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What You Need to Know about Strategy

What You Need to Know about Strategy

by Jo Whitehead
Publisher: Capstone
Release Date: June 2011
ISBN: 9780857081018
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Book Description

In any career in business, chances are that the time will come when someone will ask you to do a strategy for something. Too often, this will be a cue for stress at work and sleepless nights.

What You Need to Know about Strategy shows that it doesn't have to be like this. Taking you step-by-step through the basics of what you need to know to come up with a great strategy, it shows:

  • That getting the right answers depends on asking the right questions

  • Why priorities matter

  • How to map out your internal and external situation

  • How to deal with uncertainty

  • How to make tough choices

  • What your brain does while you're doing strategy

By cutting out the theory, and focusing on the things you need to know and do to come up with a killer strategy, this book means that you never need to panic again.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. CONTENTS
  5. INTRODUCTION
  6. CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS STRATEGY?
    1. WHAT STRATEGY IS
    2. WHY STRATEGY IS IMPORTANT
    3. THE BASIC STRATEGY QUESTIONS
    4. ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS
  7. CHAPTER 2: FROM THE OUTSIDE
    1. DEFINING INDUSTRY BOUNDARIES
    2. SEGMENTATION
    3. HOW TO SEGMENT
    4. DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE SEGMENTATIONS
    5. PICKING A USEFUL SEGMENTATION
    6. INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS
    7. THE FIVE FORCES
    8. ISSUES WITH USING THE FIVE FORCES FRAMEWORK
    9. THE MACRO-ENVIRONMENT
  8. CHAPTER 3: FROM THE INSIDE
    1. CREATING VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS
    2. EVALUATING CUSTOMER VALUE CREATION
    3. THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
    4. DIFFERENT WAYS TO EVALUATE ADVANTAGE
    5. EVALUATING COST AND CUSTOMER VALUE ADVANTAGE
    6. EVALUATING POSITIONAL SOURCES OF ADVANTAGE
    7. EVALUATING CAPABILITIES
    8. ARE WE WINNING?
    9. THE VALUE CHAIN
    10. DEFINING THE MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
    11. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
    12. SUMMARISING THE OVERALL SITUATION
    13. A REALITY CHECK: WHAT IS ACTUAL PERFORMANCE?
  9. CHAPTER 4: EVOLUTION
    1. TRICKY UNCERTAINTY
    2. OVERALL APPROACHES TO DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY
    3. GENERATING A LIST OF POTENTIAL UNCERTAINTIES
    4. SCENARIOS
    5. MODELLING EVOLUTION
    6. BROADER TRENDS
    7. INDUSTRY ANALOGIES
    8. BEHAVIOUR
    9. PRIORITISING UNCERTAINTIES
  10. CHAPTER 5: ISSUES AND OPTIONS
    1. THE POWER OF FRAMING
    2. GENERATING NEW FRAMES
    3. NARROWING THE FRAME
    4. GENERATING OPTIONS
    5. GENERATING OPTIONS FROM THE BOTTOM UP
    6. GENERATING OPTIONS USING STRATEGY TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS
    7. GENERATING OPTIONS USING GENERIC STRATEGIES
    8. GENERATING OPTIONS THAT DEAL WITH UNCERTAINTY
    9. GENERATING CUNNING OPTIONS
    10. EVALUATING OPTIONS
    11. EVALUATING FEASIBILITY
    12. EVALUATING RISK/RETURN
    13. ITERATING
  11. CHAPTER 6: THE PRIORITIES
    1. THE FULL MONTY APPROACH
    2. THE QUICK-AND-DIRTY APPROACH
    3. THE FUTURE THINKING APPROACH
    4. THE ISSUES APPROACH
    5. THE OPTIONS APPROACH
    6. THE TEST-AND-LEARN APPROACH
    7. ONE MORE APPROACH: INTUITIVE BOUNCING
    8. HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT APPROACH
  12. CHAPTER 7: PROCESS
    1. DEFINING THE AMBITION
    2. PRECISION
    3. THE FALLIBLE BRAIN
    4. IMPROVING OBJECTIVITY WITH PROCESS AND PEOPLE
    5. WHEN TIME IS SHORT...
    6. THE STRATEGY TEAM
    7. BRINGING THE DESIGN TOGETHER
    8. INDIVIDUAL BIASES
    9. FINE TUNING THE PROCESS
  13. CHAPTER 8: ENGAGEMENT
    1. WHAT STRATEGY ENGAGEMENT IS
    2. WHY COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT
    3. HOW TO ENGAGE THE ORGANISATION COLLABORATIVELY IN CREATING OPTIONS
    4. PRACTICAL TIPS ON GENERATING ENGAGEMENT
    5. SHARING FINDINGS
    6. ENGAGING THE ORGANISATION IN CHOOSING AN OPTION
    7. WHY ENGAGEMENT DOESN'T STOP AT THE DECISION
    8. WHEN A MORE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH IS IMPORTANT
    9. LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
  14. ON YOUR WAY
  15. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  16. INDEX