Thirteeners

January 12, 2015
Prosser, former CEO of Telman Technology Partners, has a theory about why 87% of companies each year fail to carry out the strategy they had previously decided on. According to him, their problem is not a lack of foresight or smarts, but that they don’t know how to talk amongst themselves. Moreover, he writes, it’s not enough that employees just agree with a company’s mission; they need to feel love both for and from their leadership. If this suggestion seems extreme, consider Prosser’s lengthy business experience, paired with his interests: for instance, he is a devotee of research professor Brené Brown and her studies on “the power of vulnerability” (to borrow the title of her TED talk). In chatty, engaging prose, Prosser urges readers to better understand why employees aren’t executing strategies and how an “execution virus” can infect a workplace. Most important, in his opinion, is that business leaders always, always keep open the lines of communication. Though some readers may find the proliferation of buzzwords and trademarks off-putting, Prosser’s can-do attitude, paired with the book’s wealth of worksheets and easy-to-use exercises, make this an appealing and encouraging guide to success through improved communication.