The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy

It's difficult for me to write a review of this book.

First, the author's style was direct, and he exercised an intense focus on the practitioner implementing a strategic planning process. For that, I was appreciative. This book appeared on the syllabus of a graduate course I was assigned to teach. My students appreciated the how-to nature of the writing. Yet, in the Kindle version at least, there were numerous typos, and the formulaic presentation of each chapter was like reading 360 pages of nothing but iambic pentameter.

Second, I've used information from this book in my consulting planning pursuits. Wilkinson's recognition of infinite verbs to start goals was excellent and useful, as was the related note of using quantifiable verbs for objectives. Still, despite the author emphasizing the simplicity of the Driver's Model, it's a system that leans toward needing a professionally-trained facilitator. Once deconstructed, the model is relatable, but on its surface, it's anything but.

In summary, it's not a book that leaves me with a sense of pleasure or accomplishment upon completion, but it's a book I find myself regularly referencing - a three-star, useful read.