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The Subtle Art of Strategy Organizational Planning in Uncertain Times
Ian Wilson
ISBN: 1-56720-435-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-56720-435-3
192 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 10/30/2003
List Price: $62.95 (UK Sterling Price: £43.95)
Discount Price: $31.48 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: Strategy—and the planning that created it—has too often failed to deliver its promised results. The reasons for this failure are many and varied, but include an over-reliance on the next big thing in strategic methodology, a failure to recognize and deal with the total change that strategy requires in an organization, and an inability to deal with uncertainty. Wilson argues that strategy is a subtle and demanding art, far more than it is a science or a methodology.
  • To succeed in dealing with complex, interacting forces inside and outside the organization, strategy must:
  • Deal with the totality of the organization in the context of its total environment (not just one function or one facet of the organization)
  • Learn to harness the power of opposites (the sometimes conflicting objectives of the organization, e.g., the long term and short term; vision and execution; economic constraints and social responsibility)
  • Deal constructively with pervasive uncertainty in its future
  • Develop a strategic vision
  • Create a culture that fosters a strategic mindset throughout the organization.
Without constant change and adaptation, a strategy will fail. Continuing success depends, therefore, upon constant learning from customers, competitors, changes in our environment, and our own mistakes.
Table of Contents:
  • Illustrations
    Acknowledgments
    Introduction and Perspective
    Strategic Planning: It's Origins and Evolution
    The Many Faces of Strategy
    Harnessing the Power of Opposites
About the Author: IAN WILSON is an international management consultant, author, and authority on scenario planning and strategic management. Principal of Wolf Enterprises, a consultancy in San Rafael, California, he started his career in England and later joined General Electric in the United States. At GE, as a member of the strategic planning staff, he established their pioneering Business Environmental Analysis component before becoming a public policy advisor to GE's chief executive officer. Later, as a senior management consultant with SRI International, he worked with senior management teams in a variety of industries.
LCC Class: 658
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