Management of the Past & Future

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'

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The first jimmies the locks that keep employees out of the decisionmaking process; the second seeks to smash the "not invented here" syndrome and to spread good ideas quickly from one part of GE to another; the third is the tool the others most depend on. All foster lots of employee involvement@ (Stewart, 1991, 40). 4. What are some of the rules for future competition? Rule Number 1: To quote Walt Kelly, the creator of APogo@ the Afuture ain=t what it used to be.@ In other words, there are no more clearly-defined rules. Rule Number 2: No industry, and no business, is immune from seismic change. Rule Number 3: Traditional theories are challenged relentlessly. Consider for example the number of Internet IPOs where companies with tremendous valuation (Yahoo!, AOL, Netscape, Excite and so on) have yet to show a cent in profit. Rule Number 4: Speed and versatility will be essential for survival. Companies must be able to embrace change and make constant re-evaluations of both strategy and tactics. Rule Number 5: To paraphrase Kipling, Athe race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but to the company that endures to the end.@ 5. What are the Phases of Competition? There are three phases of competition. 1. C

Category: Business - M