Action with Traction - the book
I wrote Action with Traction as a result of questions I repeatedly received during the consulting I have completed since 1990 and my own questions from 14 years of managing before that. My goal for the book is to help managers become better managers by providing a few simple tools that can dynamically improve their ability to direct, delegate, and follow-up work.
In the book, I explain how to develop and evolve mission, vision, and values, either as a stand-alone corporation or as a department within a corporation. I included information about defining assumptions made during planning as well as tracking metrics using a powerful technique call the Objectives Matrix developed at Oregon State University. I describe how to establish goals and strategies for the organization, and how to align and manage processes and processes to get the best results. I finish the book by presenting how to complete rapid process improvement and manage change, two of the hardest parts of getting traction.
I have worked to keep all of the tools and methodologies I recommend very practical and useful, patterned on my experience of using them. I have also included many examples to help keep the book from drifting too far into theory. My hope is that the interested manager can apply these tools easily and begin to see results immediately.