Priority is Action

What do our words truly mean, whether they are posted on a website, spoken on a shareholder call, projected on a wall in an internal meeting, or shared with a customer? While eloquently written prose may inspire and engage any audience for a short time, it is our actions that define both our priorities as well as our future success.

Our priorities are what we do not what we say we’d like to do. This premise forms the foundation of Priority is Action: 7 Principles for Better Strategies, Decisions, and Outcomes. In this twentieth book from best-selling author Greg Kihlström, readers are given a reality check on the difference between a strategic priority and business realities. The book is centered around seven principles that separate leading organizations from laggards, and the mindsets and ideals that make the difference between achieving important goals and getting mired in bureaucracy, groupthink, and a focus on the wrong things at the wrong times.

These seven principles are explained in terms of what we should be striving for as well as some of the myths that often plague otherwise high-functioning teams.  Mixing real-world examples and stories with some hypotheticals, Kihlström has created a business book that offers practical advice and actions that readers can take immediately.

Drawing on Kihlström’s experience working with some of the world’s top brands, as well as hundreds of interviews with Fortune 500 customer experience leaders and industry-leading platform marketing technology executives and thought leaders for this book and his podcast, The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström, the blueprint to achieve a customer-centric, sustainable platform for growth is made tangible. 

Priority is Action is Kihlström’s twenty-first book, following the internationally best-selling House of the Customer (2023), and his best-selling The Agile Brand Guide series of short-read books on marketing technology platforms and concepts.

Praise for Priority is Action:

“Greg has nailed some real world examples we struggle with in the corporate world. The premise that a priority is not a hope, intricate flow chart or carefully written words rings true if you don’t take action. He notes that everything can’t be the most important thing to tackle, pick a direction and go!”
 – Chris Costello, Executive at Amazon Business

“I appreciate that Greg wrote this book! "Priority" is often a buzzword because it's viewed as a framework or as an executive platitude that goes nowhere. Greg is right when he says, "Priority is action." Anything short of that is failure. The book covers a range of topics to get you thinking about "priorities" from different angles, and each chapter is laid out in such a way that you get some thought-provoking explanations and advice, and then you're tasked with next steps that help you go from priority to action. Brilliant.”

—Annette Franz, CCXP, Founder & CEO CX Journey Inc.

“In Greg Kihlstrom's latest book, Priority is Action, he reveals how values lived in action demonstrate a company's true priorities. Rich with noteworthy examples woven throughout, you'll leave with tools to delight your stakeholders and an invitation to rethink how priorities are set and decisions are made across your organization. If you're seeking an innovative workplace culture, getting clear about prioritization is a meaningful first step.”
—Anne Jacoby, CEO of Spring Street Solutions and author of Born to Create

”Clear, concise, and pragmatic, Greg guides the reader to truly understand how action needs to follow priority to drive long-term impact. He provides practical prioritization frameworks which can be used to achieve our goals and outlines actionable next steps which anyone can use within any industry. This book is the perfect reminder to not be so busy that you forget what and who are important to your organization.”
—Lisa Routel, Chief Strategy Officer at BioOx