Books & Articles

Jim Collins presents factors which separate an average organization from an exceptional organization. Some of the factors discussed in the book are singular leadership, disciplined culture, and the right choice of technology. Collins also presents 6 essential steps great companies follow.

Collins discovers that great social enterprises like great businesses possess a “relentless culture of discipline.” Great social sector organizations offer superior performance, are resilient and have distinctive impacts that other institutions struggle to provide.

When the future is unpredictable, consider all disastrous scenarios. One of the strategies the writers recommend is to rely on three core behaviors instead of being risk-takers: sticking to values and goals and making decisions based on observation and experimentation. Collins presents tools and strategies that successful companies use to weather adversity and hectic times.

Collins and Porras present concepts behind visionary companies which endure for generations and remain prosperous for decades. The book provides practical advice for developing a company that lasts.

Harris and Lenox provide an overview of the process of strategic analysis and a collection of 13 analytical tools. The application of each tool is described in an easy-to-follow manner.

Kaplan and Norton describe a new management system based on the balanced scorecard (BSC). In order to gain sustainable advantages and succeed, organizations need new intangible capabilities. BSC uses four perspectives to gain these capabilities – financial measures, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth.

Marquet tells the story of how a captain successfully transformed the U.S. Navy’s worst-performing submarine to the best. He turned the demoralized crew into a motivated fighting force using a “leader-leader” model instead of a “leader-follower” model.

Moore presents a strategy for future growth utilizing different levels of power: category power, company power, market power, offer power, and execution power.

• How competitive forces shape strategy by Michael E. Porter

Porter details each of the five competitive forces which organizations utilize to succeed in their industry. The five forces explored are threat of entry, internal competition, powerful suppliers and buyers, and threat of substitution.

• It’s time to toss SWOT analysis into the ashbin of strategy history by Roger Martin

Martin writes about different perspectives on SWOT analysis. There are several approaches organizations can use when performing SWOT analysis: some are beneficial and insightful and others generate a lot of pages, but little result.

• Patterns in strategy formation by Henry Mintzberg

Mintzberg presents the results of his research on the patterns in the process of strategy formation in organizations. He describes three main “modes” of strategy formation and reports the results of formation in two organizations.

• Design-led strategy: How to bring design thinking into the art of strategic management by Eric Knight, Jarryd Daymond, and Sotirios Paroutis

The article describes how design thinking can be incorporated in day-to-day strategic planning. It identifies four practices to strategize with design-thinking content: reviewing, simulating, conversing, and collaborating.

• 6 Steps to make your strategic plan really strategic by Graham Kenny

Kenny presents a 6-step systematic procedure to make a strategic plan strategic. The first steps in the process involve identifying key stakeholders, target customers, and what they want from the organization. All six steps constitute a system-design approach to strategic planning.

• Improving diversity through strategic planning: a 10-year (2002–2012) experience at the Medical University of South Carolina by Deborah Deas, Etta Pisano, Arch Mainous, Natalie G. Johnson, Myra Haney Singleton, Leonie Gordon, Wanda Taylor, Debra Hazen-Martin, Willette, S. Burnham, J. G. Reves

A case study of The Medical University of South Carolina describes how the leadership infused diversity among the university community by developing a diversity road map, programs, and strategies for achieving goals.

• A practical guide to strategic planning in higher education by Karen E. Hinton

Hinton provides an overview of strategic planning in higher education and advice on elements for a successful process.

• The use of sustainable balanced scorecard as a tool for strategic planning and resource efficiency improvement: an empirical study in the Mustansiriya by Buthaina Rahid Al Kaabi and Bayan Jowmer 

The article demonstrates how a technique called sustainable balanced scorecards (BSC) for measuring profitability is used in higher education strategic planning. The faculty developed and utilized scorecards to improve the efficiency of used resources.