Art of the Strategist, The: 10 Essential Principles for Leading Your Company to Victory

256 Pages·2004·1.48 MB·English

by  William A. Cohen Ph.D.

More Praise for The Art of the Strategist
‘‘A comprehensive treatise on the subject of strategy—clear, well orga-
nized,simplyput,andstraighttalking.Dr.Cohenhaslinkedleadership
and strategy into a helpful guide for businesspeople, politicians, and
trailblazers. His numerous well-written examples make it an enjoyable
read, as well as a profitable one.’’—J. B. Hilmes, Lieutenant General,
U.S.Army(retired),GroupExecutiveVP,ComputerScienceCorporation
‘‘Outstanding!Anindispensableguideforstrategistsanddecisionmak-
ers. General Cohen has successfully identified the ten essential ele-
mentsofstrategyandstrategicleadership.Masterthetenprinciplesin
this book and you will master your competition.’’—Michael A. Mische,
CEO, Synergy Industries, former Principal, KPMG Peat Marwick and
author of Strategic Renewal: Becoming a High-Performance Organiza-
tion
‘‘In this clear and well-written book, Dr. Cohen has thoroughly and in-
telligently distilled from history the basic strategic principles that suc-
cessful businesses must use. Of great interest at this time is his
prescriptionthattheseprinciplesofstrategydonotinvolvelying,cheat-
ing, or dishonesty. Every corporate officer who wants to develop and
follow a strategy that will win should read this book.’’—Herbert Y.
Schandler, PhD, George C. Marshall Professor of Grand Strategy, and
former Chairman of the Strategy Department, Industrial College of the
Armed Forces
‘‘Scores of anecdotes and examples show how these ten principles are
essentialtoeverysuccessful businessstrategy, butalsotosports,poli-
tics, and even romance! The Art of the Strategist deserves to be a Best
Business Book of the Year!’’—Reginald Rhein, former Business Week
magazinewriterandcurrentWashingtoneditorofScripWorldPharma-
ceuticalNews
‘‘The Art of the Strategist makes new contributions to the knowledge of
strategy. Everyone who reads this book will wish that they had done
what it recommends a long time ago.’’—Ambassador Ronald F. Leh-
man II, PhD, former Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarma-
ment Agency and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
SecurityPolicy
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The Art
of the Strategist
10 Essential Principles
for Leading Your Company to Victory
William A. Cohen, PhD
MAJOR GENERAL, USAFR, RETIRED
American Management Association
New York ❚ Atlanta ❚ Brussels ❚ Chicago ❚ Mexico City
San Francisco ❚ Shanghai ❚ Tokyo ❚ Toronto ❚ Washington, D.C.
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SpecialdiscountsonbulkquantitiesofAMACOMbooksare
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Cohen,WilliamA.,1937–
Theartofthestrategist:10essentialprinciplesforleadingyour
companytovictory/WilliamA.Cohen.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN0-8144-0782-X
1. Leadership. 2. Strategicplanning. 3. Successinbusiness. I. Title.
HD57.7.C6425 2004
658.4(cid:1)012—dc22
2004003414
(cid:1)2004WilliamA.Cohen.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,
ortransmittedinwholeorinpart,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofAMACOM,
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Printingnumber
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Contents
FOREWORD vii
PREFACE ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
PART1: The Roots of Strategy
A. ForEveryLeader,StrategyIstheKeytoSuccess 3
B. Determiningthe10EssentialPrinciplesofStrategy 13
PART2: The 10 Essential Principles
1: TheFundamentalPrinciple:CommitFullytoa
DefiniteObjective 27
2: SeizetheInitiativeandKeepIt 43
3: EconomizetoMassYourResources 59
4: UseStrategicPositioning 71
5: DotheUnexpected 83
6: KeepThingsSimple 99
7: PrepareMultiple,SimultaneousAlternatives 113
8: TaketheIndirectRoutetoYourObjective 127
9: PracticeTimingandSequencing 145
10: ExploitYourSuccess 159
PART3: Putting the Strategic Principles into Action
11: StrategyMustBeTailoredtoFittheEnvironment 177
12: CrisisStrategy—WhattoDoWhenThings
GoWrong 195
13: HowtoApplythePrinciplesofStrategy 211
14: ThePrinciplesAreNotOnlyEssential...
They’reUniversal 219
NOTES 223
INDEX 229
❚ v
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Foreword
B
illCohenhasneverbeenafraidtotackleseeminglycomplexsubjects
thatsomefeeldefyanalysisorproscription.InTheArtoftheStrate-
gist he has taken on the important subject of strategy and put it in a
framework of principles that are easily understood and ready for the
practitioner.
There are several aspects of this book that I found especially useful.
First, it is not simply a book about strategy development, but rather a
book that flows from determination of an objective through the phases
of execution that lead to success. Second, it has interspersed real-world
examplestoillustratetheprinciplesandthesubsetsoffactorstoconsider
inapplyingtheprinciples.Finally,itmakesclearthatsensitivitytoenvi-
ronmental factors and a willingness to change strategy, but not objec-
tives, are an integral part of the process.
It is also clear that application of these principles depends on the
judgment and leadership qualities of the individual responsible for the
success of the undertaking. The need for such leadership is no more
apparent than in a crisis situation.
Having been involved with strategy development and execution for
three decades in government and over a decade in industry, I recom-
mend this book to all who want to develop the strategic skills that lead
to success.
General James E. Dalton, USAF, Retired
Former chief of staff, Supreme Hqs Allied Powers Europe (NATO);
President, Logicon RDA
❚ vii
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Preface
I
n writing this book, I have taken on a number of ‘‘sacred cows’’ and
celebratedwritersofbusinessstrategy,includingeventheclassicCom-
petitive StrategybyHarvard’sMichaelPorter.Idothiswithgreatreluc-
tance, since I have the utmost respect for both Professor Porter, as a
strategist and researcher, and Harvard, as one of our nation’s leading
institutions ofhigherlearning.Butheisnot theonlystrategyresearcher
who has, I believe, led us astray.
Yearsago,anotheracademicstrategist,writingaboutmarketingstrat-
egy,claimedthatgoodtacticalimplementationcanovercomeabadstrat-
egy. That notion is ridiculous. If the strategy is bad or wrong, the only
thing good tactical implementation will do is make a bad strategy result
in something worse. The bad strategy may succeed, but it would be
better if it failed.
Forexample,assumethatyourstrategyinvolveddevelopingacertain
technology instead of an alternative. It was the wrong choice, but you
did not know it at the time. Tactically, you did everything right. You
convinced investors and got the money. You recruited and motivated an
outstanding scientific team. You spent millions of dollars, months of
time,andintheend,youdevelopedthetechnology.Butitwasthewrong
one! You should have developed the alternative technology. Your strat-
egy was wrong even though your tactics were flawless.
Tacticalimplementationshouldbedirectedtowardimplementingthe
right thing—a good strategy. Good tactical implementation of a bad
strategy is doing the wrong thing in the right way. It is optimizing the
kind of approach that will eventually lead to defeat, not to triumph.
I have had the good fortune to call renowned management expert
Peter F. Drucker my friend, as well as my professor. One of his most
famous quotes is: ‘‘What everyone knows is usually wrong.’’ On many
keypoints, muchof theadvice thatbusinessstrategistshavebeengiving
us foryearsisquite simply wrong.Tobeintellectually honestinwriting
this book, I have had to go against much of ‘‘what everyone knows.’’
Consider for a minute those strategists who claim that business is war.
In more than forty years of experience in the three worlds of the
military,academia,andcommerce,I’veread,analyzed,visuallyscanned,
and examined numerous books purporting to explain business strategy
❚ ix
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