🌿🧭🌳 OD102: 10 Schools of Strategy Formation
Curated resources on Strategy ∙ Org Design ∙ Org Development ∙ Adjacent fields
Starters
1 of 4 / European Commission: 2023 Strategic Foresight Report - “analyses how to put ‘sustainability and people's wellbeing at the heart of Europe's Open Strategic Autonomy' and suggests ten concrete actions to achieve this aim.” including:
Ensure that all Europeans can contribute to the transition by increasing labour market participation and focusing on future skills.
In addition to technical skills, sustainability, digital, civic, resilience, or entrepreneurial skills should be given increased attention.
Encouraging lifelong learning, e.g. through greater on-the-job training and vocational training, or innovative ways of teaching would increase the flexibility of learning.
(…) To manage demographic change, the EU needs robust tools for granular forecasting of skills and workforce needs in key sectors.
(…) Finally, to address specific labour market gaps and demographic challenges, the EU needs to attract more global talent and support the creation of talent pools and partnerships with third countries. This needs to be coupled with supporting the communities of origin and adapting education and training to enhance the integration.
Report discovered thanks to Diana Stafie.
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2 of 4 / HBR on Strategy: Defining a Growth Strategy in Uncertain Times - Rita McGrath shares an approach with 4 practices for exploring new markets or navigating environments with lots of uncertainty, based on validating assumptions through experiments.
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3 of 4 / Gartner: The 7 Key Trends That Will Impact Your Strategic Planning (PDF) - Good overview about key technological, political, economic, social, ethical, legal and environmental trends to keep on your radar.
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4 of 4 / Matt Clancy: How to Impede Technological Progress - An opportunity to enhance policymaking vocabulary with push (decrease costs), pull (increase rewards), drag (increase costs) and barrier (reduce rewards) policies.
Main
10 Schools of Strategy Formation
Source: Strategy Safari: The complete guide through the wilds of strategic management by Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph B. Lampel
An invitation to look at strategy from multiple angles - highlights ours:
Cognition aside, in reviewing a large body of literature, ten distinct points of view did emerge, most of which are reflected in management practice. Each has a unique perspective that focuses, like each of the blind men, on one major aspect of the strategy-formation process. Each of these perspectives is, in one sense, narrow and overstated. Yet in another sense, each is also interesting and insightful. An elephant may not be a trunk, but it certainly has a trunk, and it would be difficult to comprehend elephants without reference to trunks. The handicap of blindness does have an unexpected advantage, sharpening the other senses to the subtleties that can escape those who see clearly.
Prescriptive
The Design School: strategy formation as a process of conception
The Planning School: strategy formation as a formal process
The Positioning School: strategy formation as an analytical process
Descriptive
The Entrepreneurial School: strategy formation as a visionary process
The Cognitive School: strategy formation as a mental process
The Learning School: strategy formation as an emergent process
The Power School: strategy formation as a process of negotiation
The Cultural School: strategy formation as a collective process
The Environmental School: strategy formation as a reactive process
Integrative
The Configuration School: strategy formation as a process of transformation
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Dr. Marc Sniukas shares an accessible summary for each of the 10 schools:
𝙿̲𝚁̲𝙴̲𝚂̲𝙲̲𝚁̲𝙸̲𝙿̲𝚃̲𝙸̲𝚅̲𝙴̲
𝟭/ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Focus on fitting organization with the environment.
• Step-by-step approach to planning strategy.
• Top managers lead the strategy process.
𝟮/ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Aim for efficiency, control, coordination.
• Detailed planning for strategy.
• Analyze, predict, set goals.
𝟯/ 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Gain long-term advantage through positioning.
• Find unique market position.
• Stand out from competitors.𝙳̲𝙴̲𝚂̲𝙲̲𝚁̲𝙸̲𝙿̲𝚃̲𝙸̲𝚅̲𝙴̲
𝟰/ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Align internal resources.
• Shape structure and systems.
• Fit strengths and demands together.
𝟱/ 𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Thinking affects strategy.
• Perceive, understand, decide.
• Consider biases and mental shortcuts.
𝟲/ 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Consider cultural context.
• Align strategy with culture.
• Culture influences strategy.
𝟳/ 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Leader shapes direction.
• Visionary, intuitive strategy.
• Encourage innovation, risk-taking.
𝟴/ 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Respond to external changes.
• Monitor, adapt to environment.
• Adjust strategies for challenges.
𝟵/ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Try new things, adapt.
• Strategy evolves through learning.
• Adjust strategies based on learning.
𝟭𝟬/ 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
• Power distribution, use.
• Power and politics influence strategy.
• Negotiation, conflict, power dynamics.
Which lenses have influenced your own Strategy practice the most?
Dessert
1 of 2 / Scott H. Young: On learning from books - “Reading more improves your fluency and background knowledge, which increases your reading rate.”
2 of 2 / Colin Gorrie: Descriptive vs Prescriptive Grammar: A Simple Explanation - ”For a linguist, a grammar is a system that lets us associate form and meaning.” Are fields of research and fields of practice not having only specific vocabularies, but also specific grammars? “In the ungrammatical sentence, we cannot complete the association of form and meaning. It comes out as "word salad".” Are you encountering word salads in your field of practice?
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Bon appétit!
Curated by knowledge chefs Raluca and Bülent Duagi.
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