The One Best Way (Part 2) The Grand Strategy:
I admire leaders who are able to create a Grand Strategy. My admiration is boundless for those who actually succeed. By definition, it is very difficult to see how you are doing on a Grand Strategy until you are well along the path toward implementation. The path is full of doubt, questioning, and also requires a steadfast commitment by top management to stay-the-course.
Louis Gerstner did this successfully at IBM in the 1990’s.
Unfortunately few managers are as gifted as Gerstner.
How many times have we seen companies destroyed by rigorously implementing the wrong plan? Management that bets-the-company on a strategy that would need years to determine success or failure are taking a huge, and in my mind, unnecessary risk.
Photo: “Lou Gerstner IBM CEO 1995” by Kenneth C. Zirkel – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
