{"product_id":"the-craft-of-strategy-formation-isbn-9780470518595","title":"The Craft of Strategy Formation","description":"Formulating a strategy is one of the most important but also one of the most difficult challenges faced by businesses: How may one translate a concern into a structured issue and the hypotheses for addressing that issue? How should one approach the designing and executing of the analyses through which these hypotheses can be tested, thus creating the insights from which new strategic options can be developed? And how can one identify the “best bets” from among the many different strategic options available, and determine how these may be translated into a coherent business strategy that the organization and its stakeholders can buy into?  \u003cp\u003eThis book helps to answer these questions for the senior manager responsible for company strategy; the project manager who’s been asked to chart and defend a new strategic course of action; and the student wishing to “learn the ropes” of strategy-creation. This book offers no theoretical strategy “frameworks”. Nor does it propagate a specific strategy of any kind. It is, quite simply, a “cook book” describing a step-by-step, focused and fast approach for creating a new strategy at medium-sized and large businesses. It is a proven method used by top management consultants to help clients develop new strategies.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Craft of Strategy Formation\u003c\/i\u003e provides a crisp account of the consecutive steps to take (and pitfalls to watch out for) when typically vague business concerns need to be translated into actionable strategy fast. Featuring the tried-and-tested analytical and organizational approach of top management consultants, this integral account of how strategy is crafted in practice offers a welcome break from traditional handbooks featuring largely isolated frameworks, tools and cases; highly theoretical academic treatises; and largely anecdotal “infotainment” books for the general reader.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface vii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction xi\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is this book all about? xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction to the Allware case study xxv\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I – The preparation phase 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 3\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Days 1 to 5 – We create a question out of a concern 7\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Days 6 and 7 – We set up a project organisation 27\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Day 8 – We structure the question 39\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Day 9 – We formulate hypotheses 51\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Day 10 – We make a work plan 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Allware: the first two weeks 79\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II – The analysis phase 89\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 91\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 Days 11 and 12 – We develop the analyses further 95\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Days 13 to 17 – We collect data 117\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 Days 18 to 42 – We carry out the analyses 135\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 Days 43 to 45 – We present the conclusions 149\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 Allware: on with the analysis 171\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III – The decision-making phase 181\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 183\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 Day 46 – We put forward a few business options 185\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 Day 47 – We set up scenarios 193\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14 Days 48 to 57 – We model the results 199\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e15 Days 58 to 60 – We choose the strategic direction 209\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 Days 61 to 65 – We write the strategic plan 215\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e17 Allware: make a choice and carry on 221\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart IV – The implementation phase 225\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 227\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e18 Set up an organisation to implement the strategy 231\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e19 Draw up the implementation plan 237\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e20 Direct progress 247\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfterword 259\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfile of OC\u0026amp;C Strategy Consultants 263\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 267\u003c\/p\u003e \"...the authors help answer...questions for the senior manager responsible for company strategy, the project manager...and the student...\"  (\u003ci\u003eGulf Business\u003c\/i\u003e, January 2008)  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEric Wiebes\u003c\/b\u003e Eric started his career in the oil industry. He became a strategy consultant in 1990 and a partner at OC\u0026amp;C Strategy Consultants in 1996, advising both corporate clients and national governments on an array of strategic issues. Today, Eric works for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarc Baaij\u003c\/b\u003e Marc is an associate professor of strategic management at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) of the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Before joining RSM, Marc worked in the industry and in strategy consultancy. Marc teaches strategy formation to graduate students as well as executives. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBas Keibek\u003c\/b\u003e Bas became a strategy consultant in 1995 and since then has assisted a diverse spectrum of corporate clients in meeting strategic challenges. Additionally, Bas, a partner of OC\u0026amp;C since 2002, has extensive experience in evaluating potential acquisitions for private equity clients. Prior to joining OC\u0026amp;C he worked in the UK offshore oil industry. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePieter Witteveen\u003c\/b\u003e Pieter launched OC\u0026amp;C in the Netherlands in 1992. His consulting experience covers a wide range of issues, such as strategic positioning, acquisitions, restructuring and portfolio strategy, for clients in virtually all sectors of business. His career before OC\u0026amp;C includes many years in strategy consulting and several managerial positions.   Do the top strategy consultants have a patented model that they use to help their clients set up a business strategy? The answer is no – such a marvellous, secret model does not exist. But the approach of these consultants is totally different from that of the strategy departments in companies or that of business schools. Their approach is not secret – it is described in a blow-by-blow account in this book.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book explains for the first time how the leading strategy consultants work. It shows how they set to work in an organization that they do not know, how they bring the truth to light, how they work together with the organization to give shape to the future and how they turn cynics into enthusiasts. This is not a book filled with strategic frameworks – no 7S models, no SWOT analyses, no new theories about the core competences of the organization. This is a handbook for managers and MBA students and graduates who need to solve a problem in a short time and arrive quickly at a usable end product.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Craft of Strategy Formation\u003c\/i\u003e describes the approach week by week. It gives practical examples, details a case study throughout the book, warns against pitfalls and explodes myths. Read in this book:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eWhy creating a strategy is more than just \u003ca id=\"OLE_LINK1\" name=\"OLE_LINK1\"\u003e‘\u003c\/a\u003ea bit of logical thinking’, and how it is that even 10 sharp minds cannot arrive at useful insights ‘just like that’\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWhy you do not always have to have a vision, and how you can have ideas without being creative\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWhat the difference is between a helpful and an unhelpful research question, and between a completely wrong and a more or less correct result\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWhat the strategic difference is between a hat and a walking stick\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eHow you can learn about your competitor without using industrial espionage\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWhat the most frequent mistakes are in a financial model and when a financial model is meaningless\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eHow to make sure that your results do not end up just being shoved into a drawer\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Wiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990200631525,"sku":"NP9780470518595","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780470518595.jpg?v=1761786880","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-craft-of-strategy-formation-isbn-9780470518595","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}