The book's main chapter's include the following competencies:
Part I-The Art of Strategic Thinking:
--> What is strategy?
--> What can be the possible ways to overcome competitor?
--> How strategic mind should work?
(Instead of analysis to idea, idea to analysis)
Part II-Building Successful Strategies:
--> Define yourself - the corporation
--> Define the others - the competition
--> Define the rewarders - the consumers
--> And finally define the above 3C in one map
Part III-Modern Strategic Realities:
--> What is the affect of economic environment to 3C's?
--> How to cope with strategic changes?
--> A case analysis: A nations strategic gain: Japan
--> How to project the future 3C's?
--> And finally is there a strategic success formula?
The main thing I captured from the book is: strategic thinking is a way of life, not a special time event. Working in a US multinational for years, I am more and more aware of the facts and success path defined by Mr. Ohmae - McKinsey guru. Especially, determining the strategic degrees of freedom of any issue (can be a business issue, or a weekend tennis journey, or even life -I applied-) and determining the actions to take to get the determined result is the best thing I learned.
This is a short book (wrt to other strategic management books) but it teaches how to think instead of popular strategy methods.
It is a must read & can be taken as foreword of all business books.
However, The Mind of the Strategist stands apart from other books in terms of its profound discussion on what the strategy really means. With this definition, he further talks about four ways of thinking to deal with a given situation in a business world. He may not give you off-the-rack answers of what to do. Rather than spoon feeding you, he gives you the right logic, not just techniques, to come up with your own solutions to maximize your competitiveness. It is your job to use your thoughts and imaginations to win the game of business.
The author must have intentionally taken this approach to discuss on strategy in order to sincerely tell us that there is no correct strategy for every situation. The author has done his job by giving us the way of thinking. Now it is our own job to think strategically after having read this book once. And I firmly believe that every reader can take full advantage of new way of thinking in business over your competitors. It means that reading The Mind of the Strategist itself is a strategic move for you. It should be your strategy in your personal business agenda.
Minoru Nadai "å?ä -«
Strategy has been a subject matter of interest to Business and Military than to any other profession. In both these cases it is a about doing something differently to gain advantage over the adversary either in the battlefield or in the marketplace. Strategy is not just a piece of paper or a corporate manual but a state of the mind to win against all odds. So many books and theories have been written on this subject and still it continues to be a topic that cannot be defined as an exact science. If there is one topic that can be listed as the most important for any MBA program, undoubtedly it is Business Strategy.
Another reason for revisiting this book is that in the last decade, we have been overloaded with concepts of digitization and technology as the main drivers of business. We have seen technologies that are excellent but have failed miserably in the marketplace. Technocrats have failed to convert bits and bytes into bucks. In the quest for technical excellence, strategy has taken a back seat. We need to fill this vacuum of strategic thinking.
But then the problem is to have a strategy to understand and apply this vital topic ! It is here that this book is one among the best I have come across till date.
Strategy is a combination of elastic thinking and application of analytical method. Omahe explains this well and warns that strategy is not just somebody's spark of genius but a process that needs rigorous effort and continuos refinement. He brings in the framework of listing the concrete phenomena, grouping, abstraction and determination of approach that are actionable and practical. The three Cs' of the strategic triangle - Corporation, Customer and Competitor are at the core of this book. Each C is discussed in detail with excellent illustrations and case studies.
If you need to read an executive summary, I recommend Chapter 7 - The Secret of Strategic Vision. In this chapter one paragraph in my opinion contains the essence of strategic thinking.
"Strategic thinking in business must break out of the limited scope of vision that entraps deer on the highway. It must be backed by the daily use of imagination and by constant training in logical thought process. Success must be summoned; it will not come unbidden and unplanned. Top management and its corporate planners cannot base their day-to-day work on blind optimism and apply strategic thinking only when confronted by unexpected obstacles. They must develop the habit of thinking strategically, and must do it as a matter of course. Ideally, they must approach it with real enthusiasm as a stimulating mental exercise."
The book was first published in 1982. Hence some of the assumptions on key economic trends under "Modern Strategic Realities" have undergone major corrections. However, the framework for strategic thinking still holds good. Though the examples are mostly from Japanese companies, Omahe concludes the book by pointing out that " Creativity, mental productivity and the power of strategic insight know no national boundaries. Fortunately for all of us, they are universal."