HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically - Bawar Library

HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically

Harvard Business Review Guides

Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, from the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

The titles include:

HBR Guide for Women at Work HBR Guide to Being More Productive HBR Guide to Better Business Writing HBR Guide to Building Your Business Case HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business HBR Guide to Changing Your Career HBR Guide to Coaching Employees HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers HBR Guide to Delivering Effective Feedback HBR Guide to Emotional Intelligence HBR Guide to Finance Basics for Managers HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done HBR Guide to Leading Teams HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across HBR Guide to Negotiating HBR Guide to Office Politics HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations HBR Guide to Project Management

HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PRESS Boston, Massachusetts

HBR Press Quantity Sales Discounts

Harvard Business Review Press titles are available at significant quantity discounts when purchased in bulk for client gifts, sales promotions, and premiums. Special editions, including books with corporate logos, customized covers, and letters from the company or CEO printed in the front matter, as well as excerpts of existing books, can also be created in large quantities for special needs.

For details and discount information for both print and ebook formats, contact booksales@, tel. 800-988-0886, or bulksales.

Copyright 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163.

The web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of the book's publication but may be subject to change.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Title: HBR guide to thinking strategically. Description: Boston, Massachusetts : Harvard Business Review Press,

[2019] | Series: Harvard Business Review guides | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018032610 (print) | LCCN 2018036095 (ebook) |

ISBN 9781633696945 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633696938 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Strategic planning. | Business planning. | Industrial

mangement. Classification: LCC HD30.28 (ebook) | LCC HD30.28 .H394 2019

(print) | DDC 658.4/012--dc23 LC record available at

eISBN: 9781633696945

The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives Z39.48-1992.

What You'll Learn

Your boss just told you to "think strategically," but what does that mean? Acting on this feedback is crucial for anyone looking to advance their careers--especially aspiring leaders. But it rarely comes with concrete advice on how to do it.

At a basic level, thinking strategically means maintaining a broad perspective on every aspect of your daily work, from making decisions to setting your team's priorities and managing your own productivity. To do so, you need to understand your company's key objectives and strategy and keep those driving forces front of mind when you're faced with tough choices and competing goals. You must also align your team with these organizational needs, so that they're working on the projects and initiatives that contribute most to executing the company's strategy. And you must remain agile, able to identify changes in your business environment and alter course when objectives change.

It can be difficult to prioritize big-picture needs over short-term demands--and to know how to switch between the two. This guide provides practical tips and

What You'll Learn

approaches to help you embed strategic thinking into your everyday work, so you can strike the right balance, create real value for your organization, be known as a strategic thinker--and achieve your own career goals.

You'll learn how to: ? Be more strategic in your daily work ? Ask questions to better understand your com-

pany's strategy ? Demonstrate your thinking skills in ways that your

bosses will notice and respect ? Make faster, better decisions ? Identify when to broaden--or narrow--your

perspective ? Detect patterns in internal and external trends ? Set your team's priorities based on goals, resources,

and timing ? Navigate conflicting objectives and manage

trade-offs ? Cut projects that are no longer adding value ? Communicate a company vision to your employees ? Align your team to execute the strategy ? Deal with common problems like unclear strategic

goals or a strategy you disagree with

vi

Contents

Introduction

Why Everyone Needs to Think Strategically

1

In complex situations, you need a broader view.

SECTION ONE

Get Started: Be Strategic in Your Daily Work

1. Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills

13

Six abilities to hone and apply.

BY PAUL J. H. SCHOEMAKER, STEVE KRUPP, AND SAMANTHA HOWLAND

2. To Be Strategic, Balance Agility and

Consistency

27

Execute on core principles, but be open to change.

BY JOHN COLEMAN

3. Prove You're Ready for the Next Level by

Showing Off Your Strategic Thinking Skills

33

Don't just develop them--demonstrate them.

BY NINA A. BOWMAN

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download