3 Review(s)

In business, as in life, knowing where you are is a key to getting where you want to be. But too many companies ignore this simple maxim, and instead plan their future based on the past, paying little attention to current trends and opportunities in the marketplace. Only by thinking strategically and understanding their current relationships with their markets can organizations achieve future goals and create a competitive advantage. In this work, the author presents a method for assessing the strategic situation of a business before strategic planning begins. Drawing on his research and consulting work with more than one hundred companies throughout the United States and internationally, Rouse lays the groundwork required for implementing many of today's most popular strategic planning approaches, including those of Schwartz, Mintzberg, and Morrisey. Through his research on the history of change in three core industries - computers, transportation, and defence - Rouse has developed a set of ten archetypal strategic situations that describe the common patterns experienced by most organizations.