Strategy

The Harvard Business Essentials series is designed to provide comprehensive advice, personal coaching, background information, and guidance on the most relevant topics in business.Whether you are a new manager seeking to expand your skills or a seasoned professional looking to broaden your knowledge base, these solution-oriented books put reliable answers at your fingertips.Implementing StrategyStrategic execution drives business success. This book covers strategy from the ground up, explaining what strategy is, how to put together a strategic plan, what tools and resources are necessary to execute it, and how to measure results.

Introduction

xi

1 SWOT Analysis I

1

(16)

Looking Outside for Threats and Opportunities

External Analysis

3

(10)

Porter's Five Forces Framework

13

(2)

Summing Up

15

(2)

2 SWOT Analysis II

17

(12)

Looking Inside for Strengths and Weaknesses

Core Competencies

18

(5)

Financial Condition

23

(1)

Management and Culture

24

(1)

A Method for Evaluating Internal Strengths and Weaknesses

25

(2)

Summing Up

27

(2)

3 Types of Strategy

29

(18)

Which Fits Your Business?

Low-Cost Leadership

31

(5)

Differentiation

36

(2)

Customer Relationship

38

(4)

Network Effect Strategy

42

(3)

Summing Up

45

(2)

4 Strategic Moves

47

(14)

The Mechanisms of Success

Gaining a Market Beachhead

48

(2)

Market Entry Through Process Innovation

50

(2)

Applying Judo Strategy

52

(2)

Market Entry Through Product Differentiation

54

(1)

Create and Dominate a New Market

55

(2)

Buying Your Way In

57

(2)

Summing Up

59

(2)

5 From Strategy to Implementation

61

(16)

Seeking Alignment

People and Incentives

66

(2)

Supportive Activities

68

(2)

Organizational Structure

70

(1)

Culture and Leadership

71

(4)

Summing Up

75

(2)

6 Action Plans

77

(18)

The Architecture of Implementation

From Strategic Plan to Unit Action Plans

78

(2)

Set Goals

80

(2)

Agree on Performance Measures

82

(2)

Formulate Action Steps

84

(1)

Determine the Resources Needed

85

(1)

Identify Interlocks

86

(4)

Estimate the Financial Impact

90

(1)

A Sample Action Plan

90

(2)

Summing Up

92

(3)

7 How to Stay on Course

95

(14)

Sensing and Responding to Deviations from Plan

A Model for Staying on Course

96

(2)

Progress Review

98

(3)

Informal Checks

101

(1)

Common Causes of Implementation Failure

102

(4)

Develop Contingency Plans to Handle Potential Setbacks

106

(2)

Summing Up

108

(1)

8 The People Side of Implementation

109

(12)

Getting the Right People on Board

Enlist the Support and Involvement of Key People

111

(2)

Support the Plan with Consistent Behaviors and Messages

113

(1)

Develop Enabling Structures

114

(1)

Celebrate Milestones

115

(2)

Communicate Relentlessly

117

(3)

Summing Up

120

(1)

9 Strategy as Work-in-Progress

121

(16)

Keep Looking Ahead

How Well Is Your Strategy Working?

123

(7)

Warning Signs

130

(4)

Leading Strategic Change

134

(1)

Summing Up

135

(2)

Appendix: Useful Implementation Tools

137

(4)

Notes

141

(4)

Glossary

145

(4)

For Further Reading

149

(8)

Index

157

(4)

About the Subject Adviser

161

(1)

About the Writer

162

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Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials