Strategic Thinking For Turbulent Times

Strategic Thinking for Turbulent Times is a conceptual and operational guide to the process of business strategy formulation within a turbulence driven economic and business environment. This book features pioneering work on the process of strategic thinking after the dramatic shift in the fundamental premises of strategic management.

An emergent approach to organizational strategy making assumptions that few organizations actually realize the goal of deliberative, top-down strategic planning, and that effective strategy making occurs on a continual basis and is a shared activity of the entire organization. This innovative book provides the first in-depth look at how real organizations are formulating and implementing strategic change under this new paradigm. The authors have dug deep into three large and varied organizations (Hewlett-Packard, the California State University system, and the County of Los Angeles) and identified each one's efforts to develop a new strategic planning process better-suited to match the current pace of change and environmental unpredictability. The book is filled with vignettes, quotes, and real-world examples that illustrate the trend toward faster, more adaptive strategic planning processes. It is relevant for a wide range of business, governmental, and non-profit settings, and should be required reading in any course on strategic planning.

ᅠReaders and leaders interested in planning and leadership in higher education will receive two primary benefits from the book Navigating Through Turburlent Times........ First, a strategic decision making model that they can apply with their leadership teams in universities, systems and Boards. Second, they will be exposed to real life experiences from turbulent or unstable environments that they will likely confront during their careers. The six components of the strategic decision making model are laid out in detail and used as the focus for recognizing and resolving issues that contribute to instability. The integration of the model with the actual experiences provides leaders and their support teams with a comprehensive tool to address current and future challenges. The model components include: 1) an organizational mentality committed to strategic thinking, 2) a maximum amount of historical data and information for analysis to inform decision makers, 3) highly globalized scans of the future integrated with other decision making information, 4) ongoing strategic planning processes, 5) transparency to incorporate all key constituencies in planning and 6) a planning and assessment framework that allows leaders to weigh and filter information into thoughtfully constructed strategic alternatives and action plans. The success of the model is based on the integration of all components, with strategic thinking permeating all aspects of decision making. Ultimately leaders and leaders in waiting will be able to better anticipate and resolve problems through the use of the six major interactive components of the model. Problems (as reflected through the experiences) that create instability such as dramatic funding reductions, unanticipated leadership successions, rapidly increasing student costs, limited communications with constituencies, limited planning and strategic thinking, etc. can be considered from the outset of thoughtful, strategic planning and thinking exercises and not simply "fixed" after alternative strategies are in place.

Strategic Thinking for Turbulent Times is a conceptual and operational guide to the process of business strategy formulation within a turbulence driven economic and business environment. This book features pioneering work on the process of strategic thinking after the dramatic shift in the fundamental premises of strategic management.

In today’s organizations, it is no longer the CEO who acts as the sole strategic leader. From single individuals to larger teams and networks, leaders at all levels are infiltrating the formal organizational structure and making strategic leadership an increasingly complex endeavor. In Strategic Leadership for Turbulent Times, Kriger and Zhovtobryukh shrewdly describe the true experiences of what employees encounter as internal and external environments evolve, and how to uphold the personal and organizational values which affect both human and social capital. They examine how leadership strategies are used in real situations and highlight the importance of managerial wisdom for sustainable growth. Finally, they offer advice for strategic leaders on leading effectively in highly turbulent economic, social, technological, and multicultural times.

The world is increasingly turbulent and complex, awash with disruptions, tipping points and knock-on effects. These range from the impacts of warfare in the Middle East on energy futures, investment and global currencies to the vast and unpredictable impacts of climate change. All this threatens established strategic planning methods. This book is for business and organizational leaders who want and need to think through how best to deal with increasing turbulence, and with the complexity and uncertainty that come with it. The authors explain in clear language how future orientation and, specifically, modern scenario techniques help to address these conditions. They draw on examples from a wide variety of international settings and circumstances including large corporations, inter-governmental organizations, small firms and municipalities. Readers will be inspired to try out scenario approaches themselves to better address the turbulence that affects them and others with whom they work, live and do business. A key feature of the book is the exchange of insights across the academic-practitioner divide. Scholars of scenario thinking and organizational environments will appreciate the authors' conceptual and methodological advances. What has previously remained jargon only accessible to the highest level of corporate and government futures planners here becomes comprehensible to a wider business and practitioner community.

The world is increasingly turbulent and complex, awash with disruptions, tipping points and knock-on effects. These range from the impacts of warfare in the Middle East on energy futures, investment and global currencies to the vast and unpredictable impacts of climate change. All this threatens established strategic planning methods.This book is for business and organizational leaders who want and need to think through how best to deal with increasing turbulence, and with the complexity and uncertainty that come with it. The authors explain in clear language how future orientation and, specifically, modern scenario techniques help to address these conditions. They draw on examples from a wide variety of international settings and circumstances including large corporations, inter-governmental organizations, small firms and municipalities. Readers will be inspired to try out scenario approaches themselves to better address the turbulence that affects them and others with whom they work, live and do business. A key feature of the book is the exchange of insights across the academic-practitioner divide. Scholars of scenario thinking and organizational environments will appreciate the authors' conceptual and methodological advances. What has previously remained jargon only accessible to the highest level of corporate and government futures planners here becomes comprehensible to a wider business and practitioner community.

Companies face increasingly turbulent times. Economic and political uncertainty, sustainability developments, and competitors with new business models are just some issues that stretch companies' resilience and adaptability. Strategy in Turbulent Times presents a way of analyzing and fighting turbulent environments. Using four animal metaphors, the Camel, Salmon, Chameleon and Octopus, it shows you how to develop new strategies and how to implement them. It is up to you to discover which animal represents the appropriate turbulence strategy for your organization. 'Strategy in Turbulent Times' is a wonderful and practical book, full of inspiring examples that examines how organizations can respond to turbulence. This excellent book is full of fresh ideas and practical advice. It deserves to be widely read and be on the shelf of every senior executive crafting their organisation's strategy. - Costas Markides | Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship | Holder of the Robert Bauman Chair in Strategic Leadership | London Business School Strategy in Turbulent Times provides a state of the art playbook for the tactics you can use to make sense of and respond to the forces of disruption in your industry. - Julian Birkinshaw | Vice Dean & Professor of Strategy | London Business School Kurt Verweire successfully explains how to understand and tackle a turbulent environment in this highly relevant book. - Marion Debruyne | Dean Vlerick Business School Kurt Verweire offers us practical insights. This is useful material for any manager seeking opportunities in what I like to call The Never Normal. - Peter Hinssen | Author | Keynote-speaker and Serial Entrepreneur Strategy and turbulence... two words that capture the essence of many companies' current transformation efforts. Much akin to a cyclist navigating a mountainous terrain, success lies in balancing the focus on the summit while acknowledging the significance of each pedal's stroke. Profits aren't assured, yet a steadfast strategy and unwavering execution significantly tip the scales toward success. - Erik Luts | Chief Innovation Officer KBC Group