Roger L. Martin
@RogerLMartin
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Thinker, author, strategist, advisor, & author of new book #anewwaytothink
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Joined October 2012
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Farewell Toronto, Ontario and Canada. This is my final day at
@MartinProsperiT
@rotmanschool
@UofT
. It has been a productive 21 yrs! Thanks most to Rob Prichard, Peter Pauly, Jim Fisher, Mary-Ellen Yeomans,
@suzannespragge
,
@JenniferRiel
and
@JamisonSteeve
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Cool thing happened today. My viral video - A Plan is Not a
#strategy
- just hit 3 million views in just over one year. And at the same time, became
#Harvardbiz
most viewed video of all time. Screen shot below & see video here if you haven't already:
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Happy to be able to announce that my A Plan is Not a Strategy video has passed the 1 million view mark.
#strategy
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The four books that I think are a must on strategy are:
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
The Concept of Corporate Strategy by Kenneth Andrews
Competitive Strategy by
@MichaelEPorter
Business Model Generation by
@AlexOsterwalder
&
@ypigneur
@RogerLMartin
really love your concepts in strategy. I am starting my career on strategy thinking. Could you recommend great books or author like you on this subject?
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I wasn't paying enough attention and missed the second anniversary of A Plan is Not a Strategy, which was on June 29th. In only two years, it is closing in on 4.3 million views - which is
#1
in the history of Harvard Business Review videos (thx HBR).
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Peter Drucker was voted the most influential in 2001. I am honored to be on the same list in the same position 16 years later. He is the best management thinker in history.
#GPDF17
@rstraub46
The winner is ... the most influential management thinker in the world is:
@RogerLMartin
#Thinkers50
- welcomed in Vienna for the
@GDruckerForum
in Vienna on 16 November
#GPDF17
@rstraub46
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This is a sad day. The world has lost a great man & I have lost a friend in Clay Christensen. Lovely obit by
@andrewtghill
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Very few executives understand strategy. That is why OKRs substitute (ineffectively) for strategy.
"Strategy is what you do"
↳
@RogerLMartin
I am thus genuinely confused as to how someone can think OKRs = strategy
Unless you understand neither strategy nor OKRs.
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Cool. Today A Plan is Not a
#Strategy
crossed the 4 million view mark. That is in less than 22 months. And almost a million views more than the next highest Harvard Business Review video. Happy to have had this positive impact.
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I just published my new Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece - this one on how to use and do competitor analysis
#Strategy
Hope you enjoy!
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I don't talk about strategy because it just causes confusion. I get them talking about the biggest problem they wished they could make go away - and we work on that.
@RogerLMartin
the senior leaders of these companies that would help create a 'aha' moment that encourages them to see strategy differently ? How to wake them up from this collective self-hypnotization ?
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As you well know, Tom, I tried for 15 years as Dean. But I have to admit, I underestimated how hard it would be. A whole new pedagogy needs to be built to give folks the confidence to let go of the existing one. A big job!!
I wonder if there is even one business school on earth that puts people ahead of finance?
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My newest HBR article with
@TonyGolsbySmith
just went on line. This was a labor of great love!
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Our lives are organized by models. Once we have a model of something, the answers/decisions we come to are shaped by that model. And all models (per John Sterman) are wrong - otherwise they wouldn't be models. So having multiple
models available to look at a problem is critical.
.
@RogerLMartin
In your opinion, what is the importance of an inter-disciplinary viewpoint to answering society’s big questions?
#9DotsChat
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Stellar day for
@TennisCanada
. 3 Cdns in
@ATP_Tour
top 30. Tied for most of any country. Before new strategy in 2005? Only one Can player in ranking history. Strategy matters!
@milosraonic
@denis_shapo
@felixtennis
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My brand new HBR article. The Jan-Feb 2019 Spotlight article.
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And he wrote it inspired by his work with us at Monitor Company starting in 1987.
@asmartbear
@RogerLMartin
Can't recommend this highly enough (in which Argyris writes about the thermostat and double loop learning)
It's a pamphlet rather than a book, readable with one cup of coffee ☕️
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So PWC created that huh? No shame.
“A great strategy is unique, specific, and complete; it stands on the shoulders of a big idea; and it is owned by a leader who is ultimately responsible for its implementation.”
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The majority of 'strategy consultants' don't even have a useful definition of strategy, let alone are able to consult usefully. If a client doesn't know a thing about strategy, they won't be able to distinguish between a strategy charlatan and a strategy advisor.
@RogerLMartin
I still hope the other founders will come to their senses (I mean If you don't see the value of strategy how are you supposed to convince clients to buy strategy advice from you????)
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I just published my latest
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece: It’s Time to Toss SWOT Analysis into the Ashbin of Strategy History Hope you enjoy.
#strategy
#SWOT
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I just published COVID-19 Across America: It’s the Geography, Stupid!
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Longer subject. But core thing to remember is AI is a mean-seeking device. Don't expect tail answers from an LLM.
@RogerLMartin
What do you think will be generative AI’s impact on strategy and durable competitive advantage?
I have not convinced myself I know the right answer, just some initial theories
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Just posted my latest Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece - on
#strategy
myths Enjoy!
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Awesome quote.
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius
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My new
@washingtonpost
editorial. The virus shows that making our companies efficient also made our country weak More to come in my Sep 2020 book: When More is not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency
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My latest Medium Playing to Win Practitioner Insights post: Is Strategy in B2B Dramatically Different than in B2C? Enjoy!
#strategy
#playingtowin
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If your deck is 95 pages long, you haven't figured out the problem or even how to think about it.
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Happy New Year. And just found out my video on A Plan is Not a Strategy was the top HBR video of the year
#strategy
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I just published my latest
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece on Medium. This one is on Asking Great Strategy Questions Hope you enjoy!
#strategy
#questions
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Now that is integrative thinking. Fight - nope. Ignore - nope. Figure out a clever way to be more effective than both mediocre options.
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That is why Must-Have Capabilities & Enabling Management Systems are the reality check of
#strategy
If you don't do the reality check, your strategy isn't real.
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My latest Medium post on Strategy as Problem Solving Enjoy!
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Folks: People often ask me about the role of the Management Systems box in the
#playingtowin
Strategy Choice Cascade. Here is my answer
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Joan did a nice job of distilling down the essence of Mike. Well worth the read.
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Couldn't care less how old it is, the question is it any good? And the answer is that this is a terrific piece. Just terrific. Great work. I learned from reading it and encourage everyone to do so.
Hi
@RogerLMartin
Thanks for the follow
It’s quite old now, but you might find this piece of some interest
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They can't. Strategy is an integrated set of choices - they all have to fit together and reinforce each other.
I heard your recent podcast with
@lennysan
, and I have a question,
@RogerLMartin
: If positioning is indeed a subset of sound strategy, how can companies be sure about their positioning and messaging, but not be sure about their overall strategy?
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Brand new
@HarvardBiz
article with
@tceb62
just out. How to use design thinking to make great things actually happen
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I have just posted my latest
#Medium
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece on the link between Clay Christensen's
#jobstobedone
framework and Playing to Win
#strategy
Enjoy!
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Hey
@stevenmarkryan
Enjoyed your Telsa piece utilizing my strategy v planning video. Would love to chat.
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Thrilled that Creating Great Choices made the
@WSJ
best seller list for business books.
@JenniferRiel
Thx for spotting it,
@davidburkus
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I like when one of my
@HarvardBiz
articles is as relevant 10 years later (this was 2014) as it was when published.
Don’t think linearly.
Such an important strategy advice.
“Strategy isn’t planning” —
@RogerLMartin
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Most: user needs being targeted; value proposition; amount of cash the needs to be spent before getting definitive user reaction. Least: revenue forecast (it's made up); vision statement; advisory board.
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New HBR article with proper title: CEOs Should Stop Thinking that Execution is Somebody Else’s Job; It Is Theirs
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I just published my latest
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece, this one on Strategy & Boards of Directors
#strategy
#Governance
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Just published my latest Medium Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece, this one dedicated to the great
@MichaelEPorter
#strategy
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Just published my latest Medium Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece - on how to start doing
#strategy
Enjoy!
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If you can't explain to each employee how their work contributes to your strategy, you don't have a real strategy. You have a plan.
@RogerLMartin
A related strategy question I am often asked by our executive team is how to “paint all of our employees into the strategy”? The concern is that only some employees will be directly involved in executing the strategy and the rest will feel left out. Thoughts anyone?
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Strategy has become a lost art. It just needs to be rebuilt. That is my project.
With respect to
@RogerLMartin
, if Strategy isn't a plan. Why is nearly all strategy out there...
a plan
Reminds me of how 'Marketing' had to be rebranded to 'Growth' in order for Silicon Valley to digest it for the last 20 years.
Do we need to rebrand Strategy too?
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I am more sympathetic than not. MBA education is broken and I spent 15 years attempting to fix it. It will crater if it doesn't fix itself. However, I am not as enthusiastic as he is about engineer-CEOs - lots of good ones, but lots of bad ones. Not a panacea.
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What it means to be a Canadian pursuing excellence: When you don't win ('11, '13, '15) Cdn media covers foreign winners. When you do win Cdn media ignores totally
@globeandmail
@TorontoStar
@nationalpost
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I just published my latest
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece: Stop Letting OKRs Masquerade as Strategy
#strategy
#OKRs
Hope you enjoy!
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Strategy advisor
@RogerLMartin
explains how 2,000 year old military thinking is useful in modern business strategy.
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Sadly I have none to recommend. Frankly, this question is a big source of business for McKinsey and BCG. They sell generic analyses of industries and make a lot of money doing it.
@RogerLMartin
what online or offline sources or reports would you recommend to understand industry analysis / dynamics. Objective is to understand their unit economics
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Thx. Interestingly, the accomplishments below have been totally ignored by the Canadian press - I guess they don't like to acknowledge Canadian success
Congratulations to Canadians
@RogerLMartin
and
@dtapscott
on being named
#1
and
#2
most influential management thinkers in the world at the
@thinkers50
awards last night in London
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Nicely done Mahmoud. What I like the very best is your iteration. Most people do the equivalent of your Version 1 and think they are done. You kept going and going - and will reap the rewards of your efforts. Great stuff!
Product Roadmap is not a strategy.
OKRs are not a strategy.
Hope is definitely not a strategy.
In the past 9 years, I read 10s of books and tried several frameworks for creating a "Product Strategy", but all failed.
Thanks to the work of
@RogerLMartin
, I was able to create a
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I have just posted my latest
#Medium
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece, this one on Business Model Generation and Playing to Win.
@AlexOsterwalder
@ypigneur
#strategy
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Just published my latest Medium Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece called The Best Place to Start: It's Where You Are.
#strategy
Enjoy!
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Cool.
@HarvardBiz
just dropped my second video - after the Planning v Strategy that is up to 1.1 million views. This one is on Loyalty v Habit
#strategy
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With the clock ticking down to its May 3 launch, I wanted to let everyone know that I am very excited about my 13th book: A New Way to Think. Please pre-order it at
#strategy
#leadership
#Effectiveness
#Management
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You will be happy to know I am working on a
@HarvardBiz
article on functional strategy with
@JenniferRiel
Dear
#CEO
, plaster this advice from
@RogerLMartin
’s to your bathroom mirror:
Every business function should have a
#strategy
, one that aligns with company strategy & decides for its context
- Where to play
- How to win
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Every MBA program should teach system dynamics. I got John Sterman to help us create a course on it at Rotman.
@RogerLMartin
Very interested to hear your thoughts on system dynamics and its application in strategy and management science.
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Friends: Go buy it today! It is launch day. Thx. R
Filled with keen economic insight and advice for citizens, executives, policy makers, and educators,
@RogerLMartin
’s When More Is Not Better is the must-read guide for saving democratic capitalism.
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Have just published my latest Medium Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece, this one on the business of
#Strategy
consulting Enjoy!
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Malcolm and me at the Creating Great Choices book launch.
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I just published by latest Medium post: My Business is Too Fast-Moving for Strategy Enjoy!
#strategy
#playingtowin
#DataAnalytics
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Man, MBA programs are so deficient. I love your idea, Tom - mine was a Masters in Business Design. But on those top three, Tiffani, MBA teaches: simplistic problem solving, reflexive thinking and how to (accidentally) crush creativity.
@Tiffani_Bova
@RogerLMartin
@claychristensen
@dorieclark
@johnsonwhitney
@BrightlineOrg
@TheBIF
@ValaAfshar
@wef
@trailhead
I am demanding (ha) that new MBA will be renamed Master of Business Arts. And will have a core course in listening/core course in art appreciation (not kidding). Reading 3 books on power of liberal arts—helluva note for a guy with 2 engineering degrees and 2 business degrees.
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I like this short interview from the
@thinkers50
European Forum done by
@BrightlineOrg
that briefly covers my most current views on management effectiveness
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Wow, so honored! "Creating Great Choices" was named one of the best Decision Making books of all time by
@BookAuthority
!
@JenniferRiel
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Stupendously good article by
@MartinProsperiT
fellow
@AdamMGrant
. Critical to the future of democratic capitalism
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I just published my latest Medium piece in the
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights series: It’s Time to Accept that Pay for Performance Doesn’t Work
#strategy
#incentives
#mythbreakers
It’s Time to Accept that Pay for Performance Doesn’t Work
It Impedes Playing to Win!
link.medium.com
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I do downplay the word 'strategy' in my work with clients. We solve their toughest problem by making choices - which is strategy whether it is called that or not.
@RogerLMartin
Viewing it as problem solving without complicating it under the guise of “strategy” might help. But it is vested interests and politics which prevent it from being what it is
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Newest strategy article. Key thing to keep in mind while you create strategy.
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Hey
@IDEO
buddies; thanks for retweeting this piece. I really liked that discussion.
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Bit of a rant.... but I like it!
Never use a SWOT analysis, says
@RogerLMartin
"They have at best, zero value. They generally are worse than nothing, because they get you thinking about all sorts of stupid things."
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Just published my latest Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece, this one on
#strategic
tension. Hope you enjoy!
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Beautiful. For America to be great, we have to defeat the STEM obsession.
@johnmaeda
is right. It is STEAM!
Exactly the wrong direction - turning students into unimaginative robots with big drop in "creative elaboration"
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The fundamental conceit is that the measure designer thinks those measured will treat the measure in the way the designer desires rather than the way the measured desires. Hint: they don't!!!!
Goodhart’s Law: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
Campbell’s Law: "The more a metric is used, the more likely it is to corrupt the process it is intended to monitor.”
What do you think?
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Just posted my latest
#medium
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece on who should do
#strategy
Enjoy!
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And I hate 90% of strategic plans because they don't contain a strategy.
“I hate strategic planning!” —
@RogerLMartin
(as opposed to strategy, which = a set of choices where to play and how to win!)
#LiftLab
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On this sacred day, let us all remember the power of imagining possibilities - even if, at the time, they seem near impossible to most
#MLKDay
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Just posted my latest
#Medium
#playingtowin
Practitioner Insights piece, this one on famously misattributed quotes.
#strategy
Enjoy!
Measuring, Managing & Mattering
Don’t let your Strategy be Guided by Fictions
rogermartin.medium.com
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Yes, these posts are my contribution to the world of strategy practice. They are not money-makers.
@RogerLMartin
I’d gladly pay the Medium subscription just to read Roger’s work.
Interestingly, none of Roger’s posts are behind any kind of paywall, Siddharth.
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I just published my latest Medium piece: Strategy as a Practice Enjoy!
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I would say that I have been describing strategy as an act of shortening the odds of the bets you make ever since the mid-1990s.
@RogerLMartin
Been spending quite a bit of time looking at the word "bet" and its use in strategy & product mgmt in software (Spotify's DIBB). Recently found your HBR 2013 re: placing strategic bets. Do you remember your 1st use of bet / influences / adoption of that language?
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Glad you are paying attention. That was a change a few months ago. Seemed to help clients understand better and focused them on the right thing: customers.
@RogerLMartin
@RogerLMartin
It seems you’ve slightly modified your def of strategy in recent writing. I could be wrong? The “integrated set of choices” is same, but target is now “customer action,” but used to be “positions the firm… to create CSA and superior value.” Am I right?
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Thanks
@rorysutherland
Going to hit 1 Million views soon!
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I like this one. Great to be back in
@rotmanMgmtMag
as a Professor Emeritus!
Is it right to equate intellectual rigour with data analysis? If the answer is no — as
@RogerLMartin
and
@TonyGolsbySmith
suggest in this article about
#management
being more than a science — then how should managers arrive at their decisions?
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Yup. ESOPs. Going to see more of those. Drucker was always right. Takes time to play out. His Knowledge Workers of 1959 are finally spreading their wings and telling employees Drucker was right!
@RogerLMartin
argues against “designing jobs for low-skill, minimum-wage clock punchers”. Agree! What if all employees were salaried? What if they were equal owners? Is that possible? Yes ..
#ReThinkOrgs
#collaboration
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I just published my latest Medium Playing to Win/Practioner Insights piece, this one on Eli Goldratt's The Goal
#strategy
Enjoy!
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This made for a really nice end to a pretty tough year. Thanks Porchlight
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