The shelf behind the work.
You've read most of these already. That's the point. The work doesn't replace the canon, it puts it to use, quarter after quarter, with your team. Here's what shapes how we think, grouped the way the work is built.
Grouped the way value gets built.
Foundation first, then reality and finance, then strategy, then execution, then the culture that holds it, and finally the handoff. A short, opinionated list, not a library.
Foundation & leadership
Who you are as the leader, because a company doesn't outgrow the person running it. The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber. Good to Great, Jim Collins. The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, Dethmer, Chapman & Klemp.
Reality & finance
Read the money, then move it. Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits, Greg Crabtree. The Great Game of Business, Jack Stack. Financial Intelligence, Berman & Knight.
Strategy
Where you compete and how you win, decided instead of assumed. Playing to Win, Lafley & Martin. 7 Powers, Hamilton Helmer. Blue Ocean Strategy, Kim & Mauborgne.
Execution & cadence
The rhythm that turns a plan into progress. Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up, Verne Harnish. The 4 Disciplines of Execution, McChesney, Covey & Huling. Measure What Matters, John Doerr.
Culture & team
The people who have to run it. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni. Who, Geoff Smart & Randy Street.
Value & the handoff
Building something that stands on its own and transfers. Built to Sell, John Warrillow. Finish Big, Bo Burlingham.
What we build the work on.
The platforms and instruments behind the cadence. We use them in the work, and point clients to the ones that fit.
Scaling Up
The framework and community behind much of the operating rhythm.
Metronome
Scoreboards, huddles, and one-page strategic plans that keep execution visible.
Cash Flow Story
Financial literacy through a handful of simple levers, so leaders can read the economics a buyer underwrites.
Topgrading
A disciplined method for hiring and keeping A-players.
The Table Group
Patrick Lencioni's tools for organizational health and team trust.
Leadership Circle
A 360 assessment that shows how a leader's habits shape the business.
Dale writes on this work at Value Excellence. Start there, then reach out when you're ready.
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