HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

There are plenty of books available on strategy, but most business leaders do not have a lot of time to read them. Where can you go to get a reasonably-priced introduction to the ideas of some of the leading experts on business strategy? This book provides one possible answer. It includes essays on strategy and the five competitive forces by Michael Porter, building a vision by Collins and Porras, blue ocean strategy by Kim and Mauborgne, and the balanced scorecard by Kaplan and Norton.

Although I found the essays by each of the above-mentioned authors less inspiring and enlightening than their books on the same subjects, this compilation does give a good introduction to their ideas, and will help the reader discern whether to take the next step and read the authors' books. Each essay contains sidebars including an "Idea in Brief" sidebar which will help the busy reader further; however, in the Kindle version the sidebars simply appear in the main text, which interrupts the flow and can lead to confusion.

Not all strategic advice is good advice. In my view the advice given in the essay "Transforming Corner-Office Strategy into Frontline Action" leaves something to be desired. The idea of distilling a company's entire strategy into "one pithy, memorable and descriptive phrase" may appeal to some, but I really struggle to see its value. Examples include AOL ("Consumer Connectivity first - anytime, anywhere"), GE ("Be number one or number two in every industry in which we compete, or get out"), Dell ("Be direct"), and eBay ("Focus on trading communities"). Do any of these actually communicate useful strategies, or are they meaningless mantras?

On the other hand, I found the other essays on essentially the same topic (turning strategy into action) quite useful. "The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution" by Neilson, Martin and Powers and "Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance" by Mankins and Steele gave some very practical steps which a leadership team can take to make a strategy actually happen. All up, I recommend this book as a valuable introduction to strategy.

This volume is one of several in a new series of anthologies of articles that initially appeared in the Harvard Business Review, in this instance from 1960 until 2006. Remarkably, none seems dated; on the contrary, if anything, all seem more relevant now than ever before as their authors discuss what are (literally) essential dimensions of formulating and then executing an effective strategy.

My own opinion is that strategies are "hammers" that drive tactics ("nails) and the key is to get a strategy in proper alignment with the ultimate objectives as well as with an organization's various activities. That said, what we have in this volume is a variety of thoughtful perspectives on strategy provide by those who are among the world's most highly-regarded authorities on the subject.

More specifically, the reader learns how to understand what strategy is and isn't as well as what it does and (doesn't) do, and, how to manage/leverage the five competitive forces that shape strategy (Michael E. Porter); also, how to build a company's vision (James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras), how to reinvent a business model (Mark W. Johnson, Clayton M. Christensen, and Henning Kagermann), how to formulate and then execute a "blue ocean strategy" (W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne), how to take full advantage of the "secrets" of effective strategy execution (Gary L. Neilson, Karla L. Martin, and Elizabeth Powers), how to use the Balanced Scorecard as a strategic management system (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton), how to transform corner-office strategy into frontline action (Orit Gadiesh and James L. Gilbert), how to turn great strategy into great performance (Michael C. Mankins and Richard Steele), and gain a much better understanding of how clear decision roles enhance organizational performance (Paul Rogers and Marcia Blenko).

Each article includes two invaluable reader-friendly devices, "Idea in Brief" and "Idea in Practice" sections, that facilitate, indeed expedite review of key points. Some articles also include what I characterize as "business nuggets" in which their authors focus on even more specific subjects such as "Finding New Positions: The Entrepreneurial Edge" (Porter, Page 10), "Big Hairy, Audacious Goals Aid Long-Term Vision" (Collins and Porras, 96), "A snapshot of blue ocean creation" (Kim and Mauborgne, 130-132), "Translation vision and strategy: four perspectives" and "Managing strategy: four processes" (Kaplan and Norton, 172 & 173), and "A Decision-Making Primer" (Rogers and Blenko, 236-237).

These ten articles do not - because they obviously cannot - explain everything that one knows to know and understand about the formulation and execution of an effective strategy. However, I do not know of another single source at this price (currently $14.23 from Amazon) that provides more and better information, insights, and advice that will help leaders to achieve success in the business dimensions explained so well by the authors of the articles in this volume.

The first few articles are a bit dry and academic in nature but others are wonderful foundational reading for anyone developing a strategy. This is a solid book for anyone trying to brush up on Strategy theory.