The title, "The Strategic Heart," evokes the idea that when people focus on a mission they believe is important, they put their hearts into making their work and company a success. Shenkman uses insights from the new sciences of Complexity and Flow to help business leaders create the adaptable, flexible and high performance organizations that succeed in today's competitive world.

Part One introduces some of the central themes of the science of complex systems and shows their relevance to growing businesses. He demonstrates how to marshal people's talents around strong values and focused actions that can be evaluated, measured, and improved. Part Two presents the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi whose renowned studies have shown that when people are fully engaged in their experience, they enjoy learning and growing. He calls this kind of optimal experience, Flow. Managers can create opportunities for Flow by identifying what people need and want to learn on the job, using teams and acting as coach and mentor. "The Strategic Heart" offers insights and tools that have been proven to help managers reshape the way they envision and lead their organizations. Case studies show that when using these ideas, older companies have been revitalized, and new businesses have been able to mobilize around their dreams to become profitable. Shenkman provides innovative tools for managers on all levels of business, and teaching tools for courses on growing businesses and entrepreneurial management.

"Value and Strategy: Competing Successfully in the NinetieS" presents fresh ideas, concepts, and practical suggestions for decision makers who must sustain growth and profitability in today's competitive business environment. Clearly written and illustrated with examples, graphics, and a glossary, this compact volume propels the idea of customer value to the forefront of business strategy. Value has emerged as a key idea in strategy because, as never before, customers can from pick and choose from among many different products and services. As a result, their expectations and demands for value, including quality, innovation, and affordability, have reached new heights. Shenkman thus begins by showing how a valuing process is used in everyday life: how a buyer thinks about value; how the idea of value operates in the processes of buying and selling; and how value and profits are created in the course of a relationship between a business and its customers. Dr. Shenkman then shows how in today's markets businesses both compete and cooperate in order to establish a leading position for their products and services. These efforts are necessary to ensure profitability, but they also combine to create powerful forces that limit the viability of any product or service over time. Market forces thus fuel the phenomenon of turnover that requires constant innovation and organizational responsiveness.

"Value and Strategy" outlines practical steps managers can take to ensure their organization's success. It helps decision makers see more clearly into the dynamic and ambiguous situations that arise each day as a result of relentless market pressures. It provides new insights that help to foster meaningful organizational change, while ensuring that employees have a personal stake in the business's profitability. Shenkman believes that work can play a constructive and creative role in people's lives. Using the strategy presented in this volume, managers can create the organizational conditions in which people can work together to innovate, solve problems, and create new opportunities for the business.

The title, "The Strategic Heart," evokes the idea that when people focus on a mission they believe is important, they put their hearts into making their work and company a success. Shenkman uses insights from the new sciences of Complexity and Flow to help business leaders create the adaptable, flexible and high performance organizations that succeed in today's competitive world.

Part One introduces some of the central themes of the science of complex systems and shows their relevance to growing businesses. He demonstrates how to marshal people's talents around strong values and focused actions that can be evaluated, measured, and improved. Part Two presents the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi whose renowned studies have shown that when people are fully engaged in their experience, they enjoy learning and growing. He calls this kind of optimal experience, Flow. Managers can create opportunities for Flow by identifying what people need and want to learn on the job, using teams and acting as coach and mentor. "The Strategic Heart" offers insights and tools that have been proven to help managers reshape the way they envision and lead their organizations. Case studies show that when using these ideas, older companies have been revitalized, and new businesses have been able to mobilize around their dreams to become profitable. Shenkman provides innovative tools for managers on all levels of business, and teaching tools for courses on growing businesses and entrepreneurial management.