Strategy?

MGMT 619

Prof. Sanjay Jain

Last Class Alaska Goldmine exercise: strategy in action! Significance of strategy

- “big picture”

- integrative; general management perspective

- navigating an increasingly dynamic, complex and uncertain environment

- importance for your careers

Agenda

Can you say what your strategy is? How competing for the future is different

The etymology of “strategy” Origins in military history

strategus – a military commander in ancient Athens and a member of the Council of War stratos – army agein – to lead

Strategy – “the intelligent use of individual battles for the design of a sustainable campaign” “tactics …involve the use of armed forces in the

engagement, strategy [is] the use of engagements for the object of war”

Carl von Clausewitz, On War 1832

Etymology of “strategy”

Sun Tzu The Art of War (circa 500 B.C.)

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

“The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.”

Can you say what your strategy is?

Ability to summarize your firm’s strategy in 35 words or less

Three critical components of a strategy statement

Objective Scope Advantage

Objective

Precise end that will drive business over the next five years or so

Specific Measurable Time-bound

Scope

Customer/Offering Geographic location Vertical integration

Also defines what NOT to do

Advantage

Customer value proposition Combination of activities allowing firm to

deliver the value proposition

Ongoing exercise

Write strategic statements for:

The company you work for The company you analyze for your

capstone project

Strategizing for the future

Competing in scenarios where- markets do not exist- rules are waiting to be written- little clarity about industry structure and

customer preferences

The challenge: proactively configuring nascent industries or fundamentally reconfiguring existing industries to one’s own advantage

Strategizing for the future

• How do we want the industry to be shaped in 5-10 years?

• How do we build a shared view of the future?

• What must we do to ensure that the industry evolves in a way that is advantageous to us?

Strategizing for the future

Involves- maximizing opportunity share- blending the skills of multiple business units- building coalitions with other firms and

organizations- balancing speed and perseverance - Structuring unstructured arenas

Constructing new industries or reconfiguring existing ones

Strategizing for the future

Phases of competition -- a dynamic view- competition for industry foresight and

intellectual leadership- competition to foreshorten migration paths- competition for market position and market

share

“Most managers wait for the miracle of birth; however this is unlikely unless there’s some activity nine months previously”

Takeaways

Sharpening your working definition of strategy

The “positioning” and “imagining” school of strategy

Understanding how to make strategy actionable within firms