Bringing Strategy Back

For a time, it looked as if strategy had slipped to the very bottom of the management agenda. The world changes so fast that it makes little sense to rely on standard models of prediction. After all, five–month plans are rendered obsolete the instant competitive winds shift, not to mention the once–vaunted five–year plans. So where does this leave executives who need to prepare for the future? ‘Bringing Strategy Back’ presents a compelling case that strategy can be reinvented and retooled to become more relevant than ever.

At the onset of this prescient and provocative book, strategy expert Jeffrey Sampler cuts through the clutter to reveal exactly why the usual tools of strategy are so sorely out of sync with our needs: windows of opportunity close far faster than they once did, many of these opportunities are smaller than they once were, growth rates are uneven across markets, and today′s competition is more asymmetrical than ever. The upshot for managers is that they need to reorient their approach to absorb the shocks and surprises that strike at a moment′s notice. Only then can strategic planning reliably play its part.

‘Bringing Strategy Back’ rises to the challenge and presents a new prescriptive model. It introduces four "strategic shock absorbers" that enable leaders to build resilient organizations that can withstand even the most unexpected global turbulence. Based on the author′s in–depth research in the world′s most tempestuous markets, the model delivers several must–have qualities that interact and work together in an ongoing process: Accuracy, Agility, Momentum, and Foresight. With this new framework, Bringing Strategy Back shows how to be prepared and proactive, rather than reactive, even when the future is uncertain.

The message in ‘Bringing Strategy Back’ is a hopeful one for leaders who have struggled to keep up in a world where fast moving markets have shifted the focus of their operations: with certain modifications, it is possible to rely on strategic planning. The ideas here are illustrated in a number of engaging case studies that show the book′s framework in action. Because many of these cases come from Asia and the Middle East markets that have operated amidst convolution and chaos for decades leaders at multinationals will come away with an altered perspective on how to compete in these markets and all others. In the end, leaders at organizations of any size and type will benefit by shedding their obsolete notions about strategy and becoming more resilient.