Be More Strategic in Business

Diana Thomas is an executive coach who partners with business executives, teams, and learning leaders to help them become more strategic and find more happiness in their lives. She brings deep expertise from her career as U.S. Vice President for Learning and Development at McDonald’s Corporation, where she led all aspects of training and development at Hamburger University, McDonald's global training center of excellence. Her work there was recognized with numerous learning industry awards. Today she uses her decades of experience, education, and expertise to help her clients increase their organizational impact and grow a committed and engaged followership. She is an editorial advisory board member for Chief Learning Officer magazine, a faculty member for MediaTec’s CLO Accelerator, and board member for the National Diversity Council. Dr. Stacey Boyle has led global consulting and research departments for over 20 years, during which time she has built a reputation for groundbreaking work connecting investments in people to critical business outcomes. Today she runs Smarter People Planning, a consultancy that helps some of the world’s top companies and non-profits answer their pressing business questions and make strategic decisions. Stacey is a sought-after thought leader in workforce analytics, evaluation, and management consulting. Her experience spans across a wide variety of industries, including the learning industry's most popular service providers and awards programs. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Behavioral Research and Evaluation from Oklahoma State University.

“If you've ever been told to "be more strategic" and wondered how to do it, this is the book for you.” —Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won't Get You There“This is the book that you've been searching for if you need to take your strategic leadership to the next level. Thomas and Boyle pare down an overwhelming process into six factors for making smart decisions and showing other leaders that you are a strategic peer. Even seasoned leaders will find gems of wisdom from two women who've built successful careers and are eager to share what they've learned.” —Jan Fields, Former President, McDonald's USA; on Forbes' "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" and Fortune's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" lists“Being more strategic is really about what it takes to be more effective and efficient, leading yourself and others to places you have never been before. Diana and Stacey are correct that this quest is an ongoing journey, which begins with exploring your inner territory before venturing out into the field. Their framework nicely blends the hard and soft skills (quantitative and qualitative) required to move beyond tactics, considering the essential question of "why?" The book comes alive through sharing their own personal journeys (especially hard lessons learned through mistakes), along with many practical illustrations and highlighted action steps.” —Barry Z. Posner, PhD; Michael J. Accolti, S.J. Chair; Professor of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University; and co-author of The Leadership Challenge“At a time when diversity of leadership is becoming a highly sought after asset in the most powerful organizations, Thomas and Boyle give you the guide book to building your ladder of success. It doesn't matter where you are today—this book will get you where you want to be tomorrow.” —Rosina Racioppi, President and CEO, WOMEN Unlimited“I'm more strategic and successful for having been coached by Diana and Stacey, so I was delighted to find lots of great personal examples throughout the book. The content lays out a clear path that will help any business leader learn how to strategically build out a plan for success with chapter takeaways and checklists that guide the process step by step, or rung by rung. —Alexandra Mustafa, Training Leader, Penske Motor Group“In the book Be More Strategic in Business, the authors have created an excellent treatise of leadership behaviors to improve business outcomes. There are useable, actionable nuggets of information for leaders to employ right away.” —Jack Groppel, PhD; Cofounder, Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, and Author, The Corporate Athlete“Connecting investments and meaningful business results is a challenge for many critical business functions. The Impact Blueprint provided by Thomas and Boyle is a powerful tool for aligning to the business and driving meaningful change.” —Karen Kocher, Global General Manager, 21st Century Jobs, Skills and Employability, Microsoft“By sharing the wisdom gained in their own successful careers as business leaders, Thomas and Boyle have created a practical guide for anyone who has been told they need to be more strategic.” —Dennis Kennedy, Founder & Chair, National Diversity Council“This book demystifies the process of showing the outcomes of investments using a simple, practical tool, which we have successfully used to communicate with stakeholders and donors. However, it goes further than that, pulling together the many skill sets needed to successfully lead a thriving organization.” —James Collins, Director, Learning and Advocacy at Greater Twin Cities United Way