Book Review | Go For Bold by Rosie Yeo
Every organisation, from sole trader to multinational needs a strategy, a plan to help senior leaders and employees alike understand the journey they are on, and give them the map to make difficult decisions and trade-offs.
In a post Covid world, the need for organisations large and small to have a clear strategy and direction is greater than ever. Rosie Yeo’s new book, Go for Bold, is an engaging and thorough journey through the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of creating a bold strategy for an uncertain time.
As Rosie points out,
A strategic planning session is not your usual meeting and shouldn’t feel or operate like your usual meetings. It should be considered the ‘Super Bowl’ of meetings.
However, there are very few people who look forward to the strategic planning meetings with the enthusiasm and excitement needed to get the most out of their time together. If most people see a strategy session as a waste of time rather than the opportunity to get excited about what the future could offer, then this will clearly come through in the end results.
Rosie lays out both the challenges and the solution to this conundrum clearly, with plenty of stories from her extensive experience as a strategist and facilitator. As I read through Go for Bold, I was struck by how easily the questions and frameworks could be applied to any situation. There are examples from large and small organisations, operating across public, private and charitable sectors; the information in this book is for anyone who wants to improve the way they approach strategic conversations and planning.
Go for Bold leads us on the journey from understanding what strategy is, sharing the issues that we face when trying to develop strategy, and the elements that go into making strategic planning powerful. Rosie reminds us that strategy is not just for the executives, and provides the reader with tips on how to bring strategic thinking into everyday life.
Over and above the clear information and entertaining stories, the final section of the book is full of practical questions, models and tips for running a successful strategy session. This includes tips for small business or sole traders, and debates the pros and cons of running a strategy session online.
Go for Bold is not supposed to be a one-off read, and then sit on the bookshelf gathering dust – it is destined to be one of those books that ends up well thumbed and full of sticky notes.
Review by Jo Toon FCIPS, Manager Procurement at Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children
Go For Bold: How to create powerful strategy in uncertain times by Rosie Yeo is available now
