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Workshops Based on

Geronimo Stone and the Mobile of Excellent Management,

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Strategic Planning

Press Release

Llumina Press

Contact Person: Cassandra Skevis

Address: 8055 W. McNab Rd.; Tamarac, FL 33321

Telephone: (866) 229-9244 Fax: (954) 726-0902
Email: cassandra@llumina.com
URL: http://www.llumina.com 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Geronimo Stone and the Mobile of Excellent Management

Imagine you inherit your family’s legendary music company but as soon as you take control, everything is threatened by hostile takeover. You only have two choices, give up and sell now, or fight. Either way there are no guarantees. If you sell, your family is set for life and you may even salvage a piece of your history. Fight for the legacy, and you will likely lose everything including your professional reputation. Sell and you may lose the respect of those you love most. The only person who can help you has died, but he left you with a detailed plan.

In this searing drama, learn the seven attributes of “The Mobile of Excellent Management.” This, the 1st story in the Geronimo Stone Series, takes place at an independent record label in Nashville, Tennessee. The once-prosperous company is in chaos when its patriarch, Robert “Geronimo” Stone becomes ill and dies. His family survives the profound personal loss only to face a hostile business war. They encounter so many challenges, so quickly, that it never occurs to them that there may have been something peculiar about Geronimo’s death.

The family and remaining junior employees struggle against the compounding challenges of their deteriorating business. Together, they attempt to stabilize their downward spiraling Blues record label, once the envy of the entire music industry. They face major organizational change and restructuring, a hostile takeover attempt, subversive senior employees, and more.

See for yourself how they handle this impossible situation with the help of an unusual “mobile” and insightful messages left by Geronimo. Hold on as you race headlong from tragedy to threat, to surprise solution, and glorious celebration. All the while, learn to handle the most perplexing business problems of the 21st Century (www.geronimostone.com). 

About the Authors:

Craig Stevens holds degrees in Management and Engineering. He has taught classes and workshops at Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Trevecca Nazarene Universities, The Universities of Phoenix and Tennessee, AMA, and Padgett Thompson. He has supported over 100 organizations (including NASA, DOD, DOE, Westinghouse, SAIC and others). He currently serves others through Westbrook Stevens, LLC.

(www.westbrookstevens.com)  (http://www.westbrookstevens.com/craig_a_stevens.htm).

Michael Moore has a passion for marketing and has helped to drive 140 singles to the top of the national music charts, resulting in 70 Gold or Platinum certified albums. The artists he has worked with include household names in Pop, Rock, Christian, and Country music. He has worked for Epic, Columbia and Polydor Records and he has managed several artists as well. (http://www.westbrookstevens.com/Moore.htm) 

Publication:

Author: Craig A. Stevens

Trade Paperback and Hardcover

ISBN: 1-59526-571-6 PB ISBN: 1-59526-572-4 HC

Pages: 188 Pages: 188

Price: $12.95 Price: $30.95

Size: 6 x 9 Size: 6 x 9

Available from Llumina Press, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor.

Toll Free Orders Line: 1-866-229-9244

Or visit us on the web at http://www.llumina.com/ 

Premise: This book introduces the story of Geronimo Stone and the challenges the employees of Geronimo Stone Records face while trying to save their business.  It uses fiction to introduce the reader to a variety of business situations.  Geronimo Stone is a suspense thriller that takes place in an independent record label in Nashville, Tennessee.  The once-prosperous company is in a state of chaos when its patriarch, Robert “Geronimo” Stone becomes ill and apparently dies from what appears to be natural causes.  His family is then faced with so many challenges, so quickly, that it doesn’t occur to them that there may have been something peculiar about Robert’s demise.  His widow, Brenda, convinces their nephew, Tommy Stone, to take a leave of absence from the consulting firm where he works as a management consultant to become interim CEO of Geronimo Stone Records.  Together they try to restore order to the mess.
 

Benefits:  Primarily the reader will have fun reading the book -- they will laugh, cry, and say eureka.  Second, the reader will see Christian business values used in a respectful way.  While reading Geronimo Stone, the reader will learn the seven attributes of excellent management.  Every book on management ever written contains at least one of these seven attributes.  The reader will see what good looks like and then be able to explore the options available to them to address problems and take action.  The business teaching offered in Geronimo Stone will empower a new generation of 21st century managers to redefine leadership, culture, customer focus, team building, problem-solving, continuous improvement, and performance measures as explained at http://www.westbrookstevens.com/step_1.htm.

 
This one module is the first phase of five as explained at http://www.westbrookstevens.com/linked_models.htm.
     

This is the first of many books.  Although each book in the Geronimo Stone series stands alone, each one is also part of a three-book set in a five sets series (15 books in this series).  Each of the five sets describes different linked business models using a fast-paced Geronimo Stone Business novel, a workshop workbook, and an easy to follow business reference book.  The novels in conjunction with workbooks form the basis of a structured training program.  This allows the participants to observe management issues within the framework of an enjoyable and exciting novel, a workbook, and a desk reference. 

A.     Overview of First Seven Chapters out of Twenty:

Chapter 1 – The Take Over?

The book opens to Tommy Stone's first day at Geronimo Stone Records and with the very aggressive John Rader, President of Behemoth Records (the world’s largest record company) administering a verbally pummeling.  Tommy Stone is the new president of Geronimo Stone Records and the business smart Nephew of the late great Geronimo Stone.  John Rader gives Tommy an offer he would be foolish to refuse.  He offers to solve all of Tommy’s problems with a very generous offer to buy Geronimo Stone Records.  Enter Tommy’s wife and his Aunt Brenda, Geronimo’s widow.  Aunt Brenda has other ideas. 

Chapter 2 – Confirmation or Confrontation?

Chapter 2 introduces the main characters.  The executive strategic meeting that follows becomes a very hostile takeover attempt by the trusted members of the Geronimo management team.  They have all sold out to Behemoth records and have decided to forcefully take the company with them.   It appears that Aunt Brenda and Tommy are bulldozed into a corner by the forceful number two man “Brew.”  But John Cooper, Geronimo’s lifetime protector and head of security holds the line on Brenda’s behalf.

Chapter 3 – Confirmation

It looks grim, as two strong physical forces are about to collide until Brenda steps back into the battle with the help of Sarah McIntosh’s legal work.   John Rader and Brew lose the battle, but at the cost of the Stone family fortune.  The war is just starting.  Tommy is livid because Brenda planned all this without informing him about the possible hostile takeover attempt.  Tommy Stone puts his foot down.  Brenda hands full control over to Tommy but the ship appears to be sinking.  Brenda still has a couple of cards to play and she hands Tommy the first one, a strategic plan designed by Geronimo Stone himself.

Chapter 4 – The Guiding Hand

Tommy opens the first of seven packages left by his uncle.  Geronimo, after he learned of his terminal condition prepared a strategic plan for Tommy to implement.  This once hardnosed dictator discovered that he would have no time to turn his company around.  He would not be the one to fix the problems and because of his management style, the company would likely die without him.  He never built leaders within his company.  The first package teaches leadership; together with six other elements they form a mobile that has to be in balance.  We have yet to discover what the other elements are.

Chapter 5 – Understanding the Guiding Hand

With the help of Geronimo’s mentor and others, Tommy and the remnant of the hostile takeover attempt to untie the mysteries of the package left by Geronimo.  We discover that in each package there will be many clues and a videotape with Geronimo introducing the attribute and giving a pep talk.  After the first package is completed, John Cooper the head of security, enters the room with more bad news.  The employees are starting to panic as some of the managers jump ship for better offers from Behemoth Records.  Jill, the trusted administrated assistant of Geronimo Stone, now Tommy’s assistant, organizes and manages the situation with the an intuitive “M.A.S.H.’s Radar-like” series of plans for Tommy to implement.

Chapter 6 – State of the Company

With the help of the remnant Tommy and Brenda give the employees exactly what they need to hear in the form of a State of the Company Address.  This brings a strong peaceful ending to an otherwise disastrous day.  Tommy and the executive remnant meet for late day meetings to plan for Monday of the next week.  Tommy’s first workday, Friday comes to a close.

Jan and Tommy take Brenda home and we read about the Stone Family’s magnificent civil war era mansion.  The home is full of history, antiques, and is a meeting place for stars in the music industry.

The next day we see men moving history out the door as Brenda sold the antiques and much of the family fortune to pay for the survival of Geronimo Stone Records. 

Chapter 7 – The String That Holds Us Together

Saturday finds the gang reassembling to deal with the Second Package -- Building a competitive organization culture.  We see Geronimo again by video.  This time he is a little weaker. 

John Cooper and Tommy start the bonding process with a late night trip to the Blue Bird Café (a famous Nashville nightspot).

• Christian Market

• Secular Market

• Governmental Market

• Health Care:

• HR:

• Entertainment:

• Manufacturing:

• Others:

Book 1 = Geronimo Stone is a new management tool for the 21^st Century, embedded within a fast-paced novel.  In it, the patriarch of a once-successful family owned record label dies, leaving many challenges for the family to face while rebuilding the company. These books are to be read before the training when possible -- Sent before the training session so everyone can be familiar with the subject.

Book 2 = Workbooks  

Easy to use workbooks that go along with the training.

Each Attribute of Each Model Is A Separated Quick and Fun Read

Phase 1, The Seven Attributes of Excellent Management (How can we build an effective foundation for our organization?)

1. Growing Leaders and Empowering People

2. Building a Winning Culture

3. Improving Customer Relationships

4. Building People and Teams

5. Developing Skills, Core Competencies and Problem Solving

6. Measuring Performance

7. Improving Continuously and Mastering Change

Phase 2, Navigating Through The Storms of Chaos (What can we expect and how should we react to the forecast?)

1. Forecasting the Waves of Changing Trends

2. Preparing for the Lightning of The Unexpected Events

3. Competing Against the Storming Enemy Forces

4. Optimizing the Buoyancy of the Supporting Allies

5. Leading Your Organizational Ship

Phase 3, Understanding The Drivers of Change (What drives secondary changes within our organization?)

1. Understanding the External Environment

2. Understanding People Issues

3. Developing Effective Organizational Structures

4. Creating a Competitive Internal Environment and Culture

5. Building Effective Systems

Phase 4, Using Systems Thinking to Get the Biggest Bang for the Buck (Where should we focus our efforts?)

1. Understand the Interrelationships Within Your Organization

2. Minimize Cost and Maximize Effect

3. Developing the Plan

Phase 5, The Three Phases of Change in Implementing Your Plan (How can we make our plan more successful during implementation?)

1. Before the Change Happens (Ensuring Success)

2. During the Change (Minimizing the Negatives)

3. After the Change (Maximizing Success)

Detailed Textbooks and Easy to Read Complete Business Books with All of the Models