Over the last month ive been reading good strategy, bad strategy during my commute, and its been the most thoughtprovoking book ive read in some time. Alas i spotted one such book good strategy bad strategy. I long ago realised that to understand a business i would learn much more by talking to people involved in daytoday operations than the chief executive. Good strategy, bad strategythe difference and why it matters. Good strategy bad strategy pdf summary richard rumelt. Instead, they have visions, mistake financial goals for strategy,and pursue a dog s dinner of conflicting policies and actions.
His teaching, research, and consulting focus on competitive strategy and the nature of competitive advantage. Pdf strategic management is generally blamed to be a text full of jargon explaining insights which come mostly through a hindsight, and in an context. Good strategy, bad strategythe difference and why it. Publication date 2011 topics planning, strategic planning, strategy. A book like this can only be written with many years of research.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read good strategy bad strategy. A good strategy is a specific and coherent response toand approach forovercoming the obstacles to progress. Rumelt offers three simple steps to developing a strategy for your business. Despite rumelts lofty reputation in this crowded field, good strategybad strategy is his first book aimed at a general audience and only his second as a sole author since 1974. There are precious few books that enable you to not only rethink the way you think but also improve your performance. I was one of the first to read it, and once i picked it up i had trouble putting it down. While he has vented about strategy in articles, in lectures and in advisory work for companies, he has bottled up plenty of frustration over the past decades. In good strategybad strategy, he debunks these elements of bad strategy and awakens an understanding of the power of a good strategy.
Click to tweet a good strategy is built on functional knowledge about what works, what doesnt and why. The more recent, good strategybad strategy, was the most interesting business book of 2011. Good strategy bad strategy is an enjoyable exception. The difference and why it matters kindle edition by rumelt, richard. The peril of a potent resource position is that success then arrives without careful ongoing strategy work. The diagnosis and actions that constitute good strategy, the fluff and failures that cause the bad. Richard rumelts book, good strategybad strategy, is a mustread. Jun 14, 2012 good strategy, bad strategy pinpoints the polar difference. Rumelt pretty much avoids the scenario planning concept thats ok, you can read about it elsewhere. The british admirals fleet was outnumbered at trafalgar by an armada of french and spanish ships that napoleon had ordered to disrupt britains commerce. This complete summary of the ideas from good strategy bad strategy explains what strategy is and exposes the three elements of a good strategy. The book is easy to read and one of the best ways to convey its flavour is to let it speak for itself with a few quotes.
Mar 01, 2018 bad strategy shares one of four defining characteristics. Yet, rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate momandapplepie values, fluffy packages of buzzwords, motivational slogans, and financial goals with strategy. Bad strategy part ii 4 steps to facing the challenge in your strategy in this series we are focused on giving you the foundation you need to set a great strategy for your organization and avoid the bad strategy that is far too common today. The material benefits greatly by his inclusion of good and bad strategy examples. Richard rumelt holds the harry and elsa kunin chair in business and society at ucla anderson school of management. The difference and why it matters ebook written by richard rumelt. Pdf richard rumelt good strategy bad strategy the difference. As the following diagram shows the kernel is composed of three strands.
I picked up this book not thinking much of it, but was very surprised by how much i learned, which actually is a testament to the pervasiveness of bad strategy in the corporate world something that rumelt talks about right away. Good strategy, bad strategythe difference and why it matters richard rumelt, ucla crown business, 2011 good strategy has a basic underlying logic. Senior executives who can spot it stand a much better chance of creating good strategies. Since then, his original and pragmatic ideas have won fans around the world and continue to help readers to recognise and avoid the. Jan 16, 2014 a rumelt perpsective on good strategy 1. Since then, his original and pragmatic ideas have won fans around the world and continue to help readers to recognise and. And because you should know the difference between what passes for strategy bad strategy and real strategy good strategy. Good strategy, bad strategy pinpoints the polar difference. Own the original patent on the plainpaper photocopier, or own the hersheys brand name, or the windows operating system franchise, or the patent on lipitor, and there will be many years during which profits will roll in almost regardless of how you arrange your business logic. The book argues that the notion of strategy has become much misunderstood. A hallmark of true expertise and insight is making a complex subject understandable client to consultant. Given the number of times ive referred to it recently, ive written up some notes to share. Using the good strategy bad strategy approach to develop. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
His current research interests center on the dynamics of industry transitions, with a focus on the patterns and forces shaping the evolution of complex industries. Rumelt is an extremely sensible individual, giving you a very clear and applicable definition of strategy, but also breaking down the typical mistakes made when doing bad strategy. Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader. He explains what goes into developing a strategy, what makes a strategy good, and. He is the author of good strategybad strategythe difference and why it matters. Bad strategy bad strategy isnt just the opposite of good strategy. Do not, i repeat, do not read this book if you plan to savor the coming 11 months of political.
Good strategybad strategy posted on november 6, 2015 by mike pinkel in good strategybad strategy. Richard rumelt, described by mckinsey quarterly as a giant in the field of strategy and. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading good strategy bad strategy. Management today drawing on a wealth of examples, rumelt identifies the critical features that distinguish powerful strategies from wimpy onesand offers a cache of advice on how to build a strategy that is actually worthy of the name. Good strategybad strategy is an enjoyable exception. Rumelts good strategy bad strategy provides an excellent framework for understanding the difference between good and bad strategies. Developing a strategy requires making a clear diagnosis of the problem, defining an overall approach to solving it, and creating a set of mutually reenforcing coherent actions. Good strategy bad strategy clarifies the muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful actionoriented strategy for the real world. Bad strategy abounds, says ucla management professor richard rumelt. Rumelt good strategy bad strategy narrated by sean runnette developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader, whether the ceo at a fortune 100 company, an entrepreneur, a church pastor, the head of a school, or a government official. He offers an ample collection of examples of what works and what doesnt, from. Good strategybad strategy has much to offer and has every chance of becoming a business classic.
A good strategy is a specific and coherent response toand approach for. A hallmark of mediocrity and bad strategy, rumelt writes, is unnecessary complexitya flurry of fluff masking an absence of substance. Rumelts research has centered on corporate diversification strategy and the sources of sustainable advantage to individual business strategies. The difference and why it matters, 2011, 336 pages, richard rumelt, 184765746x, 9781847657466, profile books, 2011. Most frequently a great jumble of buzzwords structured into a grammatically coherent format that nonetheless conveys quite little substance, such as using technologically advanced solutions to drive synergy across our geographically distributed teams. Scan through such documents and you will find pious. The difference and why it matters, richard rumelt argues that the essence of strategy is discerning the one or two critical issues in a business problem and concentrating effort on them.
Good strategybad strategy by richard rumelt youtube. The premise is that there is very little good strategy, a great deal of bad strategy, and its possible to distinguish the two. Like a quarterback whose only advice to his teammates is lets win, bad strategy covers. Rumelt, takes a nebulous concept and makes it concrete. Richly illustrated and persuasively argued by a researcher, teacher, and consultant, richard rumelt has authored the playbook for anybody in a leadership position who must think and act. A rumelt perpsective on good strategy linkedin slideshare. Rumelt begins by pointing out that developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader. When richard rumelts good strategybad strategy was published in 2011, it immediately struck a chord, calling out as bad strategy the mishmash of pop culture, motivational slogans and business buzz speak so often and misleadingly masquerading as the real thing. Bad strategy is distressingly common because it is much easier to conceive than good strategy, which involves rigorous analysis, logical thinking, difficult choices and focused action.
Good strategy bad strategy quotes a good strategy recognizes the nature of the challenge and offers a way of surmounting it. Pdf good strategy bad strategy richard rumelt, 2011. Praise for good strategybad strategy rumelts new book clearly elevates the. Senior executives who can spot it stand a much better chance of. Jul 19, 2011 good strategybad strategy has much to offer and has every chance of becoming a business classic. David and goliath is a basic strategy story discovering walmarts secret marshall and roches strategy for competing with the soviet union chapter 3 bad strategy 32 is u. Fluff is gibberish that sounds like a coherent plan, but which doesnt say anything. Rumelt advises that in order to detect a bad strategy, we look for. Uploaded by tracey gutierres on september 27, 2012. Good strategybad strategy clarifies the muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful actionoriented strategy for the real world. Here rumelt injects a sense of realism, arguing that strategy does not equate to a list of things you wish would happen p. Rumelt argues that the heart of a good strategy is insightinto the true nature of the situation, into the hidden power in a situation, and into an appropriate response. Pick up the key ideas in the book with this quick summary.
Dec 24, 2017 richard rumelt teaches at uclas anderson school of management. Good strategybad strategy pdf free download ebooks free. I picked up this book not thinking much of it, but was very surprised by how much i learned, which actually is a testament to the pervasiveness of bad strategy in the corporate. He has also been named by the economist as one of the 25 living people with the strongest influence on management concepts and has been described as a giant in the field of strategy by mckinsey quarterly. Feb 22, 2015 billionaire book club good strategy bad strategy. Fluff empty slogans filled with trendy buzzwords take the place of important insights.
The comment of prof rumelts colleague appears banal but gets to the heart of the matter. It articulates the fundamentals of strategy and is exceptional in its depth and breadth of case illustrations and understanding on strategy. Feb 27, 2018 good strategybad strategy has much to offer and has every chance of becoming a business classic. Sep 17, 2012 and because you should know the difference between what passes for strategy bad strategy and real strategy good strategy. Good strategy bad strategy by rumelt, richard ebook. Has good strategy, bad strategy by richard rumelt been sitting on your reading list. Instead, bad strategy involves fillintheblank, templatestyle thinking. He is also a consultant on strategic management problems. I think good strategy bad strategy by richard rumelt is one of the best books on strategy i have come across. So i am paying you to ask me questions consultant to client. Rumelt states, bad strategy ignores the power of choice and focus, trying instead to accommodate a multitude of conflicting demands and interests. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read good strategybad strategy. Notes from good strategy bad strategy by jeff zych. Good strategy bad strategy by richard rumelt overdrive.