Themes Of Good Strategy And Bad Strategy

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Central Theme

The novel Good Strategy/ Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt was published in 2011 as a response to the lack of strategy the author witnessed around him. In the introduction, Rumelt explains that strategy is not limited to businesses, but is a course of action that all entities should be accountable for. This lack of accountability and awareness of true strategy urged Rumelt to discuss the difference between good strategy and bad strategy (hence the title), and how the ladder of the two causes inefficiency and stunted growth in all aspects of society. The first portion of the novel is centered on understanding the essence of strategy. The understanding strategy, according to the author, is derived from truly comprehending what strategy …show more content…

In other words, strategic objectives differ from goals/visions in terms of feasibility, practicality, and ultimately implementation. This theme makes its way into essentially every portion of the book, as it is vital to strategy. Often times, strategic planning and strategic thinking is thought to be any action performed by upper management. Rumelt debunks this myth and inserts that these executives are motivating and energizing their employees at best through vague visions and mission statements. Instead, upper-level management should actually focus on opportunities and detail orientated actions to avoid bad strategy. The same logic can be applied to hopeful wishes (over ambitious goals). These goals contain a great deal of uncertainty, as they lack a level of reality and planning. In fact, good strategy should be based off of an educated guess, even if that means you take a stance on an uncertain issue. Rumelt explains, “A new strategy is, in the language of science, a hypothesis, and its implementation is an experiment. As results appear, good leaders learn more about what does and doesn’t work and adjust their strategies accordingly” (Rumelt, 2011, pg. 241). In other words, successful strategists are constantly evaluating and adjusting their original hypothesis to perfect their strategy. This hypothesis allows them to …show more content…

Good Strategy/ Bad Strategy is not only a published piece meant only to apply to those in the business place. No, it is a public service announcement to society, urging everyone to open our eyes to the lack of strategy around us. Rumelt, through a great deal of case analysis’, shows that even our governing forces are greatly made up of strategy-less individuals, or even worse, individuals who actively practice bad strategy. Overall, this publication’s main takeaway is to obtain the tools necessary to identify the difference between this fluff and actual strategy and hopefully apply strategic thinking to your personal

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