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The Power of Strategy
Video

The Power of Strategy

World.Minds, 2011

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

In this accessible presentation, Claudio Feser, the director of McKinsey & Company’s Swiss office, describes how strategy can – and cannot – be useful. If you’ve studied strategy, most of the facts Feser provides will be familiar, but his particular take on it is refreshing. getAbstract recommends this video to aspiring strategic thinkers and to those interested in the history of business or in critical thinking about their industries.

Summary

Ask 150 people to explain “strategy,” and you’ll get 150 different definitions. Even experts’ definitions vary widely. Today, people often mislabel something as “strategic” to indicate that it is important. In fact, the word “strategy” comes from the Greek term strategos, meaning “general.” A general leads his army in battle. Thus, a strategy is “an integrated handful of decisions” made in advance of uncertain circumstances to reach specific goals. These decisions are difficult to undo. For instance, it is hard to unsell a company once you’ve sold it. Essentially, business strategies are tools to aid decision making. These tools are based...

About the Speaker

Claudio Feser is the director of McKinsey & Company’s Swiss office.