The Soft Edge

High performance has always necessitated astute strategy and flawless execution. These elements remain critical, especially in today's unprecedented business environment. However, Rich Karlgaard, Forbes publisher, entrepreneur, investor, and board director, takes an unexpected turn and argues that a third element is now required for competitive advantage. It promotes innovation, accelerates strategy and execution, and cannot be replicated or purchased. It can be found in an unexpected place: your company's values.

Karlgaard studied a number of long-lasting companies and discovered that they all have one thing in common: they have all leveraged their deepest values alongside strategy and execution, allowing them to fuel growth while also weathering hard times. In The Soft Edge, Karlgaard tells these stories while identifying the five key variables that comprise every organization's "soft edge":

• Trust: Northwestern Mutual has built a $25 million revenue behemoth on trust, the foundation of long-term success. Learn how to foster a trusting environment that fosters high performance.
• Smarts: Your formal education quickly becomes out of date in most technical fields. How do you manage to keep up? Learn how the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University's women's basketball team, and others stay on top by relentlessly pursuing competitive advantage through intelligence.
• Teamwork: Because collaboration and innovation are essential in today's global economy, effective teamwork is essential. Discover how global conglomerate FedEx maintains focus and how nimble Nest Labs relies on lean teams with cognitive diversity.
• Taste: As a proxy for intelligence, clever product design and integration make customers feel smart. Taste, on the other hand, goes deeper into a profound emotional engagement. According to Specialized Bicycles, it is "the elusive spot between data truth and human truth." How can you create products or services that consistently elicit these emotional touchpoints?
• Story: Companies that achieve long-term success have a compelling and emotionally appealing story to tell. What is your company's origin story? How do you tell your story? Learn how to tell a compelling story in a world where outsiders frequently speak louder.

Author: Rich Karlgaard

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118829425/