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The Strategy Paradox - Book review PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 04 August 2007 18:38
I got this book based on the recommendation made by one of Corporate Strategy professors at Ivey. Coincidentally, one of my friends invited me to this book"s release event. Michael gave a very interesting and insightful speech and as the result I was left itching to grab the book and dive into his ideas deeper.

This book turned out indeed to be quite a treat. The Strategy Paradox is a "collision between commitment and uncertainty". Michael not only identifies the challenge that managers face everyday: in order for a strategy to succeed resources have to be committed to it, but at the same time future by its nature is inherently uncertain and therefore there is no way to know if the strategy that they have chosen to pursue is the "right" one. The example analyzed in the book is the famous Betamax vs. VHS bet that Sony made back in the days.

The idea developed in the book is a J&J strategy of hedging strategic choices by investing a small portion of resources into creating independent strategy options. Those new initiatives take on life of their own and become alternative realities. Moreover, if one of those options takes off it will get absorbed back into the main business, ultimately helping to shape the overall company strategy.

I do recommend this book as it not only has interesting ideas about selecting the "right" strategy but is also very well written.

Till next time,
George
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