To truly bridge the gap between leadership and results, a business leader must become a student of execution. Kevin Ertell, author of The Strategy Trap and founder of Mistere Advisory, joins the podcast to share insights from over 60 operator interviews and a thousand years of combined experience. Beginning his career as an in-store clerk at Tower Records, Kevin climbed the corporate ladder to lead billions of dollars in retail operations at Nike, Borders, and Sur La Table. He details why brilliant boardroom strategies fail when detached from the shop floor, illustrating how language can shift along the “ladder of abstraction.” Kevin reviews his “6 Cs” system for execution and outlines how to overcome the psychological “forgetting curve” through social incentives and relentless, multimodal communication.

Join us as we discuss:

• [1:35] How Kevin’s experience on the sales floor laid the foundation for his success in the C-suite

• [6:48] Why leaders need to wear their company’s vision on their sleeves

• [15:11] Lessons learned from interviewing dozens of strategic thinkers

• [22:47] Staying motivated once a new strategy’s honeymoon period wears off
  

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• The Strategy Trap:  Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right

Craving more? You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Evolving Industry on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.