So what is Strategy?
…and why it matters to you, your business and your career that you know…
“Top managers of big firms devote the bulk of their efforts to formulating strategy though there is remarkably little agreement about what it is.” The Economist
“Many managers simply do not understand the need to have a strategy.” Michael Porter, “What is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review
“There is more vacuity about strategy than about any other topic in business today.” John Kay, Financial Times
Almost unbelievable, isn’t it?! But all too true in my experience. The same goes for phrases like “strategic thinking”. It’s a staple on HR departments’ lists of key competencies for senior managers – yet there is no generally accepted definition of what it is, and no agreed way to develop it in those preparing for leadership. Nor is there a robust measure of whether someone has this capability or not.
In this section I attach a couple of essays exploring what strategy really means…
WHAT IS STRATEGY?
…and challenging you to test the robustness of your company’s “strategy”…
DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE A STRATEGY?
What do you understand by the word/concept “strategy”? How would you summarise your company’s strategy – can you do it in one sentence? How would you explain it in a short email to your biggest customer? Or to a 10-year old child…? If you're struggling to do any of these...give me a call!
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