These tumultuous and unpredictable times call for flexible, responsive organizations. To succeed, leadership teams must be able to effectively assess, think, innovate, formulate, plan, implement, learn and adapt…all within the same cycle.  Attaining this level of proficiency in strategic management is certainly not easy, but it can and is being done.

We agree that a leadership team, in any sector of the economy, by definition, leads their organization’s strategic thinking, planning, implementation and most importantly learning processes. We also make the argument leadership teams of all stripes will improve the responsiveness and performance of their organization through selective use of a continually improving strategic management tool kit.

So what do we mean by a “tool kit?”  Checking a number of online dictionaries one finds the noun tool kit defined as “a set of tools designed to be used together or for a particular purpose.” We use this down-to-earth metaphor to highlight the range of practical strategic management models, concepts, exercises and progressive practices (i.e. tools) available to leadership teams and organizations.

At the intersection of theory and practice is where we find many of these strategic management tools.  A leadership team able to apply an appropriate tool, depending on the specific need and contextual situation of a particular organization is the focus of this series of posts. It should be emphasized that just as a hammer is the tool of choice for nailing two boards together, a hammer does not work when the need is to cut a single board into two parts.  For any strategic management tool to be effective it must be used in the correct context. The axiom, “One size doesn’t fit all” applies here.

Throughout this series of posts, we will introduce concepts, exercises, proven practices and guidelines we have found to be useful tools in assisting leadership teams and organizations be more flexible and responsive. We will also include timely findings in the strategic management literature as relevant to given topics.

As our blog community grows we plan to explore each of these tools and a wide range of others.  We encourage our online community to recommend models and concepts you would like to know more about.  We will do our best to comment on or explore these ideas in future posts.

Let’s begin the conversation…

Any tool kit should draw from the distilled wisdom of Sun Tzu http://suntzusaid.com/ and the genius of Clausewitz. http://www.clausewitz.com/ It should include the foundational contributions of Peter Drucker http://www.druckerinstitute.com/ and the complementary insights of his contemporaries.  It should certainly include Porter’s 5 Forces Driving Industry Competition http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml and the BCG Portfolio Planning Model http://www.netmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/. When competing head to head the wisdom of Porter is always valuable.  When doing a preliminary assessment of competitors, potential acquisition targets or alliance partners, plotting the organization’s offerings along the dimensions of market growth rate and market share can provide important insights. 
A strategic management tool kit will include a range of contemporary models as well, e.g. The Hedgehog Concept by Collins http://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/hedgehog-concept.html, Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim and Mauborgne http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/, Disruptive Innovation by Christianson and Raynor http://www.claytonchristensen.com/disruptive_innovation.html, and Co-Creation of Value by Prahalad and Ramaswamy http://www.12manage.com/methods_prahalad_co-creation.html.  Leaders who remember the simple wisdom of the Hedgehog Concept will be well served as they make resource allocation decisions.  When a team seeks to create uncontested market space where competition is less relevant, the Blue Ocean Strategy framework is uniquely helpful.  When the forces of innovation are involved Disruption Theory can help a leadership team make better decisions.  When looking to capitalize on a new product or service, or make a sustainable innovation investment in an existing offering, the notion of Co-Creating Value with Customers can provide valuable rewards.

Our “top drawer” tool recommendations (above) are illustrated in the following diagrams:

Now it is your turn to contribute. The power of collaboration is another topic we will explore in the future.  We invite you to join in with your comments and probing questions.