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The Strategy Paradox
Book

The Strategy Paradox

Why Committing to Success Leads Corporations to Failure (And What to Do About It)

Michael E. Raynor
Broadway Books, 2007

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Well Structured
  • Overview

Recommendation

Have you spent hours creating forecasts you knew didn’t mean much? Have you wasted time in painful meetings where second-guessers judged your efforts harshly because your original decision was not perfect in light of the way reality later unfolded? Michael E. Raynor explains why developing a strategy that would work moderately well under a variety of circumstances is likely to lead to mediocre results. Instead, he teaches you to match the appropriate level of management to the “requisite uncertainties” your organization faces. Raynor discusses how to use “strategic options” to put your company in a position to capitalize on a range of contingent scenarios without having to make firm commitments. getAbstract recommends this intelligent approach to business strategy to executives in any industry. It is clearly written and well-illustrated with new takes on familiar business sagas.

Take-Aways

  • Winning strategies tend to work only under certain conditions; circumstances change all the time, whether slowly or quickly.
  • Manage this risk in terms of time horizons.
  • Lower management should handle shorter-term time frames, which are tactical. Upper management should handle longer time frames, which are strategic.

About the Author

Michael E. Raynor, Ph.D., is a distinguished fellow at Deloitte Consulting and has a global client base.

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