In business, some problems are so complex, intractable and threatening to organizations—or entire industries—that they are best described as “wicked.” These problems appear to be unsolvable and they render traditional analytical tools of strategy virtually impotent. Wicked Strategies offers a comprehensive framework for identifying, responding to and profiting from wicked problems. John C. Camillus, drawing on detailed, real-life examples from companies across the globe, has skillfully woven together the analytical techniques, processes and organizational designs that will enable managers to navigate a disruptive marketplace. His feed-forward framework for fashioning wicked strategies empowers firms to presciently transform their business models before they are made obsolete by the competition. Wicked Strategies is a practical and evocative guide that demonstrates how business leaders can profitably capitalize on unknowable futures.

Investment strategies relate to an extensive range of aspects and have attracted the attention of investors and students, academics, researchers, financial executives, portfolio managers, security analysts, financial engineers, practitioners, including at the level of Nobel prizes (Tobin, 1981, for the analysis of financial markets; Markowitz, Sharpe, 1990, for modern portfolio models; Black, Scholes, Merton, 1997, for option pricing; Akerlof, Stiglitz, Spence, 2001, for markets with asymmetric information). Even common people talk daily about investments, investment tactics and strategies, and how to obtain success. In the absence of an investment philosophy, they try to copy celebrities or professional advisors without understanding the mechanics of markets, their core beliefs, strengths, or weaknesses. Beyond the traditional stocks and bonds, there are many other types of assets and alternative investments, and investors are overwhelmed by the huge number of portfolio architecture and management options. Regardless of the types of investors, portfolios are no longer a simple list of assets, and their management requires impressive skills. Decision models have significantly evolved from the Markowitz portfolio model toward capital market paradigms in the context of managing unrealistic assumptions or adding the treatment of market imperfections, multiperiod objectives, and transaction costs. The index of portfolio risk provides an intuitive image of diversification. There is an interest in the integration of new visions in investment strategies: determinism, complexity, nonlinearity, self-organization and chaos, trading rules, evolutionary games, real-options games and artificial markets, bounded rationality, heterogeneous agents, and behavioral investments. From the evolutionary perspective, investors interpret information by encoding and categorization, trying to simplify the strategies by using rules of thumb and heuristics. The present work contributes to the understanding of current investment processes by offering the tactical and strategic elements specific to global markets as well as emerging ones in a multilayer approach useful to decision-makers, investors, students, and researchers in the field.

A resource for industry professionals and consultants, this book on corporate strategy lays down the theories and models for revitalizing companies in the face of global recession. It discusses cutting-edge concepts, constructs, paradigms, theories, models, and cases of corporate strategic leadership for bringing about transformation and innovation in companies. Each chapter in the book is appended with transformation exercises that further explicate the concepts.

The U.S. today faces the most complex and challenging security environment in recent memory— even as it deals with growing constraints on its ability to respond to threats. Its most consequential challenge is the rise of China, which increasingly has the capability to deny the U.S. access to areas of vital national interest and to undermine alliances that have underpinned regional stability for over half a century. Thus, the time is right for the U.S. to adopt a long-term strategy for dealing with China; one that includes but is not limited to military means, and that fully includes U.S. allies in the region. This book uses the theory and practice of peacetime great-power strategic competition to derive recommendations for just such a strategy. After examining the theory of peacetime strategic competition, it assesses the U.S.-China military balance in depth, considers the role of America's allies in the region, and explores strategies that the U.S could adopt to improve its strategic position relative to China over the long term.

Companies across the world, for a variety of reasons, are committing to incorporating social responsibility into their business models and finding that their profits are growing and their long-term sustainability is enhanced—building "humanity" into their business models as the driver of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. This fascinating development is a widely observable global phenomenon. The "Business of Humanity®" (BoH) Proposition is the synthesis of counter-intuitive but simple and powerful ideas about how companies can add value in today’s globalized and fast-changing world. The task of BoH Strategies is to overcome three critical challenges characterizing today’s business environment, namely disruptive technologies, conflicted stakeholders, and unknowable futures. BoH Strategies are designed to convert these challenges into opportunities for enhanced sustainability on all three dimensions—economic, environmental and social. Written by leading experts with decades of experience, this book: Provides a hands-on understanding of how to implement this powerful and rewarding approach to simultaneously add economic value and enhance social benefit Includes the experiences and approaches of highly regarded business executives and successful organizations Responds to the critical challenges created by three environmental mega forces – the inevitability of globalization, the imperative of innovation, and the importance of shared value. This book is based on lessons drawn from the real world and provides a compelling rationale for the power of the BoH Proposition. The pragmatic framework and process offered enable companies to develop and confidently implement value-adding strategies based on the BoH Proposition.

- Contains 100 black and white line drawings and illustrations - Provides a thorough grounding in the principles of systems thinking and tools which can be used to help implement sustainability-focused learning strategies - A practical guide to how to facilitate sustainability education and development for organisations, with learning resources including chapter summaries, illustrations, reflection points, mind maps and further reading - Written by an independent performance and learning consultant with extensive experience working with international organisations.