Is your strategy compelling?
In my regular MBA teaching session on strategy execution I offer 7 principles that underpin execution. Number 1 on the list: start with a compelling strategy. It might seem obvious, but can you, hand on heart, declare your strategy is ‘compelling’?
The Board/Executive strategy workshop - a practise note
Henry Mintzberg wrote 25 years ago: we need better practice, not neater theories. Amen to that. Much of the writing on the ‘formal strategy process’ ignore the practical reality that strategies have a life cycle.
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.
Let's talk about purpose: One community, one shadow
Have you sometimes found yourself confused at best, frustrated or cynical at worst, by the vagaries of ‘mission, vision, values’?
MBAs, strategy and judgement
The objective of an MBA strategy program is to expose leaders of the future to various theories, frameworks and concepts of strategy. But the reality is that many of strategy’s concepts are not necessarily settled.
I feel the need, the need for speed...
When we think about decision-making, we probably think first about decision quality: getting decisions right. And why not? Rio Tinto would prefer it made a better decision when it spent $39B on the Alcan acquisition (since written off ca. $33B).
Brexit surprised. Trump shocked. A strategist’s view
If you are not now launching a major strategic review incorporating scenario planning, you will be grossly ill-prepared for what may unfold over the next 5-10 years. But let’s start at the beginning.
Apparently, mining blew the boom ... but who's the greater fool?
Each year, PwC release a comprehensive report on the state of the mining industry. What can we learn from the PwC Mine 2016 report?
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.
The cost of presumptions - international case studies
At their most dangerous presumptions are assumptions that are accepted as a ‘social fact’. This makes them more dangerous than assumptions. Assumptions should be explicitly identified and can be tested. But we remain blind to our own presumptions.
Breakout strategy: what if anything were possible?
At its core, strategy is design. And great design starts with the question: what if anything was possible? If we start with constraints, we get designs for tomorrow that merely tweak today.
Avoiding grey rhinos... strategic renewal and the status quo trap
As organisations shake off the New Year’s cobwebs, many begin to think about ‘strategy’. Perhaps begin by asking: where are we on the strategy life cycle curve? Different phases of the strategy life cycle present different challenges.
Opening Minds - Lessons from Cirque du Soleil
A client briefing me recently ahead of a strategy forum cautioned that they were a tough audience. Exposed to an array of corporate leadership development programs over the years, with a lot of capability in their respective fields, the challenge was to fully engage them in the search for fresh possibilities.