to welcome Tennessee-based AmeriStride  to our nationwide network of business coaching organizations that offer the Six Disciplines® strategy execution coaching program to its clients.

“Six Disciplines is the only program that offers a complete approach extending from the corner office to front line personnel. It includes the technology to easily monitor and measure the progress from a management and coaching perspective. As the coach, I receive alerts and status reports, just as our clients do. No time is wasted on updates. Our efforts are focused on achieving a sustainable growth path by reviewing the execution progress and its impact on business performance. At the end of the day, it is about results; the Six Disciplines framework of strategy formulation, goal setting, initiative planning, leadership training, and 360 review process keeps strategy, policies and professionals aligned and focused on the target,” said Terry Massey, Partner with AmeriStride.

“Six Disciplines is the perfect compliment to our Microsoft Dynamics consulting practice,” added Jeff Epperson, Partner with AmeriStride. “By using the Six Disciplines methodology and tools, our clients will be able to connect their vision to their strategies, and align their plans and activities for more consistent and predictable execution. This, coupled with the strength of the Microsoft Dynamics application suite, enables AmeriStride to assist our clients in gaining greater insight resulting in better decisions and desired outcomes.”

AmeriStride understands the tremendous opportunity ahead of them with Six Disciplines, and because of their expertise and proven success, we’re excited to welcome AmeriStride to our coaching network.

I wanted to make you aware of three new videos that I’ve placed out on the SixDisciplines.com website:

Part I. The Biggest Problem In Business? It’s Not What You Think It Is

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Part II. What Can We Do About The Challenge of Strategy Execution?

Part III. How Can I Evaluate Six Disciplines - Risk Free?

Let me know what you think!

I’m excited to welcome Pittsburgh-based Pareto Consulting to our nationwide network of business coaching organizations that offer the Six Disciplines® strategy execution coaching program to its clients.

Pareto Consulting understands the tremendous opportunity ahead of them with Six Disciplines, and because of their expertise and proven success, we’re excited to welcome Pareto to our coaching network.

“Being able to offer the Six Disciplines Program to our clients adds an adjacent service focused on execution to our consulting practice and the marketplace desires an execution-focused service” said Fiore Londino, Partner with Pareto Consulting. “By using Six Disciplines, our clients will be able to connect their vision to their strategies, and align their plans and activities for more consistent and predictable execution,” said Sherryl Nufer, Partner with Pareto Consulting.

As an introduction to the Greater Pittsburgh area, Pareto Consulting will be hosting an exclusive presentation that I’ll be conducting on June 3, 2009 from 8:00 am – 10:00 am, at the Regional Learning Alliance, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Township, PA 16066. The event in Pittsburgh is a continuation of my 50-city speaking tour, which his based on my best-selling book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution.

To register for the event, visit: http://50citypittsburgh.eventbrite.com/.

Welcome Fiore and Sherryl from Pareto Consulting - to our growing Six Disciplines coaching network!

I have more good  news!

Our successful 50-city “Economic Acceleration: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit” speaking tour continues to build momentum, as we extend the tour to include Cincinnati, Louisville, and Lexington in April 2009.

You can get the agenda, complete details, and registration information here, but the cities and locations coming up in April include:

I’m excited to continue our 50-city Economic Acceleration speaking tour with business and community leaders in North Carolina, Southern Ohio, and Kentucky.  I want to share the vision and a specific plan for changing the economic development equation in each of these communities.  

If you have any questions about what I cover during this tour, please see the agenda here.

Dan Mulhern, the First Gentleman of Michigan, hosts Everyday Leadership: Making Work Work, a weekly look at leadership in business and the issues that impact the workplace.

In the first hour, Dan interviewed me, as well as Jim Epolito (President/CEO - Michigan Economic Development Corporation), and Bill Emmerson (CEO - Quicken Loans).

Listen to the podcast here.

I have great news!

The 50-city “Economic Acceleration: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit” speaking tour continues in 2009 in a big way!

You can get the agenda, complete details, and registration information here, but the cities locations coming up in January, February and March include:

• Austin, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Houston, TX
• Memphis, TN
• Nashville, TN
• Knoxville, TN

I’m excited to continue our 50-city Economic Acceleration speaking tour with business and community leaders in Texas and Tennessee.  I want to share the vision and a specific plan for changing the economic development equation in each of these communities.  

If you have any questions about what I cover during this tour, please see the agenda here.

Back in July, at this year’s American Chamber of Commerce Executive’s (ACCE) Convention in Pittsburgh, I had the opportunity to appreciate the variety of challenges faced by chambers of commerce. I came away from that event with a renewed commitment about a game-changing program that chambers can help to spearhead: a unique opportunity to accelerate local economic development. Allow me to share some of my observations with you.

First, we share a common vision of strengthening business growth in America – even during the tough times we’re confronted with now. There’s actually good things that come from crises: they force us to make choices, sometimes, tough choices. Crises force us to make a choice between vacillating among options, and taking action.

When faced with increased global competitiveness and economic uncertainty, it’s vital that we focus on developing a better way of managing our businesses. Indeed, “if nothing changes, nothing changes.” More specifically, we need to create both new business opportunities and accelerate existing business development, especially among small and midsized companies. History shows us that it’s these organizations that are the drivers of our local economies, responsible for the overwhelming majority of economic and employment growth.

To support this assertion, the SBA published a new report in June 2008: High-Impact Firms: Gazelles Revisited. This new study revisits and expands upon some of the conclusions about rapidly growing firms conducted in the 1980s. Specifically, the report examines firms with significant revenue growth and expanding employment.

The revealing research findings about “high-impact firms” are summarized as follows:

• They are relatively old, rare and contribute the majority of overall economic growth.
• They exist in all industries, in almost all regions, states and counties.
• They represent only 3% of all firms, yet they account for almost all private sector employment and economic growth in the economy.
• On average, it takes a company almost 20 years to enter this high-impact stage.
• In the four years after a high-impact firm undergoes its high-growth phase, 75% of them fail to sustain their high-impact status.

For chambers that have a strategy focused on an economic development platform, the implications and benefits of acting on this data are significant. Those who do will recognize the value of cultivating high-impact firms as well as accelerating the consistent performance of existing businesses in your communities.

Following are some game-changing implications for your chamber to consider:

• Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?
• Why is that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community? Why does it have to be only 3%?  Can’t we do any better?
• What kind of impact could your chamber have on your community’s economic development if you could help to cultivate and accelerate the number of local high-impact firms from say, 3% to 4%, or perhaps even 5%?
• What if your chamber could recommend systematic approach to enable companies to get to the high-impact stage sooner — and stay there longer?
• Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating economic growth for the other 97% of businesses?

During challenging times like we’re in now, what we don’t need is more rhetoric. What we need is a specific, actionable plan for changing the game by accelerating beyond the 3% “speed limit” and offer a revolutionary new approach for the other 97%.

Now, consider these observations:

• Even the best performing organizations (the high-impact firms) are guaranteed to experience bigger challenges tomorrow, compared to today. The same holds true for the other 97% of businesses.
• We’re fifty years into the Information Age, yet we’re still managing our greatest assets like we were back in the Industrial Age.
• Because of advances and innovation during the past 30 years, we’re on the cusp of a radical shift—a revolution— in how we’ll manage the performance of our workforces.
• Without the innovative synergies in quality programs, coaching, strategy formulation, business intelligence, personal productivity tools, business process best practices, and the Internet—this revolution would never have started.
• The result of these advances and innovations is a next-generation approach for how organizations will plan and execute their strategies more consistently and predictably.
• There is a leapfrog opportunity, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses, in the way they can finally choose to approach the biggest challenge in business - planning and executing strategy.
• This leapfrog opportunity is already upon us, and those who choose to ignore it—will be left behind.

A revolutionary, innovative approach to accelerate the economic growth and development of our local business communities is one that will occur — with or without us. Chambers that have a strong strategy based on an economic development are uniquely positioned to cultivate high-impact firms: getting them to the growth stage sooner, and getting them to stay there longer.

Chambers are also uniquely qualified to help accelerate the performance of the “other 97%” of existing businesses. It’s simply not enough to offer the occasional business seminar or development workshop, in hopes that it will ignite a spark and transform the company into a major growth contributor. How can we possibly hope for a new outcome, using the same old kind of thinking?  Hope is not a strategy. It’s time for chambers to take an aggressive attitude toward accelerating economic growth in their communities, and choose to actively participate in the Execution Revolution that is already underway.

That’s why I’m launching a 50-city “Economic Acceleration Tour: Breaking The 3% Speed Limit”.  For details on how your chamber can get involved and bring the Economic Acceleration Tour to your community, visit www.GaryHarpst.com/tour.

Why is it that every business – even the best ones - struggle so much to sustain growth and profitability?

Why is it that only 3% of businesses drive the overwhelming majority of economic growth and job creation in any given community?

Why does it have to be only 3%? Can’t we do any better?  Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about accelerating growth for the other 97% of businesses?

Well, these issues frustrate me — BUT — I have a plan and I want to share it with you.

That’s why I’m kicking off my 50-city “Economic Acceleration Tour: Breaking the 3% Speed Limit”, sponsored by Six Disciplines, in Columbus on December 10, 2008 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton, from 8:00 – 10:30 AM.

Consider these facts:

• Columbus ranks 7th in the nation among large metropolitan areas for its number of “high-impact” companies, those that produce both significant revenue growth and expanding employment.
• Yet only 3% (2.43 percent) of Columbus’ 82,810 businesses are considered to be high-impact.
• On average, it takes a company almost 20 years to enter this high-impact stage.  Yet, three out of four companies cease to be high-impact after just four years.

On December 10, I’ll be sharing this new vision and a specific plan for changing the economic development equation with business and community leaders in the capital of my home state of Ohio.

To register for this event, visit: www.GaryHarpst.com/Tour/Columbus

In attendance at the Columbus Economic Acceleration Tour event will be CEOs of small and midsized businesses, chamber of commerce executives, economic development executives, civic leaders, business incubator professionals, college and university business program chairs and faculty, quality program professionals, venture capitalists, private equity and angel investors, business coaches, management consultants, and professional service firm partners.

I look forward to meeting you and discussing the unique opportunity America has to improve the performance of our businesses, and the competitive advantages it will offer our communities and nation.

All the best!

Gary

P.S. Join me for an intensive private workshop (after the event) where I’ll coach a select group of Columbus CEOs on how to craft a powerful strategic position – one that produces breakthrough results.  I personally guarantee the return you’ll get by attending this workshop, as many of our clients would testify. Space is limited to the first 7 participants!  Register today at www.GaryHarpst.com/Tour/Columbus.