The Trouble with Strategy is a new book although it has been several years in the writing.
Friends and colleagues know that I get frustrated with the current state of strategic management. The standard strategy methods in the reference books, and taught in business schools, are of little value (some positively dangerous!) and are largely ignored by management – and rightly so. This led to this book which ia available on Kindle and also as a paperback. I really don’t mean this to be just a critical polemic against the field – but I do think Strategy has become entrenched up a dead-end, and can – and must – do better.
It’s not enough to just criticise, though. Solutions are needed, so my focus has been on developing rigorous yet practical methods to help management develop, implement and adjust their strategies. It works for anytype of organisation, of any size, in any sector, and in any circumstances – including non-business cases – and it can be used to deal with a specific issue, or as the basis for an overall sustained plan. These methods together make up the Strategy Dynamic approach, which is supported by a great software tool, Sysdea (I can say that because I didn’t write it!).
The principles behind the method come from the science of “system dynamics” (not as scary as it sounds!), which grew out of MIT in the 1960s. It is so powerful that I find it quite shocking that strategy academics, consultants and management did not grab hold of it 50 years ago. Perhaps we wouldn’t have all the corporate crises we have today if they had. I have proved this all works by helping many companies, and have been privileged to work with such names as BT plc, CSC Inc, Microsoft, Barclays plc and many more, large and small, in all kinds of industry. I am now putting a lot of effort into educational and other materials to help people understand and use the approach for themselves – and so that other teachers can help still more people.
Some individuals, not all known to me, have been kind enough to add some reviews
The book is available as follows:
Kindle edition : ISBN 978-1-903723-10-4
Available from Amazon Kindle store. Note that Kindle books can also be read an a number of devices other than a Kindle
Will soon be available in paperback : ISBN 978-1-903723-11-1