MAIN IDEA
Strategy is “an integrated set of choices which uniquely position a firm in its industry so as to create a sustainable advantage by being able to offer superior value relative to its competition.”
Strategy is about making choices pure and simple. It’s all too easy to over-complicate strategy. The reality is to develop a winning strategy, all you really need to do is plan and then execute your best answers to five important questions:
All five questions must be answered in an integrated way if you are to succeed in creating a strategy which is viable, actionable and sustainable. Developing strategy is frequently iterative – as insights come to light in one area, you may need to go back and revisit choices made elsewhere. It is the combined impact and effect of all five choices which count.
“Strategy needn’t be the purview of a small set of experts. It can be demystified into a set of five important questions that can (and should) be asked at every level of the business: What is your winning aspiration? Where should you play? How can you win there? What capabilities do you need? What management systems would support it all? These choices, which can be understood as a strategic choice cascade, can be captured on a single page. They can create a shared understanding of your company’s strategy and what must be done to achieve it.”
– A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin
“Strategy needn’t be mysterious. Conceptually, it is simple and straightforward. It requires clear and hard thinking, real creativity, courage, and personal leadership. But it can be done.”
– A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin
A.G. LAFLEY is the former Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble. During his tenure as CEO, P&G’s sales doubled, profits quadrupled and the company’s market valuation increased by more than $100 billion. He also managed to grow P&G’s portfolio of billion-dollar brands from ten to twenty-four. Today, he consults with CEOs on business and innovation strategy,
ROGER L. MARTIN is Dean of the school of management at the University of Toronto. He is also an adviser on strategy, design, innovation and integrative thinking. He is the author of seven books including The Future of the MBA and Fixing the Game. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
This is a summary and not a critique or a review of the book. It does not offer judgment or opinion on the content of the book. This summary may not be organized chapter-wise but is an overview of the main ideas, viewpoints and arguments from the book as a whole. This means that the organization of this summary is not a representation of the book.