Forget strategy: hit profit targets?

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The Times’ Patrick Hosking points to yet another lambast against sort-termism. The Trouble with Strategy explains why Finance is to blame for this, how Strategy should and can offer a solid alternative. In essence, the article [referring to Daniel Pinto’s Capital Wars ] argues that management, haunted by a minority of aggressive investors, pursue short-term profit targets and fail to make high-value investments for the future.

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HBR on managing the downturn

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I see Harvard Business Review has got out a section on ‘Unconventional Wisdom in a Downturn‘ from their team of bloggers. It offers some good pointers, but not all, so be careful!  

‘Protect Strategic Expenditures’ say Robert Kaplan and David Norton

Yes of course it’s foolish to kill efforts and investments that are important to medium- to long-term performance, assuming you can survive in the meantime! But during good times, many organisations raced after all kinds of exciting opportunities like children grabbing more ...

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