Strategy as Action presents an action plan for how firms can build, improve, and defend their competitive advantage at every stage of their life cycle. For start-up firms entering a market, it provides a model for exploiting competitive uncertainty and blind spots; for growth firms who have established some market advantages, it provides an action plan for exploiting relative resources; for mature firms, it explains how to exploit market position; finally, for firms that have no decisive resource advantage, it provides an action plan based on firm co-operative reactions.

The innovative and unique feature of this book is that it does not contain theoretical concept that cannot be translated into practice. The model which introduces this volume sets the stage for addressing the major phases of the strategic management process: environmental analysis, strategy formulation and development, strategy evaluation and control. Its conceptual and operational structure is described in the first part, together with a practically oriented definition of strategy, and a brief discussion of the logic and benefits of the judgmental modeling approach to decision making. The second part critically addresses the classical approaches to the analysis of the external and internal environmental factors, which have an impact on the “functioning” of the basic model, i.e. the structural characteristics of the industry context, and the companies’ technical, organizational, financial, and human resources, including the translation into operational models of otherwise rather theoretical concepts.

The meltdown of stalwart companies from AIG to JAL to Lehman and government crises from Greece to Spain make it abundantly clear: With economic uncertainty and rapid innovation, empowered consumers and free agents, and the constant pressure to be faster, better and cheaper, the established wisdom on strategic planning works no more. Once hailed as “brilliant” by experts, it is the very approach that got so many companies into the mess in the first place. This path-breaking book shows how successful organizations of all stripes transformed their strategy paradigm based on Strategy-In-Action and the power of human capital: standing in the future, listening for vital intelligence in far-flung locations, giving voice to dissenting views, maximizing ownership by stakeholders, especially implementers, getting quick wins and screening out losers quickly in the action. Above all, successful companies of all sizes have ended the long-standing divorce of strategy—hatched by a select few behind closed doors—from action, the supreme test of strategy. Dr. Thomas D. Zweifel, strategy and performance expert, gamechanger and author of seven leadership books such as "Communicate or Die," "Culture Clash 2," "Leadership in 100 Days" and the award-winning "The Rabbi and the CEO," has teamed up with Edward J. Borey, CEO, corporate strategist and turnaround guru. Together, they bring to bear their combined half-century experience in innovating strategy design and execution at Fortune 500, midsize enterprises and startups as well as large public-sector and UN agencies. The result: a turn-key methodology for senior managers who need adaptive and people-centered strategy that yields quick wins and stands the test of time.

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy clarifies the muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful action-oriented strategy for the real world. Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader. A good strategy is a specific and coherent response to—and approach for—overcoming the obstacles to progress. A good strategy works by harnessing and applying power where it will have the greatest effect. Yet, Rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate Mom-and-apple-pie values, fluffy packages of buzzwords, motivational slogans, and financial goals with “strategy.” In Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, he debunks these elements of “bad strategy” and awakens an understanding of the power of a “good strategy.” He introduces nine sources of power—ranging from using leverage to effectively focusing on growth—that are eye-opening yet pragmatic tools that can easily be put to work on Monday morning, and uses fascinating examples from business, nonprofit, and military affairs to bring its original and pragmatic ideas to life. The detailed examples range from Apple to General Motors, from the two Iraq wars to Afghanistan, from a small local market to Wal-Mart, from Nvidia to Silicon Graphics, from the Getty Trust to the Los Angeles Unified School District, from Cisco Systems to Paccar, and from Global Crossing to the 2007–08 financial crisis. Reflecting an astonishing grasp and integration of economics, finance, technology, history, and the brilliance and foibles of the human character, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy stems from Rumelt’s decades of digging beyond the superficial to address hard questions with honesty and integrity.

Thinking strategically is what separates managers and leaders. Learn the fundamentals about how to create winning strategy and lead your team to deliver it. From understanding what strategy can do for you, through to creating a strategy and engaging others with strategy, this book offers practical guidance and expert tips. It is peppered with punchy, memorable examples from real leaders winning (and losing) with real world strategies. It can be read as a whole or you can dip into the easy-to-read, bite-size sections as and when you need to deal with a particular issue. The structure has been specially designed to make sections quick and easy to use – you’ll find yourself referring back to them again and again.

From Simon & Schuster, Strategy in Action is Boris Yavitz and William H. Newman's guide to the execution, politics, and payoff of business planning. Two management consultants explain how to transform business objectives into strategic action, detailing measures for changing business practices, eliminating ineffective personnel, and instilling confidence through well-defined statements of goals and missions.

MBAs are old news. In this ground-breaking book, leadership expert Alicia McKay teaches leaders to focus on the things they don't teach you at business school.Leaders are made, not born. But they are not made in the lecture halls and seminar rooms; you don't need an MBA to be an effective leader.They need to get smart, be strategic about the next step and expand their range, to face a complex and uncertain future. They need paradox: clear values and open minds, high performance and meaningful space, dedication to detail and big picture perspective. They need to ask different questions, design different options and most of all, they need to do that with others on the same journey.In this thought-provoking book, Alicia McKay teaches you the five skills every strategic leader needs:* How to develop true flexibility* How to make good decisions* How to develop powerful systems* How to drive real performance* How to have meaningful influence Drawing on the latest global thinking on leadership, You Don't Need an MBA uses Plain English to demystify the skills leaders of the future need and outlines a way forward; united leadership that focuses on real outcomes, not quick-fixes.