We like Strategy because it's a comprehensive sum-up of popular strategies to date as well as a sturdy jumping-off point for crafting a strategy that suits your organization. Perhaps unique among strategy guides, it also expends pages on the human element of strategy making and execution—dubbed here not as "the soft stuff" but as "the even harder stuff." And it's important for a book to make that link: A good strategy needs good leadership to carry it off. Mark Daniell, the author, is chairman of the Cuscaden Group in Singapore and a former managing director for Bain & Company.
The book is divided into two broad sections. Part One, "Recovering the Lost Art of Strategy," covers a wide swath of territory. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of a host of well-known models, including the Five Forces Model. According to Daniell, traditional strategy is struggling because it's deficient in seven crucial elements: a comprehensive nature, flexibility, creativity, integration, motivation, responsibility, and effectiveness. Part One also highlights the challenges of leadership and globalization.
Part Two, "Developing Your Own World Class Strategy," covers three areas: diagnosis of the strategic problem, design of a new strategy, and implementation. The book concludes with a how-to on making an effective executive summary.
Throughout, there is a wealth of examples from successful and less-successful companies in a wide variety of industries: airlines, automobiles, banking, retail (both bricks and clicks), fashion, even pizza. Daniell also provides an admiring description of a music ensemble, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which has forged a successful recording and performance career without the need of a conductor. Their group is not leaderless, members are keen to emphasize; rather, the leadership role shifts among them within a performance and even within a piece. Echoing Peter Drucker, the author writes, "The Orpheus approach may be the harbinger of leadership trends to come in the business world."