Accelerating profitable growth has been one of the long-standing challenges of business executives. Even today, with stock markets booming and M&A activity returning to record levels, organic growth is anemic for many companies. In our experience, the root cause is a lack of strategy in the organization's thinking, planning, and marketing. Many successful business leaders have built their careers on execution and efficiency but have relatively little experience making the strategic decisions that drive the top line. Lean, Six Sigma, and other efficiency-focused methodologies are fantastic at answering questions around how to do things better, but they are not suited to answer strategic questions around what they should do and why. Through our experience, we realized that there are a set of core principles and frameworks that can improve, sometimes dramatically, the selection and targeting of growth opportunities and importantly, turn good ideas into good businesses quickly and with more confidence. Over time we realized that there was nothing magical in the concepts we were using in our work. We do not claim to be mystical seers interpreting some strategy oracle that only we can understand. And that became our mission: to teach capable people at all levels of an organization how to apply strategic concepts themselves. There are significant advantages to embedding strategic thinking capabilities throughout the organization. 1. Some of the best organic growth ideas bubble up from lower levels of the organization. 2. Embedding strategic thinking skills creates a more discerning audience for top-down initiatives. 3. Leveraging this process over time will groom the next generation of general managers for success 4. Building organizational strategic capabilities can be a real differentiator in the B2B world. To accomplish this we developed Grassroots Strategy, a seminar-based approach that teaches good strategic thinking by having the participants apply what they're learning to actual challenges confronting their business. This book walks through the approach and concepts that we teach and apply during those seminars. The title of this book speaks to our perspective on strategy. The best strategies are not dictated from an "ivory tower." Rather, they are firmly rooted in the reality of the market and leverage the cross-functional experience and intelligence of the entire organization. And once they take root, these strategic principles not only lead to better targeted growth initiatives, they provide the healthy foundation that is needed for a growth culture to thrive. Throughout this book we take readers from strategy apprentice to journeyman strategic thinker. We will show you how to apply proven strategy concepts and tools within a framework that enables their use. With diligence and discipline, this process will separate the best growth ideas from the also-rans. And it will enable you to redirect resources and accelerate the best ideas to deliver results more quickly. How do we know this works? Well, our clients give us credit for hundreds of millions of dollars of incremental operating profit, and that's good enough for us. The number of companies that would benefit from our approach is far larger than those we can reach with our consulting practice. Although there is no substitute for the full, week-long Grassroots Strategy seminar experience, we created this book as a "do-it-yourself" guide for those who want to encourage strategic thinking within their organization from the ground up. Whatever your situation, this book is a convenient way to share these concepts with all teams and individuals seeking strategic growth. We hope you enjoy the journey.

From the authors of Manifesta, an activism handbook that illustrates how to truly make the personal political. Grassroots is an activism handbook for social justice. Aimed at everyone from students to professionals, stay-at-home moms to artists, Grassroots answers the perennial question: What can I do? Whether you are concerned about the environment, human rights violations in Tibet, campus sexual assault policies, sweatshop labor, gay marriage, or the ongoing repercussions from 9-11, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards believe that we all have something to offer in the fight against injustice. Based on the authors' own experiences, and the stories of both the large number of activists they work with as well as the countless everyday people they have encountered over the years, Grassroots encourages people to move beyond the "generic three" (check writing, calling congresspeople, and volunteering) and make a difference with clear guidelines and models for activism. The authors draw heavily on individual stories as examples, inspiring readers to recognize the tools right in front of them--be it the office copier or the family living room--in order to make change. Activism is accessible to all, and Grassroots shows how anyone, no matter how much or little time they have to offer, can create a world that more clearly reflects their values.

An essential primer for all grassroots activists, this book demystifies the media in such a way that the reader-activist gains a framework for understanding the propaganda industry of the United States.

Millionaire maker Dan S. Kennedy and local-level marketing specialist Jeff Slutsky empower small business owners to take on big box companies and distant discounters using their best asset—their ability to bond directly with their consumers. Small business entrepreneurs are armed to go “grassroots” given winning strategies to take their marketing to the street level resulting in higher customer retention, greater referrals, and a thriving business for the long-term. About the Book Kennedy and Slutsky dare small business owners to break free of the ingrained tendencies to “advertise when you need more customers” and to copycat what they see big, national companies doing. Local business owners are urged to add some politicking to their business presence, focusing their marketing on directly connecting with their customers, integrating them into their community and even, their daily activities. Kennedy and Slutsky deliver creative, high impact alternatives and supplements to disappointing traditional advertising and new media including strategies for gaining free advertising from local news media, creating events that multiply customers, and effectively using direct mail. Small business owners also uncover surefire tactics that capitalize on their neighborhoods, the four walls of their business, and the internet, reaching their local customers and creating a sense of a personal relationship. Throughout their lesson in going grassroots, Kennedy and Slutsky also reveal the nine inconvenient truths of grassroots marketing, keeping small business owners on track and on their way local business stardom. Features • Presents a marketing approach specifically engineered for small (local) businesses • Reveals 9 No B.S. inconvenient truths and how to implement them • Illustrates concepts with examples from practicing business owners • From Dan Kennedy, author of the popular No B.S. books including No B.S. series, which shipped more than 250,000 copies • Identifies what’s wrong with traditional and new media advertising • Offers methodology to break free from ingrained tendencies and copycat marketing

For over twenty years, Patagonia has organized a Tools Conference, where experts provide practical training to help make activists more effective. Now Patagonia has captured Tools’ best wisdom and advice into a book, creating a resource for any organization hoping to hone core skills like campaign and communication strategy, grassroots organizing, and lobbying as well as working with business, fundraising in uncertain times and using new technologies. Patagonia hopes the book will be dog-eared and scribbled in; a solid, inspiring guide and reliable companion. The book is organized in two sections: Strategies, and Tools. Each chapter, written by a respected expert in the field, covers essential principals as well as best practices. A hands-on case study accompanies each chapter and demonstrates the principles in action. Sprinkled throughout are inspirational thoughts from acclaimed activists, such as Jane Goodall, Bill McKibben, Wade Davis, Annie Leonard, and Terry Tempest Williams. An activist's companion in the environmental movement.

Enhancing Campus Capacity for Leadership contributes to the growing tradition of giving voice to grassroots leaders, focusing on the largely untapped potential of faculty and staff on college campuses. In an increasingly corporatized environment, grassroots leadership can provide a balance to the prestige- and revenue-seeking impulses of traditional campus leaders, create changes in the teaching and learning core, build greater equity, improve relationships among campus stakeholders, and enhance the student experience. This book documents the stories of grassroots leaders, including their motivation and background, the tactics and strategies that they use, the obstacles that they overcome, and the ways that they navigate power and join with formal authority. This investigation also highlights the fact that grassroots leaders, particularly in more marginalized groups, can face significant backlash. The authors end with a discussion of the future of leadership on college campuses, examining the possibilities for shared and collaborative forms of guidance and governance.

This book is for everyone who cares about the health of their organisations, especially if their organisations work for social change. It draws on the experience of a variety of effective organisational development professionals, community organisers and leaders of non-profit organisations, teaching a proactive approach to organisational life -- an indispensable sourcebook for all leaders and active members of change organisations.