10 Steps to Successful Business Alignment

Defining business alignment as the process of ensuring that a new project, program, or process is connected directly to business impact measures, usually expressed in terms such as output, quality, cost, or time, 10 Steps to Successful Business Alignment offers concrete input, detailed suggestions, and pragmatic know-how on how to plan for, implement, and maintain effective alignment for projects of nearly every size and scope. Written by a pair of renowned experts in the field of business measurement and evaluation, 10 Steps to Successful Business Alignment shows how to connect projects to business measures, and how to maintain alignment with those measures throughout a projects entire life cycle. This book covers the full spectrum of issues related to alignment, including planning the alignment with clients; determining payoff, business, performance, and preference needs; addressing high-level objectives; measuring impact; reporting the results of the alignment; and more.

Truly a comprehensive resource on alignment, 10 Steps to Successful Business Alignment delivers practical insight on every step of the alignment process, and is essential reading for every professional involved in creating, maintaining, and verifying alignment.

About the Authors

Dr. Patti Phillips is president & CEO of the ROI Institute and a recognized expert in measurement and evaluation. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, federal and state government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. She serves as faculty for the UN System Staff College in Turin, Italy, where she teaches the ROI Methodology and Measurement for Results-Based Management. She also serves as Professor of Practice for The University of Southern Mississippi's Ph.D. in Human Capital Development program and as Principal Research Fellow at The Conference Board. Patti is author, co-author, or editor of numerous books and articles on the topic of measurement, evaluation, and ROI.

Jack J. Phillips is a world-renowned expert on accountability, measurement, and evaluation. Phillips provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and major global organizations. The author or editor of more than 75 books, he conducts workshops and presents at conferences throughout the world.

Phillips has received several awards for his books and work. On two occasions, Meeting News named him one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings and Events Industry, based on his work on ROI. The Society for Human Resource Management presented him an award for one of his books and honored a Phillips ROI study with its highest award for creativity. The American Society for Training and Development gave him its highest award, Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Development for his work on ROI. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Fortune magazine. He has been interviewed by several television programs, including CNN.

His expertise in measurement and evaluation is based on more than 27 years of corporate experience in the aerospace, textile, metals, construction materials, and banking industries. Phillips has served as training and development manager at two Fortune 500 firms, as senior human resource officer at two firms, as president of a regional bank, and as management professor at a major state university.

This background led Phillips to develop the ROI Methodology revolutionary process that provides bottom-line figures and accountability for all types of learning, performance improvement, human resources, technology, and public policy programs. Phillips regularly consults with clients in manufacturing, service, and government organizations in over 50 countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

Phillips has undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering, physics, and mathematics; a master's degree in Decision Sciences from Georgia State University; and a PhD in Human Resource Management from the University of Alabama. He has served on the boards of several private businesses—including two NASDAQ companies—and several nonprofits and associations, including the American Society for Training and Development, International Society for Performance Improvement, and the National Management Association. He is chairman of the ROI Institute, Inc.