Walmart v. Amazon - lessons in diversification
According to the Wall Street Journal, Walmart’s reign as America’s biggest retailer is under threat from Amazon.
Tesla deep dive - advantage Tesla (part 1)
Tesla often evokes strong reactions: positive and negative. Its challenger status, battling the entrenched motor vehicle industry to drive the transition to electric vehicles (EV’s), is a strong positive. Its heady valuation draws a lot of negative press.
Making strategy - it's complicated
McKinsey was reportedly the laggard in strategy in the mid 70’s, losing the competitive battle to BCG and Bain. Fred Gluck was appointed as McKinsey’s first head of their strategy practice to address the gap.
The COVID accelerator - what sticks?
I recently posted a link to an article from Adam Grant, a leading organisational psychologist and Professor at Wharton University. He highlighted research which indicated that people need to be in the office about 2.5 days per week to maintain a sense of connection and identification with an organisation.
Understanding VUCA: a strategist's guide
In the world of strategy these days, people often toss around the acronym #VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity. But can you tell the difference between each?
Lessons from one of the great success stories... and it's not tech (Part 1)
Whether a 40-something exec or a middle manager, you probably look for insights from big tech: Amazon, Facebook, Google; or the unicorns, Uber and Airbnb. But do you recognise the name Herb Kelleher?
Opening minds... thinking differently
Strategy is ultimately an expression of collective mental models. To create a strategy that is more than ‘mere incrementalism ’, we must therefore create new mental models. Most major strategic shifts reflect a fundamental shift in the framing of the strategic context.
Shifting political trendlines... an 'epochal shift' or mere turbulence?
We may be witnessing an epochal shift in the socio-political context of advanced Western economies. Brexit surprised; Trump shocked. But are these simply expressions of a broader shift in society, government and geopolitics?
VUCA translated... welcome to the world of scenarios
Is the world more turbulent than it used to be? Not everyone agrees, but an extract from a major strategy textbook suggests the business environment is more turbulent.
Looking back, looking forward... a strategist's view
2016 was my second year of serious blogging. In the last year, I wrote 23 blogs and LinkedIn posts. My focus reflects my roots: the strategy process, strategy execution, and leadership. This year, corporate behaviour got a couple of (dis)honourable mentions.
Strategy's fundamentals ... better practice, not neater theory
Henry Mintzberg was right when he declared ‘we need better practice, not neater theories’. Three theoretical paradigms provide an overarching framework for strategic thinking. And these were part of the economics discourse 50 years ago. But any one of these by itself is insufficient.
Looking back, looking forward
2015 will go down as the year when I really started to blog, with 36 blogs. The dominant themes reflect my roots: leadership, strategy and business models. Based on reader responses, the three favourite posts were…
Are you ready for the next big shift?
Imagine China’s growth rate fell to 3.9% per annum within the next 12 months. I suspect you can’t. Ridiculous, right? Well, actually, no, but more on that later.
The Strategy vs. Execution debate
A recent article and posting on Harvard Business Review has again promoted debate around the distinction between strategy and execution, with two highly credentialed business professors arguing the toss.
The Diversity Challenge Meets Selma
A recent article on the diversity program at eBay noted that men and women experience the company in different ways. For example, “a majority of women felt that their male colleagues didn’t understand them very well, though a majority of men felt well understood by the women”.
Towards master strategist...
As I began my closing remarks to the MBA business strategy class, I wondered: How do you summarise 45 hours of teaching to an MBA class? It’s impossible, of course.