A good plan is only as good as its execution. These articles will help you define your strategy quickly and teach you how to put that plan to work, fast.

Turnaround Artists

Two seasoned renewal strategists offer a prescription for the corporate blahs. Carter Pate and Harlan Platt`s medicine doesn`t taste too good, but it may help cure what ails you. Ryan Underwood

Nike`s Women`s Movement

Can a famously high-testosterone company, built on brash ads and male athletic fantasies, finally click with female customers? That?s the challenge behind Nike Goddess, whose goal is a once-and-for-all shift in how the company sells to, designs for, and communicates with women. Fara Warner

Fast Talk: Smarter Moves for Tougher Times

A roundtable of seasoned business leaders assembled in Dallas to come up with short-term tactics for surviving the downturn and long-term strategies for winning in the future. Fast Company

High Stakes, Big Bets

Tom Burbage and his 500-person team at Lockheed Martin went after the biggest military deal in U.S. history -- and scored a $200 billion victory: a contract to build the Joint Strike Fighter. They didn`t play it safe; they played to win. Bill Breen

Steve Ballmer`s Big Moves

Microsoft`s CEO faces a challenge that has been the undoing of many leaders in many industries: Can a giant company that dominated one era lead in the next? George Anders

The Not-So-Quick Fix

When Anne M. Mulcahy took over as president of Xerox, the copier giant was in shambles. Her mission? Figure out how to institute some big changes -- without wrecking the company in the process. Keith H. Hammonds

How to SMASH Your Strategy

IBM?s revolutionary approach to computing just might offer a new direction in strategy -- one that bridges the gap between brilliant insight and flawless execution. Charles Fishman

How EDS Got Its Groove Back

Before Dick Brown took the reins at EDS, people wrote the company off as slow, stodgy, even uncool. By focusing on the soft stuff -- the company`s culture -- he`s turned EDS into the leading example of an old-economy company that gets it. Bill Breen

Seven Strategies for Successful Alliances

Whether striking a new business partnership or building a coalition government, you can benefit from these tricks of the trade. Two veteran negotiators share their strategies for forging and maintaining successful long-term relationships. Linda Tischler

Getting to Peace

How does alliance management play out on the international stage? Two strategy experts offer advice to Arafat and Sharon, Powell and Musharraf. Linda Tischler