1. How is the context for strategy-making different when the focus is on tomorrow rather than today, when there is little or no clarity about industry structure and customer preference?
In his challenging book, Business at the Speed of Thought, Bill Gates states A...we always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction@ (Gates, 1999, 69). Gates= opus is dedicated to the rapidly changing business world that is the result of the Internet and the new communications.
Gates is not alone in suggesting that dealing with these changes, especially in the areas of implementing strategic goals, the primary requirement will be for Aleaders@ as opposed to Amanagers.@ For instance, in creating a strategy, the manager is said to establish Adetailed steps and timetables for achieving needed results@ while the leader Adevelops a vision for the future@ (Collins & Devanna, 1994, 397).
ADespite its mystical aura, vision is a critical aspect of leadership, and it very much reflects the new world of competition. By its nature, vision implies looking ahead and often with a paradoxical twist B seeing with a degree of clarity what may not be apparent to others@ (p. 397).
This suggests that strategy determination and implementation will take on new shape and substance. Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, suggested this concept almost 10 years ago when he stated AWe've got to take out the boss element,@ and envisioned a business world where A21st century managers will forgo their old powers to plan, organize, implement, and measure for new duties: counseling groups, providing resources for them, helping them think for themselves. We're going to win on our ideas, not by whips and chains@ (Stewart, 1991, 40).
2. What is the difference between market share and opportunity share?
Much traditional management litera...