
CHAPTER 4
E
VALUATING
S
TRATEGIC
T
RADE
-O
FFS
No trumpets sound when the important
decisionsofourlifearemade.
Destiny is made known silently.
—A
GNES DE
M
ILLE
,
CHOREOGRAPHER
I would argue th at all strategies are de fined by the decisions they
encompass. The trick here is not just in making superior decisi ons,
but also i n learning how to i denti fy, fr om the plethora of leadership
talent decisions that confront you at a ny moment, t hose few deci-
sions that shap e the events aroun d you. I am su re that as a com-
pany executive or CTO you may have recen tly fo und yoursel f
confronted with a num ber of diffi cult talent management deci-
sions:
• Do I take a