It’s time to slow down and develop a world-class team execution plan for next year. When we don’t slow down to plan our execution, our..
Entries by Patrick Thean
I get asked this question lately "How hard should I push employees to return to the office?" "Is this work-from-home thing going to last?..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Go the Second Mile, Recruiting Employees
It is easy to confuse your strategy and your 3-year strategic plan. I have seen so many leaders tell me that they have a great strategy...
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Annual & Quarterly Planning, Strategy Execution
What should you do if you cannot seem to come up with enough sales opportunities to hit the revenue target for next year? This scenario..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
This happens all the time. You are holding someone accountable to get something done. Yet you find yourself checking in and chasing for an..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
A new quarter is starting. It is time to discuss, prioritize and choose your top priorities for the new quarter. How do you do this? How do..
The common mistake many companies make is to start creating a bunch of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for their company. They start..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Strategy Execution
Companies are under pressure to deliver better performance at lower costs in today's competitive environment. This requires leaders to..
We were working on a CEO's plan for the next year when I noticed his team fidgeting and looking uncomfortable during our planning session...
If you have ever downloaded any tools or other resources on our site, you know that we usually ask you about your Biggest Business..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
For more than 20 years, I have had the joy and privilege of working closely with mid-market growth companies. Through these experiences,..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Books
When things aren’t going right and your business is in a slump, most people look to new ideas, adjust their KPIs (key performance indicators
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
If you are a Mastering the Rockefeller Habits fan, here are four tips to make your One-Page Strategic Plan work for you. Used correctly, it..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
When things aren’t going right and business is in a slump, most people look to new ideas, adjust their KPIs (key performance indicators) or..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
Leading indicators and results indicators are both key performance indicators (KPIs). I love leading indicators. The right leading..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
Kaihan Krippendorff, master strategist and author of Outthink the Competition and columnist for Fastcompany interviewed me on the topic of..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
If you want your team to be focused and aligned on the right projects, you need to connect your strategy to execution.
Successful companies..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
In a recent Annual Planning session, one of our clients asked us to help them review and renew their Winning Moves, the 3 year strategic..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
A best selling book written by Thean, Cosper, Gehringer, Chepul, Pruitt, McCullough, McBride, Skinner, Enriquez. This book provides a..
Topics: Books
Steve Hoffa, CEO-Cannon Safe, and Mark Nussbaum, COO-Signature Consultants, talk about the ease of getting started and using the Rhythm..
Topics: Videos
A few of our clients talk about how our Rhythm business software can help any industry, CEO, Department, and Individual get more..
Topics: Videos
Listen to some of our clients talk about how Rhythm software has helped them solve problems from sales, tracking strategic initiatives,..
Topics: Videos
Execute Without Drama is a book written by serial entrepreneur, Patrick Thean. Read Patrick's informative book on the power of the RIGHT..
Topics: Books
Learn How to Achieve Breakthrough Execution and Accelerate Growth.
Patrick Thean provides practical tips and tools to help companies..
Topics: Books
Congratulations to Jeff Berstein, and the ImageFIRST Team! Calera Capital, a private equity firm, acquired a majority share of ImageFIRST,..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
The problem with revenue-generating strategies, or Winning Moves, is that you don’t feel you need to work on them when things are going..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
Apple just released the iPhone 12. It comes in various sizes, finishes and configurations as it enters the world of 5G. Of course I want..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are key indicators used to measure the success or performance of a business and are most commonly used to..
Topics: Increasing Sales, KPIs & Dashboards
I was facilitating a Rockefeller Habits mid-year planning session. As part of their regular Think Rhythm, the executive team was working..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
Rework is such a pain and such a waste of resources. It costs you time, energy and emotional distress. Nobody likes to clean up their..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
We had a wonderful Breakthrough Conference this year that helped hundreds of middle market managers and CEOs achieve breakthrough..
It’s that time of year again when executives are thinking about their annual plan and asking themselves, “where do I start?” A lot of..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
I am often asked about the impact of leaders on a company’s strategy execution. Sometimes we have process and execution problems. But just..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
Every quarter is a thirteen-week race. It goes by fast. Before you know it, the quarter is over. And then the year is over. You are left..
2019 is coming to an end. I find myself flying across the Atlantic Ocean to Singapore for my mother’s birthday. From Singapore, I will then..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Build yourself a great Brand Promise.
What's a Brand Promise? It is what you promise to deliver to your customer. It is more than a..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
Not all customers are created equal. Some are more equal than others. We refer to these as our Core Customers. Core Customers are the..
Jack walked into his weekly team meeting thinking, “I have so much to do. I can’t believe I am going to burn two hours today in this status..
Topics: Effective Meetings
Several years ago, I created the Stop Signs Dashboard to help one of my clients keep a pulse on the health of his company. For..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
In 1999, CEO consultant Ram Charan and Fortune's Geoffrey Colvin wrote an article on why CEOs fail. They studied over 40 failed CEOs and..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Sean K., one of our lucky Valentine's contest winners, asked, "What are the Top 3 characteristics of the companies you work with or study..
How do you define success when buying a company? People buy companies for a number of reasons: to increase revenue growth, to acquire new..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Mergers & Acquisitions
Tip 1: Focus on the problem, not the people.
When Dutch Valley Food Distributors first used Red-Yellow-Green in their Weekly Team Meetings..
Topics: Strategy Execution
We are proud to announce that Retail TouchPoints recently featured two of our long-time clients, Simms Fishing Products, and luxury..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning, Accountable Leaders & Teams
It’s time to plan your fourth quarter and finish the year strong! One of the reasons plans fail is due to poorly defined goals and..
During Q4, many companies begin to think and plan for the next year. To gain insight into the process and importance of planning for the..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
A new quarter is upon us. It is time to learn from the quarter that just ended and develop a killer plan to end the year strong. I believe..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Many companies begin their annual planning process by first creating their annual budget. Then they bring the budget to their annual..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
How badly do you want to achieve your goals? Many people quit too early, at the first sign of distress or the first pangs of pain. Tesla..
Topics: Strategy Execution
My previous blog shared about how people issues might be mistaken for execution issues. There are a number of reasons why it is difficult..
“Patrick, my strategy sucks! I am not getting the results and growth that I want. What should I do?” I get this question quite often. On..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution
I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with hundreds of companies. Quite often, when I visit, I am asked, “Patrick, can you please..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
People ask me all the time, "What is so special about Rhythm? Why do your customers have so much success?" I jokingly reply, "I don’t know,..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
Who should facilitate your upcoming quarterly planning session? Or any of your annual planning or strategic thinking sessions?
If you are..
SMART goals provide clarity and can accelerate your success. Conversely, poorly written goals will waste time and resources and frustrate..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Last summer, Nicole, my 14-year-old daughter, walked into my home office and asked “Daddy, can I intern with you this summer?” I replied..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Topics: Increasing Sales, Strategies for Growth
I have received a lot of feedback from folks using the Rhythm softwaresharing how turning every quarter into a 13 Week Race™ has really..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
Yesterday was a big day for Michael Praeger, CEO of AvidXchange. No… Sorry, it was a huge day! Yesterday, Michael had press conference at..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Every quarter has thirteen weeks. It goes by fast. Before you know it, the quarter is over. And then the year is over. You are left with..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
Develop an execution ready plan for your quarter, each and every quarter! This will help you to have a successful quarter each and every..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Having great weekly meetings is the secret to increasing your speed of execution and getting more initiatives done.
"Wow! Really? Mine..
Topics: Effective Meetings
My wife and daughter are obsessed with Criminal Minds. If you have never seen the show, almost every episode starts with a killing or a..
Topics: Effective Meetings
It is important to have winning strategies that drive your annual plan. Don't just focus on revenues and profit and growth. Also focus..
I recently facilitated an annual planning session for a client. During our debrief after the session, the team shared that it was one of..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Many companies have nicely bound and thick strategic plans. Thick plans. What I call high "thud factor" plans. So heavy that if you drop..
“Who should attend our annual planning session? Should it just be my executive team?” I get asked this question all the time. The default..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
With the launch of new levels of our certification program, development of breakthrough software features, preparing for our second..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
Do you have a Think Rhythm to work on the future success of your company? And, do you do it with your leadership team? Take an hour each..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
I’ve been a good boy, eating right and exercising daily. My good habits were working. My weight was trending downwards (one of the few..
Topics: Effective Meetings
The fast growing Charlotte-based YPO company, AvidXchange, has grown from $12 to $48 million in the past three years and is shaping the..
For the past five years, we've been dreaming of hosting a conference. This week our dream came true, and it was better than anything I..
I was out shopping with my wife this past weekend and started seeing holiday decorations creep their way into department stores. Normally,..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
With the launch of the Rhythm book, new breakthrough software features and 8 new hires, 2014 was a big year for us. Obviously, I was..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
The job description of a CEO seems endless. He or she is responsible for the company’s vision, strategy, people, recruiting, product or..
Topics: Strategy Execution
As a write, I am on my way to Chicago to meet with my forum group. A forum is a small group, usually 8 to 12 like-minded CEOs and..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
The most popular topic throughout our blog and social media, and what I’m most frequently asked about at speaking events or when meeting..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
A Critical Number is a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) that helps you keep track of the most important thing for the quarter or year. For..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
Every quarter is a 13-Week Race™. It goes by fast. Before you know it, the quarter is over. And then the year is over. You are left with..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
We are proud to announce that Retail TouchPoints recently featured two of our long-time clients, Simms Fishing Products, and luxury..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Effective Meetings, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Typically, I am on the road between 20 to 30 days per quarter. Between speaking events and visiting my clients, it’s safe to say, I travel..
Many CEOs I work with struggle with this same issue, and some don’t even know that they have a challenge. They present an idea to their..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning, Effective Meetings, Accountable Leaders & Teams
CEO Mike Praeger just kicked off AvidXchange’s 15th year in business. They celebrated their explosive growth over the last few years and..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
AvidXchange, a long time Rhythm client, recently told me a story about how their culture made the difference in accelerating sales. A..
Topics: Increasing Sales, Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution
"Patrick, can you please help me with our BHAG and get it done in our annual planning session?” I get this request frequently. The answer..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
I recently facilitated a client’s quarterly planning session. They really do a great job, having the discipline to spend two days planning..
I walked into the client’s conference room and noticed their BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) poster. I was impressive! It communicated..
Topics: Strategies for Growth
It’s the end of the year. We are finishing up this year and preparing for the next year. Are you a glass half full person or a glass half..
Topics: Strategy Execution
I was recently in Brunnen, Switzerland, facilitating an annual planning session for Veeam Software. Veeam is a hyper-growth software..
Topics: Increasing Sales, Strategy Execution
Jack asked me to help him with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). He had about 30 - 40 of them that his executive team was reviewing every..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
I had a great time at Hubspot's Inbound Conference. Hubspot says that they have a revolution going as they lead many people to shift from..
Topics: Strategy Execution
I am in Boston at Hubspot’s Inbound 2014 conference. It’s been a long day and I’ve got to get back to my hotel. Instead of hailing a taxi,..
Topics: Increasing Sales, Strategy Execution
Actually... No, it is not. It sounded crazy at first, but we began to realize that many of the things we needed to do for rebranding were..
Topics: Strategy Execution
We are well on our way to owning the word “Rhythm” in our market. Our software is Rhythm, our blog is Rhythm Blog, and our book is also..
Topics: Strategy Execution
For the last 6 years, our team has worked hard with Rhythm software and coaching to help many companies execute well and achieve..
Topics: Strategy Execution
I had waited for months. Finally, on September 3, 2014 at 3 pm, I walked up to a man waiting for me. Glancing at the screen to the right, I..
Topics: Increasing Sales
Are you ready for weeks 4, 5 and 6? With more than 100,000+ priorities planned and executed in Rhythm, we’ve begun to apply Rhythm research..
The quarterly planning session is a very expensive session. You've got your executive team out of the field for one to two days working..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
You may have a company purpose, but do your employees know why they do what they do?
Have you heard the famous story of Sir Christopher..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
I just finished a wonderful day and a half with my EO (Entrepreneurs Organization) forum. Our forum is a group of 9 founders who get..
What are the early warning signs?
- The team seems a little confused about what the priorities are. You say “A” and folks seem to think of..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
We are almost done with the first half of the quarter. You have a 13-Week Race. How are you doing? Do you have big projects that are..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Most people think of “listening” as a leadership skill. Leaders need to listen to their people. Yes, it is a leadership skill. And it is..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Every quarter is a 13 Week Race. Most of us have priorities to deliver and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure our progress. If..
Every quarter is made up of 13 weeks. To be successful, run it like a 13-Week Race. So how is your 13-Week Race coming along? We are about..
I was invited to speak on Rhythm and goal setting at Cornell University’s Engineering Leadership Certification class last week. It was..
Topics: Strategy Execution
How do you know if your company is set up for great execution? Most people would say that they want an environment that allows and..
I was researching stories of great execution for my book Rhythm: How to Achieve Breakthrough Execution and Accelerate Growth. I came..
Topics: Strategy Execution
These are very exciting days at Rhythm Systems. We are changing this blog from "Patrick Thean's Blog" to "Rhythm Blog - by Patrick." Over..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
I thought it took me three years to write my new book, Rhythm - How to Achieve Breakthrough Execution and Accelerate Growth, until I..
Topics: Strategy Execution
All companies that reach out to Rhythm Systems to explore how we might help them have one thing in common. They believe that they need to..
Topics: Strategy Execution
“It’s a new year, that means a blank slate, a new beginning! Last year is behind me and this year is ahead of me.” Jack tells me..
Great companies first win on the basics, then they wow you with something special. And that’s the cherry on top! But if you don’t first..
It takes great execution to deliver world class customer service. I experienced it this past week at John DiJulius’ Secret Service Summit...
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
How do you prepare for your annual planning session? How do you get the best data and insights to maximize the outcome of your planning..
How do you grow and develop your team as your company grows? Are you grooming your people to play key leadership roles in a business twice..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Dr. Stephen Spinelli at Philadelphia University (PhilaU) where Dr. Spinelli serves as the..
Topics: Strategy Execution
What is your approach to developing your execution plan for next year? Some companies will first develop their budgets and financial..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Life was great. I was experiencing explosive growth. It felt like we were on a rocket going to the moon! Everything felt great. Then one..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
I got up on my birthday and took my daughter to our optician early in the morning. It's a normal day for everyone except for me. For me..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
When you bring on a new team member, you do not have a new team member. You have a new team. The effectiveness of your team can go up or..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
We had such a great webcast! There were so many questions, we could not answer them all.
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
Guest Satisfaction Scores. Hotels live and die by them. Hotel management and operating companies like White Lodging even more so. Dave..
Topics: Strategy Execution, Effective Meetings
Every company hits a crisis once in a while. It is not a question of whether you will hit one. It's a question of when you will hit one,..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Q1 is over. I like to think of every quarter as a 13 week race. The only way to have a great year is to have 4 great quarters, one at a..
"Where is he?"
"Seat 7A!"
"Sir, I am going to need you to get off the plane... now! And if you resist, I will have to call security."
..
From time to time I sit in on weekly meetings with clients to help them with their "Do" Rhythm. The weekly meeting is key to make..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
Simms Fishing is an amazing company with a truly inspiring year ahead of them. Their uncompromising desire to put out the highest quality..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
So, it's annual planning time, and your folks are getting together for the much anticipated planning session. The meeting begins, and we..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning
Stephen Covey's 7th habit is to "sharpen the saw." This habit is about rejuvenating yourself and your teams. It's about working on being..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution
Jim Collins talks about the 20 mile march in chapter 4 of his book "Great By Choice". If you have not read this book yet, you should...
We are getting into Q4. It is a good time to begin thinking about what the plan for the next year is going to be. Consider how you will..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: Strategy Execution
Stephen Covey passed away this week on July 16th, 2012. I was very sad to hear of his passing. Hewas one of the great all time authors...
Topics: Strategy Execution
It was great to catch Jim Collins at the last Leadership Summit in Atlanta. Jim connected the dots of how his four books (Built To Last, ..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution, Effective Meetings
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Effective Meetings
Topics: Strategy Execution
I just came back from speaking at the Taipan Masterclass 2012, held in Manila Philippines. We had a blast! My hosts in Manila were such..
Q2 has already started. We should all be off and running on our 13 week race. Strong business execution needs a good rhythm. I like to..
Topics: Annual & Quarterly Planning, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Leadership is often one of the surprising missing elements in business execution. You can have the best ideas and a strong desire to..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Strategy Execution
It is important to know who your competitors are. Without clear vision of your competitors, how will you design strategies that make you..
Topics: Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
This came up during the webcast last week when I was discussing what to say no to in order to stay focused and execute faster each..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategy Execution, Effective Meetings
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Annual & Quarterly Planning, KPIs & Dashboards, Strategy Execution
It is critical to have a clear execution plan aligned with your strategy. Proof of alignment (or not) can be seen by your actions:
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: Strategy Execution, Effective Meetings, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Jack Welch, was the CEO of GE that made Topgrading famous. He hired Brad Smart and they worked together to hire the top guys at G.E. He..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
Stephen Covey says "Begin With the End in Mind." Covey,..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Effective Meetings, Accountable Leaders & Teams
People Lessons # 402
A few months ago I introduced our 2xPeoplePlan tool in a webcast. I asked everyone on the webcast to pick one person..
Topics: Accountable Leaders & Teams
So... What do you do if your critical number goes red? How do you increase team urgency?
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Effective Meetings, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Daniel Pink, author of the best selling book Drive, shared his insights on how we are really motivated on more complex things. The key, he..
A client recently shared how amazingly well the daily question worked for them. Their daily question this quarter is "How do I show my..
Topics: Increasing Sales, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Topics: Strategies for Growth, KPIs & Dashboards
I was recently asked at a conference "How do I know that my brand promise is a good one? How do I know it is working?"
Topics: Increasing Sales, Strategies for Growth
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Let's do it tomorrow.... Let's deal with it in our weekly status meeting tomorrow... Let's wait for his/her approval... These are all..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Annual & Quarterly Planning, Strategy Execution
I received some questions via email after the webcast regarding the 2X People Plan tool. Here are some questions and my thoughts on it...
Speed... Speed... Speed. Reacting quickly to a customer's need or issue can transform a customer issue into customer delight. Especially..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
I am in Singapore, enjoying great food and catching up with great friends. One of my friends has a successful education and consulting..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
It takes courage, and it takes the support and backing of your team as well as your manager or partner.
Courage... does not come from thin..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution, Accountable Leaders & Teams
Simplify! Do less and get more done! That seems rather difficult to achieve... doing less while getting more done. Life has gotten more..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Acetech was fantastic! The folks there are so warm and nice. And Whistler is so beautiful at this time of the year. I will be blogging..
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards
It takes time, energy and focus to create habits. We have all tried at some point to create a new habit and realized unfortunately that..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Some leaders who are very driven and competitive plan goals that are often unreachable. This is the optimistic guy. Some are very..
When you go to a gas station to fuel up your car, you have a choice of fuel quality based on octane level ratings. You might have a..
Topics: Strategies for Growth, Strategy Execution
Topics: KPIs & Dashboards