Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times Paperback – February 27, 2024

This is a strategy “playbook” in the best sense. It is practice driven and full of case vignettes. A book of great relevance to smaller emerging growth companies. It is not an academic tome. That said, Rebecca Homkes knows the strategy literature. She has solid academic credentials and is adept at synthesizing complex ideas into diagnostic checklists and brings considerable fieldwork know how to this book. Most importantly, she is attentive to the importance of strategy execution and the need for both operational discipline and learning agility. Leadership tasks I call “painting with two hands”. This is a core executive skill in my experience. As a playbook, the book has a much needed pragmatic tone and feel to it with solid content. The strengths of the book are many and are supported with templates and checklists useful in structuring and facilitating strategy “reset” sessions. That said, the many strengths of this book are also its core weakness. She goes wide vs deep with few deep dives offering the reader what anthropologists call “thick descriptions” of clients needs. I wish she brought more of a reflective voice to the book drawing on her own learnings as a practitioner. Also, I think she under-attends to the complexity of the “survive” task when financial resources (balance sheet and cash) are thin making “playing offense” very tricky. Also, the many diagnostic checklists in the book would be better served if organized in a master appendix. In sum, strategy is dynamic and context specific. No plug and play formulas work. Nuanced thinking is needed and great skill in leading change. In sum, this book offers the thoughtful reader rich content which can be adapted to your situation. Well worth a read.

I'll admit I thought this book was going to be too dense and too theoretic to be actionable. But then I couldn't put the book down once I got into it. This is certainly a book I wish I had in 2020 as my company was navigating the changes of the pandemic.I'm helping a friend start a company, and I gave her this book - I just told her to start at Reset and the book is just as relevant as many of the lauded startup books, with many more insights per page. This book makes you pause and think a lot, and your business will be better off for it.This is one of those books that you'll want to reference quarterly or every six months at least for the strategy exercises to keep yourself sharp. It is not just for when the next big shock hits your industry, which is likely sooner than you think. The case studies, exercises, and takeaways make this a great reference.

This book starts with the brilliant, simple insight that uncertainty is a given, and high growth companies are those who succeed in capitalizing on uncertainty. We’ve been conditioned to view uncertainty as bad for business; SRT strategy views uncertainty as opportunity for growth.Homkes lays out a playbook for sustainable growth with practical frameworks and power moves that can be applied in any business. No matter where you are in the Survive-Reset-Thrive cycle, this book provides insights and leadership guidance to keep you from falling into common traps and instead position your company for growth.

Rebecca Homkes has hit a home run with SRT! Her ability to give shape to a dynamic growth strategy is nothing short of brilliant! I lead a rapidly growing educational services organization with 1000+ employees, and as a team, we want to be thoughtful about our growth, making intentional and calculated decisions and adapting as the world and our capacity continues to shift. SRT is flexible enough to be responsive and resilient yet provides an architecture that gives enough structure so the team can still work a plan toward common goals.Our team read the book and utilized the framework in our recent Director's Retreat. It created momentum, alignment and buy-in as we developed the Must Win Battles (MWB's) together. We now we have a common vocabulary and tools to see the plan through.I highly recommend this for entrepreneurial leaders who are looking for breakthrough impact.

Great book on building and sustaining key strategies in business.

Rebecca is a wonder kind, and has spent a great deal of time working with and teaching leaders of organizations how to frame their thinking and take action to drive impact that is lasting and moves the needles on what matters. It’s fun to see her show up in the pages of a book having watched her in action! Read it and gift it to folks you want to help thrive.

I spent numerous years of my career working in strategy development for large, publicly-traded corporations, so when my current company undertook the SRT process with Dr. Homkes I expected a similarly facilitated approach. What I experienced, and what she expertly articulates in the book, is a strategy process that flows with the needs and cycles of your business, less driven by a planning calendar and to do list, and more focused towards what truly moves the value needle for your company. If you engage in SRT the way Dr. Homkes and her book teach, I think you'll find the process to flow naturally, practically, and efficiently. I also think you will derive value throughout the process, not just at the end, and you'll feel less like you are "checking the box" of a non-value adding process. Additionally, and importantly, your leadership teams should benefit greatly from the sharing of perspectives as you discuss and debate key needle movers and how best to maximize them as you execute on the strategic plans you align upon.Ultimately, the strategy process is important and a strong one has a better chance of leading to a robust strategy. Whether you are currently a senior leader or executive, or if you hope to become one in the future, I think you will find Survive, Reset, Thrive an important read and trusted reference manual you'll turn to often in your career.