You might remember a posting from a few weeks ago where leading into John’s article, where I mentioned his daughter Laura and her music duo The Family Tree. Well, John’s other daughter, Emily, is apparently very talented too. So, I told John if he submitted something else for me, I would mention Emily and the website she recently created called From Apple to Indigo.  It  is a site that helps brides-to-be or anyone planning a party, to decide on their color palette or visualize the color palette that they have already chosen. From Apple to Indigo creates custom color palettes and inspiration boards to help give you the event you have always dreamed of. The site is awesome!! She obviously is very good at what she does. I would totally hire Emily!  The site is fantastic and I now want to throw a party….oh wait, I am…..but you will have to learn more about that later. For now check out Emily’s site and please spread the word with family, friends, and colleagues. Good luck Emily!

The Strategic Acceleration-a review, by John Licata 

I just finished reading a tremendous book, “Strategic Acceleration – Succeed at the Speed of Life.” The author, Tony Jeary, is a coach to the world’s CEOs and a personal friend of mine. Tony has published dozens of books and this one, his latest, is available now in book stores nationwide.

 The Strategic Acceleration approach is based on three pivotal concepts:

 1. Clarity:  Understand your targets and the “why” behind reaching them;

2. Focus:  Concentrate on what really matters and filter out what does not;

3. Execution: Use effective communication to get things accomplished – faster!

On clarity, Tony teaches that “a vision without specific purpose may come across as a whim, and it’s difficult to get people to support a vision like that because it may be difficult to believe. To really achieve clarity, vision and purpose must be linked and articulated. When it happens, voluntary change can happen very quickly. When people understand the “why” of things (purpose and value), the combination produces a level of clarity that has enough influence to actually become motivational! It becomes the fuel of voluntary change and enables you to be pulled toward your vision, rather than pushed.“

On focus, Tony explains that “focus does not come naturally to most people, and that is why it is a skill that must be learned and practiced. Specifically, focus is a thinking skill that is acquired as a result of mental discipline.”

On execution Tony writes that “…the bulk of your time will be spent on execution because execution is about doing. Clarity and focus provide a road map and form the basis for doing what you need to do, but execution is about actually doing it, and that is why it’s the most time consuming. Regardless of your role or vision, you need others’ assistance and cooperation to be successful, and your ability to persuade has a lot to do with others’ willingness not only to assist you, but also to exceed expectations. When you can persuade others to exceed expectations, you take execution to a higher level and really move the results needle.”

I’d strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to achieve superior results at the fastest rate possible - for themselves and their organization.

Best,

John Licata

VP Sales

Stride Rite